The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner took over in 1964.[1]
Feldman Swing Club
In 1942, the venue was a restaurant called Macks, which was hired out beginning 24 October every Sunday evening by Robert Feldman at £4 per night to host a jazz club featuring swing music. The initial line-up of the Feldman Swing Club advertised in Melody Maker included Frank Weir, Kenny Baker and Jimmy Skidmore, with guest artists the Feldman Trio, composed of Feldman's children, including then eight-year-old jazz drummer Victor Feldman.[2]
The club was eventually taken over by Humphrey Lyttelton's manager and, during that period, Louis Armstrong appeared at the venue. The lease was sold on to Ted Morton, who promoted it as the Jazz Shows Jazz Club. During this period, jazz fan Roger Horton began working at the club and was promoted to manager in 1964.[3]
On 31 May 1982, The Rolling Stones played an unannounced show there as a warm-up for their European tour, and returned again on 23 February 1986 to play a tribute show for their recently deceased pianist Ian Stewart, a concert that was their only live performance between 1982 and 1989.
Other nights would see a range of jazz, rhythm-and-blues and soul groups on the stage, including a "duel" between tenor saxophonists Teddy Edwards and Dick Morrissey in the 1980s.[4] Other notable jazz musicians, including Sonny Stitt, Lee Konitz and Archie Shepp, have also appeared at the club.
Manager Roger Horton eventually became a director, and in 1992 took over the ownership, handing it on to his son Jeffrey Horton when he retired in 2001.[3]
Northern soul
The 100 Club has been the home to the world longest running Northern soul all-nighters, the 6t's Rhythm 'n' Soul Club, started by Randy Cozens and Ady Croasdell of Kent Records UK. The 6t's had their 31st anniversary event on 18 September 2010.
Modern era
The 100 Club stage
The decor remains unchanged since the 1970s, although punk bands no longer appear there regularly. Instead there is a busy programme often booked up many months in advance. Occasionally, big-name touring bands will play "secret" or low-key unadvertised gigs there, relying on word of mouth to fill the 350-capacity space. The "Coda Club", a monthly social gathering of jazz musicians from the Feldman Swing Club era, continues to be held.[2]Limelight changed the venue's musical genre once again, providing "classical music in a rock'n'roll setting", hosting new or well-established classical artists once a month,[5] Since 1988, the London Swing Dance Society have held "Stompin" on Monday nights, a swing dancing evening with classes and regular live bands.
In 2009 Feldman's Swing Club was named by the Brecon Jazz Festival as one of 12 venues which had made the most important contributions to jazz music in the United Kingdom, for its contributions in the 1942–1954 period.[6]
In September 2010, it was announced that the 100 Club would close at the end of 2010 owing to continuing losses.[1][7][8] A campaign was launched, the Save The 100 Club, to keep the venue open, supported by musicians including Paul McCartney,[9][10] and in February 2011 a partnership with Nike subsidiary Converse was arranged, enabling the 100 Club to remain open.[11][12]
DEF Digby were the first band to play at the venue in 2012.
In autumn 2023, veteran punk band the U.K. Subs played a five-night sold out residency at the 100 Club in a culmination of their final British tour. The residency was attended by Stuart Pearce, a lifelong fan of punk rock.
^Strongman, Phil (22 September 2010). "Closure Threat To 100 Club". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
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