Colville LAUNCH SPECIAL

community history project issue 9 October 2014 oral history project

Colville Community History Project colvillecom.com tomvague@gmail.com getting it straight in notting hill gate

ward boundary changes-conservation area appraisal-oral history-pop psychogeography

In 2014 the Colville ward boundary has changed to include the area to the south, from Ladbroke Gardens/Westbourne Grove to Kensington Park Gardens/Chepstow Villas, see page 4 for further details. The new Colville Conservation Area appraisal is reviewed on page 5. For the latest Colville history exhibition developments at the Tabernacle Powis Square go to page 2. Vee Davis Colville oral history interview 1 extracts, featuring Rachman and Michael X, are on page 3, Ladbroke Grove Library pop history talk details on page 6, and there’s more Carnival 1966 and all that on page 7. If you would like to be interviewed about city living local life for the oral history project contact tomvague@gmail.com Interview sound files and transcriptions will be made available as an oral history archive on the colvillecom.com website It’s Your Colville. Who let the dogs out? Powis Square 1972 by Geoff Reeve, when the Tabernacle was still a church.

Colville Community History Project tomvague@gmail.com www.vaguerants.org.uk www.colvillecom.com getting it straight in notting hill gate

On the 30th anniversary of Band Aid recording ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ at Basing Street Studios on November 25, the building is being converted into flats and offices. The hoardings mural also claimed Bob Marley and the Wailers’ ‘Exodus’ album and Queen’s ’We Are The Champions’, recorded during Chris Blackwell’s Island administration, for Trevor Horn’s Sarm; and Spandau Ballet members have been about. Next year will be the 30th of the Pogues posing on the Basing Street/Westbourne Park Road corner, on their way from the studios to the Warwick (Castle) pub.

The Carnival photographer ‘Capitan’ Allan Thornhill, who is pictured with Michael X at All Saints hall, passed away this year after being on the local scene since the 60s. Ishmahil Blagrove’s book and exhibition is dedicated to him. In the Charlie Phillips picture opposite, Capitan, on the right, and Archie Seaforth are wearing ‘Dick Gregory President for Peace in 68’ badges, promoting the radical black comedian’s presidential campaign. Capitan’s classic 70s colour photographs, featuring Merle Major, Leslie Palmer’s Mas in the Ghetto, Frank Crichlow and Darcus Howe, make up most of the Behind the Masquerade and Steel Pan sections of the book.

The History of Colville exhibition at the Tabernacle is now in the reception display area, with Powis Square community action up the stairs, Carnival classics curated by Ishmahil Blagrove, from his Rice’n’Peas photo history book, in the ground floor conservatory, and Mangrove section in the back corridor. The exhibition features Rachman, Michael X, Claudia Jones, Rhaune Laslett, the London Free School, All Saints hall and 60s graffiti pictures from the North Kensington Community Archive, Local Studies, Kensington Central Library, by Alex Bowling, John Hopkins, Charlie Phillips, Geoff Reeve, Allan Thornhill, Geoff Walley, etc.

The 1972 Geoff Reeve photographs of Powis Square, taken from number 25, depict the time when packs of stray dogs and kids roaming the streets was a feature of local life. Next year will be the 50th anniversary of Richard Lester’s ‘The Knack and How to Get It’ film, in which Michael Crawford appears outside the Tabernacle during a bedstead chase scene; the 40th of the Portobello films ‘Pressure’ and ‘The Moon Over the Alley’, the 10th of Woody Allen’s ‘Match Point’, with Scarlet Johansson working in a Ledbury Road boutique, and the next Portobello Film Festival will be the 20th.

Tabernacle Powis Square W11 2014 Rachman/Michael X/Mangrove/Carnival Colville photo history exhibition tabernaclew11.com colvillecom.com tomvague@gmail.com getting it straight in notting hill gate

