Murray's Cabaret Club: Discovering Soho's Secret

16-18 Beak Street was once home to Murrays Cabaret Club, a glamorous venue that hosted dancing showgirls, served aristocrats, and provided refuge for celebrities. Founded by Percival 'Pops' Murray, the club introduced the 'Cabaret Floorshow' with an army of dancers, musicians, and seamstresses. However, the club's reputation was tarnished by the Profumo Scandal in 1963. Benjamin Levy's book explores the founding of the club, the dancers' stories, and the recently discovered costumes worn in the glamorous floorshow.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 04 July 2019
Publisher: The History Press Ltd

Today, 16-18 Beak Street is a burger bar, but don't let the muddy grey of the whitewashed oak walls deceive you. This building was once filled with dancing showgirls in glitzy costumes, performing to over 100 people a night. For this corner of Soho once housed Murrays Cabaret Club; night after night it forged fantasies for deadened aristocrats, served dishes of dreams to Arab businessmen, and provided refuge for hounded celebrities. Founder Percival 'Pops' Murray introduced London to the 'Cabaret Floorshow,' hiring an army of dancers, musicians, and seamstresses to make sure that everything was perfect – from the dancers painted nails and intricate costumes to the polished wood walls and the gleaming glass stage. However, the spell was broken in 1963 when the Profumo Scandal erupted – a love triangle between a Murrays showgirl, Britain's Minister of War, and a Soviet spy, all at the height of the Cold War. Here, Benjamin Levy tells the story of Murrays founding and the tales of the dancers both before and after their time at the club, the work that went into the shows, and – in dazzling photographs and designs – reveals the recently discovered costumes that were worn in London's most glamorous floorshow.

Weight: 898g
Dimension: 202 x 253 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780750991322