Café de Paris (London)
The club's entrance in September 2013
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| Address | 3–4 Coventry Street London England |
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| Coordinates | 51°30′37″N 0°07′56″W / 51.51039°N 0.13215°W |
| Type | Nightclub |
| Capacity | 700 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1924 |
| Reopened | 1948 |
| Website | |
| www |
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Café de Paris is a London nightclub, located in the West End, beside Leicester Square on Coventry Street, Piccadilly.
It opened in 1924 and subsequently featured such performers as Dorothy Dandridge, Marlene Dietrich, Harry Gold, Harry Roy, Ken Snakehips Johnson and Maxine Cooper Gomberg.Louise Brooks made history when she worked there in December 1924, introducing the Charleston (dance) to London.
Much of the early success of the Café de Paris was due to the visit of the then Prince of Wales who became a regular guest, often dining with notables from high society across Europe.Cole Porter was a regular, as was the Aga Khan.
During World War II, on 8 March 1941, the café was bombed soon after the start of a performance and at least 34 people were killed and around 80 injured. Two bombs fell into the basement ballroom down a ventilation shaft and exploded in front of the stage. The victims included 26-year-old bandleader Ken "Snakehips" Johnson, his saxophonist Dave "Baba" Williams, other band members, staff and diners. One survivor was cheered by the crowd outside, when, on being carried out on a stretcher, he shouted to them "At least I didn't have to pay for dinner".
The venue did not reopen until 1948 but re-established itself as one of the leading theatre clubs in London, playing host to Frank Sinatra, Tony Hancock and Grace Kelly. In the 1950s Noël Coward often performed cabaret seasons at the Café de Paris as did Marlene Dietrich. It was also used in the 2006 music video for I Think We're Alone Now by Girls Aloud.
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