Scotch of St James
| The Scotch | |
| Address | Masons Yard London, SW1 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′28″N 0°08′14″W / 51.5078°N 0.1371°W |
| Public transit |
 Green Park; Piccadilly Circus
|
| Type | Nightclub, music venue |
| Capacity | 150 |
| Opened | 1965 |
| Closed | 1980 Re-opened: 2013 |
The Scotch of St. James is a nightclub situated at Masons Yard, London. Tucked away at the bottom of an alley it served as a prominent nightclub, live music venue and historically significant meeting place for London’s rock elite in the 1960s. The club opened on 14 July 1965 at the height of 1960s swinging London and replaced the Ad lib Club, which closed in November 1966, as a meeting place for the swinging London set and rock musicians. The heritage of the Scotch St. James was referenced when it was relaunched, after 25 years of closure, in 2012.
The Scotch of St. James was where, a then unknown, Jimi Hendrix first performed on the night of his arrival in England on 24 September 1966, when he joined the house band for an impromptu session on stage. It was on this night that Hendrix met Kathy Etchingham who became his girlfriend. On 25 October 1966 the Jimi Hendrix Experience played their first UK gig as a private showcase at Scotch of St. James. The club was also where Paul McCartney first met Stevie Wonder, after the latter's live performance at the club on 3 February 1966.
During its heyday in the mid 1960s, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, Rod Stewart, the Moody Blues, the Spencer Davis Group,Eric Burdon, the Animals, Jack and Jonathan, Sonny and Cher, Inez and Charlie Foxx, Goldie and the Gingerbreads were regular patrons and the Beatles and Rolling Stones were given their own tables.
In the mid 1980s the club was closed down.
The club was restored and re-opened by a group of investors in January 2012. After a brief collaboration with Parisian nightclub brand Le Baron between April and November 2013, when the club was named 'Le Baron London at The Scotch of St. James' and it reverted to the original name of The Scotch of St. James in March 2014.
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