![]() ![]() Musicians travelled to Britain from the USA to perform on the club circuit. In the 1920s, jazz grew in popularity and fully entered the British popular music scene. They emphasised syncopated rhythms and improvisation and they didn’t require traditional formal musical training, thus opening up the scene to small amateur groups (footnote 3). These music genres were created by African-American communities and marked a clear break from styles of popular music of the 19th century. Change was already in the air in the first two decades of the 20th century as ragtime and jazz emerged and grew in popularity. The American influenceĭancing had long been a popular pastime in Britain, but what set the music and dance scene of the 1920s apart was the American influence. Young women in particular revelled in the new dance scene, which offered newfound opportunities to socialise with their peers and meet potential romantic partners. Jazz and dance bands would be hired for these dances which had varying entrance fees and membership rules, meaning all but the very poorest were able to take part. Dances took place all over the country in venues from village halls and pubs to specially built dance halls and Palais de Danse. It was at nightclubs such as the 43 that the ‘bright young things’ with disposable incomes could discover the new styles of music and try out the new dances which were booming in popularity in the decade.īut it was not only the rich who were embracing new styles of music and dance. Police records give us tiny glimpses into what these entertainments might have been like and the performers who were involved. The 43 had a regular rotating programme of performances from a variety of different acts. In another document, produced after a police raid on the club the following year, we learn the names and addresses of eight musicians who were performing on that particular night as well as ‘two theatrical artistes known as “Rolls Duo”’ who were noted as having been ‘engaged by contract to appear in cabaret at “Forty Three” and “Manhattan” Clubs’ (footnote 2). While Broomfield found no evidence of the consumption of alcohol during this undercover observation, he did report that the basement was used for dancing and at the far end of the room a band of five was performing, including the piano, violin, saxophone, banjo and drums (see footnote 1). The 43 Club was a notorious nightclub located in Gerrard Street in the West End of London, operated by ‘Nightclub Queen’ Kate Meyrick. ![]() Entertainments at the 43 ClubĪt midnight on Saturday 17 December 1927 an undercover police officer, Frederick Broomfield, arrived at the 43 Club (then named the Cecil Club) to gather information about ‘the alleged illegal sale and supply of intoxicating liquor’. This blog article is part of the 20sPeople season – a season of exhibitions, activities and events from The National Archives that explores and shares stories that connect the people of the 2020s with the people of the 1920s. ![]()
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