Colville history exhibition getting it straight in Notting Hill Gate

Vee Davis interview 1

Vee Davis arrived in Colville from Trinidad in 1957 and is still here We used to have loads of parties down in what they used to call the Calypso Club in Ledbury Road, right down in the basement. As soon as the week-end come you just party, you buy a top or a skirt and you look good and you just party until Monday morning and you go back to work. We were having fun, there was so few of us that we were having fun, when we meet each other we were so happy to be together and party the night away. There was a place right off the Tabernacle here, a Bajan man used to run it, Bajy, where they call the Globe now. One night I remember being down there and the police raided. They said everybody stand still, and then they came around and they were finding all the drugs on the floor, everybody drop what they had. I was living right at 31—31 Powis Square. I didn’t know then what was happening, but I remember looking around for somewhere to live and you see all these signs with ‘No blacks, no children, No Irish, no dogs’, and you knew then that you ain’t going to ask. They say there’s rooms to let but you’re not going to ask because you know that you’re one of those, you know you’re black, so keep out. Michael was a guy I’d known from Trinidad. Michael de Freitas, they used to call him Michael X, I knew him from home. So when we met it was like in those days you see a black face you say, ‘Oh my god, you’re here, when you come? Where you living girl?’ Everybody get excited. So I was pleased to see Michael, but when I asked about looking for somewhere to live, he sent me to this man, he didn’t call a name, he didn’t say Rachman. He just give me the address, how to get to this man. He had told me to go down to this man’s office. Yeah, the man had a big desk, he was sitting behind a big desk, wow, and I remember just walking in there and saying to the man, ‘Excuse me, I’m looking for a place’, and he said to me, ‘You need it for business?’ ‘Do you want it for business?’ I didn’t know, I was so green and stupid, remember I just came off the banana boat. All I said to the man was ‘Mister, I ain’t got no money to open business.’ And you could see he must think I was daft or some-thing, I can’t be bothered with her, he said sorry, and then I left this place and that was it, but a few weeks after I met Michael and he gave me hell. He was like ‘What’s the matter with you? They took the girl out the country but they can’t take the country out of you, you’re sitting on a pot of gold and you don’t know.’ You know, I should be a prostitute and he would be my pimp. When Rachman asked me if I wanted it for business, if I’d known what he was talking about and if my aim was to be a prostitute, I would have said yes and he would have charged me the business rate and Michael would have come and bring the guys for me and he would pimp off me. So he really went for me, because he think I was stupid, and then it clicked that this business the man had asked about was to go on the streets.

The 2014 Colville ward boundary changes bring the area between Ladbroke Gardens/Westbourne Grove and Kensington Park Gardens/Chepstow Villas into Colville. This includes the historic Earl of Lonsdale and Portobello Gold pubs, the Portobello Hotel on Stanley Gardens, the rest of the antiques market including the iconic Alice’s shop on ‘The Italian Job’ corner of Denbigh Close, various other film scenes and music connections, and the Chepstow Villas corner Dickens house, which was inhabited by Charles’s grandson (who gave his name to Henry Dickens Court estate in Notting Dale) and his fellow novelist great-granddaughter Monica. She recalled going down the lane from Chepstow Villas as a young girl in the 1920s: ‘Imagination starts with raffish Portobello Road… In those early days when we ran down for a packet of sherbet, or walked in kilts and tams to the grocers… it was still literally a flea market. All along the gutter rickety stalls and barrows were piled high with rags, torn jerseys, mismatched shoes, chipped china, bent tin trays, three-legged furniture and mal-functioning appliances from the early days of electricity.’ The Portobello Road antiques market was established after the Second World War between Chepstow Villas and Elgin Crescent/Colville Terrace. In the early 20th century, after the Chepstow Villas Dickens house there was the Cricketers pub and then the Lord Nelson on the corner of Denbigh Terrace. Tom Courtenay walks through the antiques market at the beginning of the 1968 film ‘Otley’, and Alice's antiques shop at number 86 appears in the classic swinging 60s Portobello scene in ‘The Italian Job’. The Beatles police capes were sold on the other corner of Denbigh Close (formerly Mews). In the 70s, 19 Denbigh Terrace was occupied by Peter Cook, Keith Moon and Richard Branson. The Portobello Gold bar at 95 was the Princess Alexandra, the Alex bikers pub, the local of Lemmy of Motorhead. The Earl of Lonsdale on Westbourne Grove was Henekey's, the music scene hang out from beatnik to punk rock. Charles Dickens himself is said to have appeared at the 20th Century Theatre on the other corner of Westbourne Grove (when it was the Victoria Hall Bijou Theatre on Archer Street). Colvile ward has gained part of Kensington Park Gardens, described in the Standard property supplement as ‘W11’s grandest address’, but has lost the Kensington Park Hotel aka the KPH at 139 Ladbroke Grove (now under the management of Vince Power, formerly the borough’s least grand address) and the Lancaster Road corridor (down to St Mark’s Road), to the new Notting Dale ward—where the area probably belongs, though it’s not really in Notting Dale either. Politically, the ward has returned to traditional Labour complete control from Labour/Independent/LibDem, while architecturally and historically, Colville has become a conservation area.

