Different now
Fings ain't what they used to be
A selection of London things we liked that are still there - only they've changed.
London cinemas: luxury experience for the Everyman
The Everyman cinema was a really classic independent cinema. Cold, rickety seats, fantastic double bills, late night movies, disdainful box office staff who always looked as if they'd rather be making a piece of conceptual art than bothering to sell you a ticket, and great newspaper-style programmes. Unlike the Camden Plaza and the charming, tiny Minema in Knightsbridge, the Everyman is still there, but has adjusted to changing tastes by reinventing itself as a super-luxury experience, with premium prices paid for leather sofas and the like. It's great that it's survived... but it's different. An RIP personal opinion? It's a nice place to have a coffee - not sure about bothering to see a film there. Not everyone agrees - see Now grot, once not
London clubs: all change at the Jazz Cafe
You couldn't get much more different than the original Jazz Cafe and the current one. This venue started off in Newington Green and looked as if it had been a house. The bands played in the window, so you could stop to see the likes of Evan Parker parping away on his sax as you were walking past, if that was your wont. The Jazz Cafe moved to its far plusher Camden premises in 1990.
London record shops: Honest Jon's
Honest Jon's Records used to be in Camden High Street on the Rhythm Records site (now shut). A browse in Compendium followed by stroll across the road to Jon's was a favourite London-RIP passtime. Honest Jon's moved to Portobello Road in around 1982. It sold lots of jazz and the guys behind the counter were really helpful, including Honest Jon himself. In fact, it was a Nick Hornby-type record shop except that the staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Honest Jon's is two shops now and it sells dance, urban and world music, on CD, of course. And it's fine... but the orginal HJ's was just a really classic record shop.
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| Message: | 3/3 |
| Date and time: | 14/10/2009 at 22:04:17 |
| Sender: | Trevor Meldrew |
| Back in the early 70s I used to visit Foyles bookshop because it seemed cheap and cheerful (unless you worked there apparently, but that is probably something that other contributors may be able to reflect on)to my 18-year old self. Coming back to Foyles 35 years later, the old ambience, not surprisingly, has gone, to be replaced by something more corporate, streamlined and impersonal. My mission was not actually bibliotechnical in intent, however, but to check out how/if RAYS JAZZ SHOP has transmogrified itself for the 21st. century. The previous RAYS experience was available in premises on Shaftsbury Avenue, just down wind from 7 Dials. This offered a basic specialist record (latterly CD)shop experience; extensive stock; informed, friendly (ish)staff of a certain age (approximate to mine, so that was OK). Also mourning the passing of Mole Jazz several years back, I noted at around the same time the demise of the Shaftesbury Lane prototype RAYS and its resurrection as part of the Foyles mothership. I finally managed to get to visit the reborn RAYS a few weeks ago (October 2009), and was rather underwhelmed by the experience. It is by no means a bad shop and has a reasonable stock of jazz and jazz-related material. However, I definitely felt something had been lost, and wonder if anyone else has felt similarly, or whether I am straying into grumpy 'resistance to change' territory, a pitfall I would imagine awaits many London RIP revenants. I felt that the recordings available were mainly those that you could find down the road in HMV; the atmosphere and setting were also worthy of the latter; there were noticably less staff (i.e. one) behind the counter than the previous incarnation (I suppose I had the huff as the guy who served me seemed much more interested in gaining the undivided attention of a female, and sadly clearly my superior in the looks department, fellow-customer, than regarding the inticacies of West African discography). More seriously, the place lacked atmosphere, and suffered from the lack of impassioned and lively debate and conversation which fires most vital record shops. Of course, this was merely a half-hour or so snapshot of the shop, and I may be doing a grave miservice to it and its staff by holding it up to scrutiny against some half-baked ideal I've got in my head. Of course, it also could not have the 'stand alone' status that specialist outlets have, by nature of it's being subsumed under the aegis of the much bigger Foyles banner and environment. Basically, I felt it was like comparing the RIP favourite Compendium Books to W.H.Smiths. What do other shop afficianados think ? Answers on a gatefold Impulse sleeve please. | |
| Message: | 2/3 |
| Date and time: | 10/04/2009 at 21:58:50 |
| Sender: | DAVE |
| Try and make the site a printed article either seperate or with 'smoke, a London peculiar.' | |
| Message: | 1/3 |
| Date and time: | 23/01/2007 at 18:16:28 |
| Sender: | aidan mcmanus |
| there was an Honest Jons in Goldbourne rd IN THE 70,S I uesd to buy punk singles off the hippy geezers behind the ramp and was a bit shocked that they were into that stuff | |
