Venue - The Gyre & Gimble

Published: 2009-10-25

Various artists - The Gyre & Gimble

In the 50s the Gyre and Gimble coffee bar was Londons very first skiffle coffee bar. Despite not being as high profile as it's high profile Soho rival the 2i's it still attracted many musicians. One such group of musicians was the Brighton Buskers, as their name indicated they would travel from London to Brighton to busk on the beach. The guitar player of the Brighton Buskers was Tommy Hicks, and would later be known as Tommy Steele. The Gyre and Gimble was the place where he would be discovered and signed by agents Roy Turvey and Geoff Wright.

Today 28 John Adam street is the site of pub Theodore Bullfrog, rebuilding has removed all trace of the original doorway that led downstairs to the coffee bar.