Colville boundary changes

The Colville conservation area is smaller than the ward. The boundary is Tavistock Road to the north, not includ-ing the new Tavistock Crescent and Gardens area, Portobello Road to the west, not including the buildings on the road which are in the Ladbroke conservation area, Lonsdale Road to the south, rather than Chepstow Villas (as Lonsdale Road to Chepstow Villas is already in the Pembridge conservation area), and the St Luke’s Road/Ledbury Road Westminster boundary to the east. The area’s listed buildings are All Saints Church, the Tabernacle Community Centre, and Colville Primary School on Lonsdale Road. The conservation area includes only one surviving pub, the Pelican on the corner of All Saints Road and Tavistock Road, recently renamed the Red Lemon bar. The lost pubs of Colville include the Apollo and the Albert on All Saints Road, the Duke of Cornwall on Ledbury/Talbot Road and the Princess Alexandra on Westbourne Park Road. Negative designated buildings include Clydesdale House on the 1944 V1 bomb site on Westbourne Park Road. Colville is summed up architecturally and historically as: ‘a largely residential area with a few small parades of shops and individual community uses throughout; well preserved Victorian terraced housing and other buildings of the 1850s-70s with original architectural details; detail-ing that varies between terraces particularly with regard to stucco mouldings; original lightwells and cast iron railings, which give the streets texture and character; glimpsed views of the historic rear elevations of houses; tranquil streets with a variety of trees, York stone paving and heritage-style lampposts; well maintained planting and flower boxes to the fronts of many residential properties; publicly accessible green spaces at Colville Square and Powis Square; high quality public realm to the front of All Saints Church on Talbot Road’, and ‘attractive and well maintained murals.’ The Colville building of next most architectural and historical significance, after the church, school and the Tabernacle, is the Basing Street chapel/waxworks/Island and Sarm recording studios. The foundation stone of the congregational chapel was laid in 1865 by the Liberal MP Samuel Morley ‘at a time when all this part was little more than open fields.’ During its early 20th century incarnation as the Gems factory, waxworks models were produced for Madame Tussaud’s including the local serial killer John Christie. In the late 1960s the building had an even more famous reincarnation as the offices and recording studios of Chris Blackwell’s Island record company. The first group to use the studios was Jethro Tull, then came Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Eagles, Queen, the Clash, the Slits, etc, etc. The area’s most important music history site is commemorated in the Basing Street Rooms mural on the corner wall opposite.

Colville conservation area

Ladbroke Grove pop history

December 2 2014 6-7.30pm Getting it Straight in Notting Hill Gate—A rock history journey along Ladbroke Grove North Kensington Library slideshow talk by Brian Nevill and Tom Vague exploring the pop myths and legends around Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan, the Clash, the Slits and reggae in the area—from Leo Sayer's ‘One Man Band’, in which 'everybody knows down Ladbroke Grove you have to leap across the street', to I-Roy ‘stepping into Ladbroke Grove’ in ‘Jah Come Here’; also featuring the death of Hendrix, Marc Bolan’s ‘Toadstool studios’, the origin of the Clash and Viv Goldman's post-punky reggae party. Brian Nevill is a local musician turned author; his book ‘Boom Baby’ touches on his early experiences in the area when he worked for Frendz paper on Portobello. Van Morrison sang: ‘Saw you walking down by Ladbroke Grove this morning, catching pebbles for some sandy beach, you’re out of reach,’ in ‘Slim Slow Slider’, the rock classic Ladbroke Grove track, on his 1968 ‘Astral Weeks’ album. The most important event in Ladbroke Grove rock history was the death of Hendrix at 22 Lansdowne Crescent in 1970. The second most important was Eric Clapton forming Cream at Ginger Baker’s ‘basement flat in Ladbroke Grove’ (road or area?) in 1966. Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrin Took composed Tyrannosaurus Rex songs just off Ladbroke Grove at 57 Blenheim Crescent. Leo Sayer had the biggest Ladbroke Grove hit with ‘One Man Band’, which reached number 6 in 1974, and Joe Strummer’s (pre-Clash) 101’ers had a mid-70s pub rock residency at the Elgin. Delroy Washington’s ‘The Streets of Ladbroke Grove’ featured Aswad and the Ladbroke Grove Street Choir. The Slits’ ‘Ping Pong Affair’ contains the line ‘whilst you were sulking I could have been raped in Ladbroke Grove.’ Viv Goldman’s ‘Launderette’ single had a Ladbroke Grove mini-movie sleeve. The post-punky reggae party at Viv’s flat, above the betting shop between the KPH and the station, included Aswad, PIL, the Pop Group, Slits, Raincoats, Geoff Travis of Rough Trade and Robert Wyatt. As Dub Vendor expanded from by the station to the Cambridge Gardens corner, Suede formed across the road from the station, and Jarvis Cocker sang ‘Your Ladbroke Grove looks turn me on’ in the Pulp track ‘I Spy’. The road/area is also mentioned in songs by the Clash, Big Audio Dynamite, Transvision Vamp, the Boo Radleys, Jazz Butcher, Blur and Killing Joke, whose ‘Ghosts of Ladbroke Grove’ from 2010 asked ‘What happened to Ladbroke Grove?’ Nowadays Adele, Dizzee Rascal and co are over the road from Marc Bolan’s place on Blenheim Crescent. Please call or email North Kensington Library to book a free seat 0207 361 3010 libraries@rbkc.gov.uk and look out for more local history talks at Muna’s Book & Kitchen shop at 31 All Saints Road bookandkitchen.com

