Soho Society is a 2008 album-format book by
Bernie Katz, long-time maitre d' at London's
Groucho Club
The Groucho Club is a private members' club founded in 1985 and located on Dean Street in London's Soho. Its members are mainly drawn from the publishing, media, entertainment and arts industries.
The club's facilities include three bars, tw ...
. It was published by
Quartet
In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...
, with a foreword by Stephen Fry. In addition to Katz's personal reminiscences of Soho characters and culture, the book contains nearly twenty illustrations by celebrated artists such as Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Sam Taylor-Wood, most of whom were personal friends of Katz and contributed their work for free. The book's front cover featured artwork by Peter Blake (artist), Sir Peter Blake.
Background
Katz served as 'front-of-house' at the Groucho Club on Dean Street for 18 years and acted as gatekeeper for a venue once called 'the A-list crowd's favourite stomping ground.
Outside of The Groucho, the book also covers Katz's off-duty wanderings and encounters in Soho haunts such as Soho House, Blacks (Private members club), Blacks and Bar Italia.
Stephen Fry, a collector of Soho literature, said that he had despaired of ever hearing a new voice who really understood Soho, bur Bernie Katz' collection of stories had made him happy.
“Tales from the hidden celeb Soho” book review, ''Jewish Chronicle'', 11 December 2008
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References
2008 non-fiction books
English non-fiction books
History books about London
21st-century history books
Fine illustrated books
Social history of London
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