Murray's Cabaret Club was a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

club in Beak Street in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

, central

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England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History

The club was first opened in 1913, on the site of the old Blanchards restaurant at 1-7 Beak Street, by an American, Jack Mays, and an Englishman, Ernest A. Cordell. The club was known for its scantily-clad

showgirl A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and ...

s and its association with

Christine Keeler Christine Margaret Keeler (22 February 1942 – 4 December 2017) was an English model and showgirl. Her meeting at a dance club with society osteopath Stephen Ward drew her into fashionable circles. At the Cold War (1953–1962), height of the ...

and the 1960s

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in British politics during the early 1960s. John Profumo, the 46-year-old Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model ...

. It was a members-only club providing food and drink for its wealthy patrons along with music, space to dance and other entertainment. The entertainments included demonstration dancing, tableaux and fashion parades. Bands such as the Versatile Four performed there. As well as following musical fashion trends, such as tango and jazz, the club also provided cabaret-style presentations. It was open into the early morning but also offered popular afternoon

tea dance __NOTOC__ A tea dance, also called a ''thé dansant'' (French for "dancing tea"), was a dance held in the summer or autumn from 4 to 7 p.m. In the England , English countryside, a garden party sometimes preceded the dance.''Party-giving on E ...

s. It remained open during the First World War and continued to be popular in the interwar years, keeping up with trends to continue attracting a wealthy clientele. Its song and dance shows became more ambitious. Among the performers was

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born in 1 ...

in the chorus near the start of her career. In 1923 it was renovated and renamed Blanchard's. In the late 1930s, Murray's Club was re-opened at a different location, 16 -18 Beak Street. In the 1950s Murray's had a total staff of 130, including 65 showgirls and understudies. The club was run by Percival Murray, then later by his son David Murray. David Murray was a friend of

Stephen Ward Stephen Thomas Ward (19 October 1912 – 3 August 1963) was an English osteopath and artist who was one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British political scandal which brought about the resignation of John Profumo, the Sec ...

and spent weekends at Ward's cottage at Cliveden, where showgirl

was introduced to

John Profumo John Dennis Profumo ( ; 30 January 1915 – 9 March 2006) was a British politician whose career ended in 1963 after a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old model Christine Keeler in 1961. The scandal, which became known as the Profumo affai ...

. David ran the club until 1967 when he fell out with his father over proposals to introduce a gambling floor. The club eventually closed in 1975. In 2018, Murray's was the subject of an exhibition mounted by the

Museum of Soho The Museum of Soho is a virtual museum with a physical collection. The museum was started circa 1991. It is an independent, community-based group committed to creating a safe haven for artefacts, documents, etc., relating to Soho, London. It has ...

in collaboration with poster dealer Charlie Jeffreys, and curator and historian Ben Levy. It featured costume designs by the illustrator Ronald Cobb along with a selection of club ephemera. The club location at 16–18 Beak Street is now a restaurant called "Mountain" which is owned and run by head chef Tomos Parry. Tomos Parry has a Michelin Star for his other restaurant, Brat. .

References

External links

Murray's Cabaret Club website
1913 establishments in England 1975 disestablishments in England 1910s in the City of Westminster Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Nightclubs in London Soho, London {{london-stub