‘Organisers say this year is part of the build-up to the event's 50th anniversary. The arenas will pay tribute to steel pan, the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, which has played a pivotal role in shaping the carnival from 1964 to the present day. The Notting Hill Carnival Enterprises Trust said some people thought the first carnival took place in 1964, but others argue a street parade took place the following year. However the trust said there was documentary evidence which shows the first event with performers, costumes, music and placards took place in 1966.’ BBC Not the 50th Notting Hill Carnival report 24/8/2014. So it seemed that was a local history victory, getting the BBC and NHC ET to say there is 66 documentary evidence. But the BBC Acme 'Who started Carnival?' documentary, presented by Wyn Baptiste (son of Selwyn, the Notting Hill steel pan pioneer and militant 76 Carnival leader), went along with Mike Laslett's secret trial run procession in 65, and steel band veterans’ mid-60s recollections; and didn’t bother with the documentary evidence. The struggle continues. Never trust a hippy or a musician or the BBC. Mike Mouse Laslett (the son of the 1966 Carnival founder Rhaune) was there in the 60s, and was part of the London Free School first Carnival/Fayre procession organising committee—therefore he’s an unreliable source. The steel bandsmen are the local equivalent of World War 1 heroes recalling playing football in no-man's-land. Their memories can’t be relied on as historical fact—basic research page 1. But after Ishmahil Blagrove’s definitive ‘Carnival’ photo history book, Jon Savage’s ‘1966’ book will hopefully establish once and for all that the first was in 66, and one day the inaccurate Nubian Jak plaques will be corrected. 1966 was also the year that Mick Jagger and John Lennon visited I Was Lord Kitchener’s Valet boutique at 293 Portobello Road. On May 27 Jagger wore a guards jacket from the shop on ‘Ready Steady Go’ whilst singing ‘Paint It Black’, and started the 60s military uniform craze. On May 15 Muhammad Ali had visited Rhaune Laslett’s playgroup on Tavistock Crescent. On July 30 the England team went along Ladbroke Grove after winning the World Cup. Following the first Notting Hill Carnival procession on September 18, Pink Floyd went psychedelic in All Saints church hall, and the hippy underground press was launched from the Free School newsletter. The area was visited by the Beachboys and Nancy Sinatra, when she was number 1 with ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’. Eric Clapton formed Cream, Jimi Hendrix arrived, Cat Stevens recorded the first ‘Portobello Road’ song, ‘Blow Up’ and ‘Alfie’ scenes were filmed. It happened here in 1966. The first Lord Kitchener’s Valet shop was in Golborne ward, but the poster was designed by Ian Fisk in Colville, on Ladbroke Gardens at the southern end of Portobello, where the swinging 60s guards jacket fashion scene began.

But the London Free School is primarily notable for launching Notting Hill Carnival, with the first post-war street procession organised by Rhaune Laslett on September 18 1966. The Free School Fayre pageant parade, around the area from 34 Tavistock Crescent (by the railway footbridge), featured people in Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Charles Dickens’ character costumes, the London Irish girl pipers, a New Orleans-style trad jazz marching band, Ginger Johnson’s Afro-Cuban band, and Russell Henderson’s Trinidadian steel band. During the fayre week, All Saints church hall on Powis Gardens (pictured above) hosted social nights including Dickens amateur dramatics, Alexis Korner, Jeff Nuttall performance art and ‘old tyme music hall’. After the fayre, John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins presented ‘Sound/Light workshops’ at All Saints hall by Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd, during which they developed their psychedelic sound and lightshow. Pink Floyd’s Free School Sound/Light workshops have been described as proper educational events with questions from the audience afterwards. As well as Notting Hill Carnival, Pink Floyd, adventure playgrounds and psychedelic lightshows, the London Free School launched the hippy underground press; International Times or IT was a continuation of the Free School newsletter The Gate/The Grove.

Carnival 1966 and All That

Colville Community History Project colvillecom.com tomvague@gmail.com getting it straight in notting hill gate