The Flamingo Club

The Flamingo Club
The Pink Flamingo
Blue plaque erected on 1 June 2017 at 33-37 Wardour Street
Map
AddressWardour Street
London, W1
England
Coordinates51°30′41″N 0°07′56″W / 51.5113°N 0.1322°W / 51.5113; -0.1322
Public transitLondon Underground Leicester Square; Piccadilly Circus
Operator
TypeNightclub
Opened1952 (1952)
Closed1967 (1967)

The Flamingo Club was a jazz nightclub in Soho, London, between 1952 and 1969. It was located at 33–37 Wardour Street from 1957 onwards and played an important role in the development of British rhythm and blues and modern jazz. During the 1960s, the Flamingo was one of the first clubs to employ fully amplified stage sound and it used sound systems provided by ska musicians from the Caribbean.[1] The club had a wide social appeal and was a favourite haunt for musicians, including The Who.[2]

No 37 Wardour Street was previously the address of the Shim Sham Club, which opened in 1935 and was known as "London's miniature Harlem".[3]

  1. ^ Val Wilmer (18 June 2007). "Rik Gunnell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Rik Gunnell obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 22 June 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference shim was invoked but never defined (see the help page).