Midnight Follies First Edition 1921
The Whitehall Room within the Hotel Metropole became the site of one of the first true cabarets in London that transformed London’s nightlife in the 1920s. On the 2nd November 1921, the ‘Midnight Follies’ was inaugurated at the Metropole with a show that was called a ‘super dansant.’ With glorious costumes designed by Dolly Tree it became an overnight hit with all of smart London flocking to see the show designed to ‘brighten London.’
The Cabaret Follies
When Jack Hylton’s Cabaret Follies show made its debut in London in the autumn of 1922 it was one of four big cabaret shows that made a Brighter London, the others being located at the Grafton Galleries (Midnight Revels), Murray’s Club (Murray’s Frolics) and the Hotel Metropole (the Midnight Follies). At first its status and popularity amongst London’s high society was unassailable, but when Jack Hylton relinquished control at the end of 1923, it floundered and ceased to be by the summer of 1924.
The Queen’s Hall Roof
One of the more short-lived but nevertheless important dancing and cabaret venues in London in the Jazz Age was that of the Queen’s Hall Roof. As its name implied, it was in the roof of the magnificent Queen’s Hall in Langham Place, Regent Street, one of London’s landmarks. Designed by Thomas Knightley, the Queen’s Hall was London’s premier concert hall that opened in 1893 catering for an audience of 2,500.
Hotel Metropole
The Hotel Metropole that opened in 1885 became one of London’s major hotels but after World War 1 it flowered with new vigour. The Restaurant des Ambassadeurs, the Café Anglais and the Whitehall rooms blossomed through the 1920s and the famous Midnight Follies cabaret created a brighter London.
New Princes Frivolities First and Second Edtions
The first cabaret show at the New Princes Restaurant in Piccadilly was staged in February 1924 and became a regular feature of London’s Jazz Age nightlife for many years to come as the New Princes Frivolities.
Continue reading New Princes Frivolities First and Second Editions
The Dancers Ernest and Yvonne
One of the most popular and prestigious ballroom dancing acts in Germany in the Jazz Age of the 1920s and 1930s was that of Ernest and Yvonne who seemingly emerged out of nowhere in about 1925 and danced not just in Germany but also France, Holland, England and other parts of Europe.
Princes Restaurant, Piccadilly, London
The Princes Restaurant and Hotel at 190-195 Piccadilly, London was created in the late 19th century and in 1924 became a Limited company retitled New Princes (Ltd). It combined a hotel with an entertainment hall or restaurant, galleries and other function rooms. In the Jazz Age of the 1920s it was one of the most popular social rendezvous in London and one of London’s major cabaret venues for the New Princes Frivolities.
One of the most salubrious of restaurants in the West-End of London during the Jazz Age was the Devonshire Restaurant. It opened in late 1926 but despite an excellent cuisine, impeccable service and delightful décor it faltered and only lasted until the Spring of 1928. But then it was relaunched several times and did find success as the San Marco in the 1930s.
Dolly’s Revels
The first cabaret show to be presented by Harry Foster and Major E.O. Leadlay at the Piccadilly Hotel in Piccadilly, London was called Dolly’s Revels. It was staged by Edward Dolly, the brother of the famous Dolly Sisters in February 1924 and had costumes designed by Dolly Tree.
The Criterion in Piccadilly Circus, was a large collection of restaurants all housed in one building. It became an iconic rendezvous in London’s nightlife and a favoured haunt of London’s high society in the Jazz Age especially the splendid Italian roof garden that dazzled audiences from 1920-1924.
