In the 1930s it became one of the leading theatre clubs in London. In 1941, during The Blitz bombing campaign of the Second World War, the club was hit by a German bomb. The explosion killed at least 34 people, injured at least 80, and caused extensive damage to the building. The club remained closed until 1948, when it reopened.
The club regained its popularity in the 1950s and operated successfully for decades. It closed permanently in December 2020, due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[1] The venue was re-opened in February 2023 under a new name, Lío London.
Much of the early success of the Café de Paris was due to the visit of the then Prince of Wales who became a regular guest, often dining with notables from high society across Europe.[4]Cole Porter was a regular, as was Aga Khan III.[5]
Second World War
On the outbreak of the Second World War, the venue lowered its entry prices. It became less socially exclusive and attracted a more mixed clientele, including many members of the armed forces on leave.[6]
On 8 March 1941, soon after the start of a performance, a 50-kilogram (110 lb) bomb fell down a ventilation shaft into the basement ballroom and exploded in front of the stage.[6] At least 34 people were killed and around 80 injured.[6][7] The victims included the 26-year-old bandleader Ken "Snakehips" Johnson,[8] his saxophonist Dave "Baba" Williams,[9][10] other band members, staff and diners.[6]
Confusion caused by bombing related chaos in the West End that night delayed ambulances and rescue services reaching the basement area of the explosion for up to half an hour. Immediate aid came from doctors and nurses who were amongst the guests at the Café de Paris. Reportedly several looters made their way into the blacked-out ballroom area and took jewellery from the dead and injured.[11]
The Café de Paris, which hosted regular cabaret shows on Friday and Saturday nights, had a dress code for its club and dining room, which stated:[13]
More smart than casual. No trainers or sportswear. Smart jeans are fine. No fancy dress or any other paraphernalia for hen parties. Vintage/Burlesque/cabaret attire is encouraged.
In December 2020, the venue's parent company Maxwell's Restaurant Group went into liquidation, reporting that they had been impacted by restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic.[14] In November 2022, it was reported that the venue would reopen in February 2023 under the ownership of the Pacha Group and renamed Lío London.[15]
Disguised as the Café Madrid, this event is also featured in a scene in The Soldier's Art, Anthony Powell's eighth novel in his A Dance to the Music of Time series, on which several of the characters in the series are killed when "a bomb hit the Madrid full pitch."[16]
The bombing features in AJ Pearce's novel Dear Mrs Bird (2018); in Kate Quinn's 2021 novel The Rose Code; and in the novel The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn, resulting in the death of one of the characters.
Music
During the war, the British composer Vaughan Williams had been writing his 6th Symphony, which premiered in 1948. The deaths of the band members moved him to incorporate elements of jazz, including a saxophone solo in the Scherzo movement.[17] This influence was noted by the conductor Malcolm Sargent who took the symphony on its initial tour around the world.[18]
Television and film
The Café de Paris and its 1941 bombing are discussed in the episode "Safest Spot in Town" in the BBC 4's Queers, a series of monologues in response to the fiftieth anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 and are mentioned in the novel Transcription by Kate Atkinson.
There is also a passing reference to the cafe in the 5th episode of the 6th season of Downton Abbey.
The cafe was used as the strip club back drop in the 1990 comedy film King Ralph starring John Goodman and Peter O'Toole.
A sequence where a nightclub is bombed and the dead subsequently looted in Steve McQueen's 2024 film Blitz is clearly based on the Café de Paris incident (indeed Jonah Coombes, the film's Supervising Location Manager, refers to it as the Café de Paris,[19] and Ken "Snakehips" Johnson is included in the character/cast list), though the nightclub is not named and the film is set in 1940.
Theatre
The Café de Paris is a main plot point in Matthew Bourne's production of Cinderella set during WW2 in London. It is the location of the main ball/party at the heart of the fairy tale. Act 2 begins with the cafe having just been bombed, destroyed and full of dead bodies. Then an Angel (the fairy Godmother equivalent) reverses time and brings the cafe fully to life.[20]