Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Twickenham, near of Richmond upon Thames, London. It is situated on the Tideway and can be reached only by footbridge or boat. The island was known as a major jazz and blues venue in the 1960s.
The Eel Pie Studios at The Boathouse on the mainland nearby, formerly owned by Pete Townshend, were the location of several significant pop and rock recordings. Townshend's publishing company, Eel Pie Publishing, is named after it.
The island was the site of the now legendary Eel Pie Hotel which was a genteel 19th century building that hosted ballroom dancing during the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1956 trumpeter Brian Rutland, who ran a local band called The Grove Jazz Band, started jazz sessions at the newly reopened hotel[1]. Sometime after Arthur Chisnall took over the running of the club and continued to promote various jazz bands and then in the 1960s rock and R&B groups.[2][3]
Famous names who performed at the dance hall between 1957 and 1967 include:
Long John Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men (including Rod Stewart)
Kenny Ball
Acker Bilk
David Bowie
Ken Colyer
Ivor Cutler
Cyril Davies
Alexis Korner
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (featuring Eric Clapton)
George Melly
Pink Floyd
The Rolling Stones
The Tridents (featuring Jeff Beck)
The Who
The Yardbirds
The Downliners Sect
The Artwoods (featuring Jon Lord)
In 1967, the Eel Pie Island Hotel was forced to close because the owner could not meet the £200,000 cost of repairs demanded by police. In 1969, the Club briefly reopened as Colonel Barefoot's Rock Garden, with bands like Black Sabbath, The Edgar Broughton Band, Stray, and Hawkwind (then known as Hawkwind Zoo).
Read MoreThe Eel Pie Studios at The Boathouse on the mainland nearby, formerly owned by Pete Townshend, were the location of several significant pop and rock recordings. Townshend's publishing company, Eel Pie Publishing, is named after it.
The island was the site of the now legendary Eel Pie Hotel which was a genteel 19th century building that hosted ballroom dancing during the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1956 trumpeter Brian Rutland, who ran a local band called The Grove Jazz Band, started jazz sessions at the newly reopened hotel[1]. Sometime after Arthur Chisnall took over the running of the club and continued to promote various jazz bands and then in the 1960s rock and R&B groups.[2][3]
Famous names who performed at the dance hall between 1957 and 1967 include:
Long John Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men (including Rod Stewart)
Kenny Ball
Acker Bilk
David Bowie
Ken Colyer
Ivor Cutler
Cyril Davies
Alexis Korner
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (featuring Eric Clapton)
George Melly
Pink Floyd
The Rolling Stones
The Tridents (featuring Jeff Beck)
The Who
The Yardbirds
The Downliners Sect
The Artwoods (featuring Jon Lord)
In 1967, the Eel Pie Island Hotel was forced to close because the owner could not meet the £200,000 cost of repairs demanded by police. In 1969, the Club briefly reopened as Colonel Barefoot's Rock Garden, with bands like Black Sabbath, The Edgar Broughton Band, Stray, and Hawkwind (then known as Hawkwind Zoo).
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