The Troubadour London

The London stop for the 2017 autumn tour was at the Troubadour in Earls Court on Friday 3 November. The venue was founded in the 1950’s revival of London coffee houses as centres of London intellectual and artistic life. Earl’s Court, the wild western frontier of bohemian Chelsea, saw a particular concentration of new establishments, the most famous of which was the Troubadour. It was where Private Eye was first produced and distributed; where the early Ban the Bomb meetings were held (the precursor to CND); and where the Black Panthers met when they left Paris after the ’68 riots. The Troubadour was the first place where Bob Dylan performed in London. Paul Simon, Martin Carthy, Redd Sullivan, Charlie Watts, Sammy Davis Jr.and Jimi Hendrix have all played there. Led Zeppelin used to come and jam there after their Earl’s Court gigs.

There is a feeliing that you get as you walk into this venue that is familiar and warm. It was not an easy gig for the band as Monica was unable to join the band at the last minute due to unforeseen events earlier in the day, but the spirit of music that seemed to reside there carried the band through as Al Stuart’s moody photography of the night testifies. It was a night to remember.