Tales from the Colony Room

Soho's Lost Bohemia

Film

Tales from The Colony Room – Harrods

Animated & Narrated by Kira
Music by Barney Bates
1:48 min watch

The Colony Room Club 1965

A very brief snip of the Colony Room Club in 1965 with Muriel Belcher holding court and a youthful looking Ian Board serving drinks from the bar.
1:09 min watch

The Colony Room Club in the 1980s

A brief snapshot, filmed in the 1980’s, of the Colony Room Club, Soho’s extraordinary Bohemian private members drinking club. The club opened in 1948 and closed when the lease ended in 2008. Habitués included Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Dylan Thomas, George Melly, Damien Hirst, Peter O’Toole, Lisa Stansfield, Tracey Emin, Michael Andrews, and Jeffrey Bernard.
3:11 min watch

Francis Bacon documentary Part 5

8:44 min watch

The Colony Room Club documentary 1998

13:19 min watch

Francis Bacon loved his clothes. He was very fashion-conscious and always immaculately dressed. One afternoon Francis walked in, annoyed and pulling his collar.

"What's wrong, Francis?" asked Ian.

"Harrods, I'm never going to that shop again."

Francis had attended a special night for select clients and bought a lot of clothes, but when he got home he'd decided he didn't like any of them.

"I bought so many suits and shirts and threw the lot in the dustbin."

You'd never seen the club empty so quickly. And the very next day everyone was up the club parading around in their new suits and shirts from Francis' dustbin.