The Scotch

The hideaway where the music world met in the swinging sixties. On 14th July 1965, The Scotch Of St James officially opened for business. Amongst those who attended the launch were three members of the Beatles, all but Charlie from the Rolling Stones, as well as members of The Who, The Kinks, The Animals and The Hollies. In fact just about every known face from the 1960’s music scene could have been spotted that night, making their way through Mason’s Yard, as yet unaware of the Rock ‘n’ Roll royalty they were to become, or the role that The Scotch Of St James would play in their lives. It was at ‘The Scotch’ that an unkempt musician played for the first time ever under the stage name ‘Jimi Hendrix’. It was also where the head of Atlantic Records discovered the 20 year old, blonde guitarist, Eric Clapton, jamming in the boozy basement after a ‘Wicked Wilson Picket’ performance. It was where American artists, Sony and Cher, shot a short film for their new song ‘I Got You Babe’ and it was the very spot where Paul McCartney first met Stevie Wonder. Perhaps one of the most significant meetings that The Scotch Of St James inspired was the one between Yoko Ono and her husband-to- be, John Lennon when a late night led to an after-party at the Indica Gallery & Bookshop next door. It was also where Chas from The Animals used a Scotch Of St James napkin to draft up a contract between Track Records and Jimi Hendrix; an act which later inspired the decision to premier his entire ‘Are You Experienced’ album live on the Scotch stage. Tom Jones, Elton John and Rod Stewart were all loyal regulars and ‘The Who’ debuted their album ‘Tommy’ at the little late-night hideaway too. That opening night, as the upper echelons of Rock ‘n’ Roll trod the cobbled pavements of Mason’s Yard, nobody could have known that this small after-hours nightclub would become the very epicentre of the swinging sixties.