Murray's Cabaret Club: Discovering Soho's Secret

by Benjamin Levy, Dita Von Teese (Foreword)

Today, 16–18 Beak Street is a burger bar, but don’t let the muddy grey of the whitewashed oak walls deceive you. This building was once filled with dancing showgirls in glitzy costumes, performing to over 100 people a night. For this corner of Soho once housed Murray’s Cabaret Club; night after night it forged fantasies for deadened aristocrats, served dishes of dreams to Arab businessmen, and provided refuge for hounded celebrities.Founder Percival ‘Pops’ Murray introduced London to the ‘Cabaret Floorshow’, hiring an army of dancers, musicians and seamstresses to make sure that everything was perfect – from the dancers’ painted nails and intricate costumes, to the polished wood walls and the gleaming glass stage. However, the spell was broken in 1963 when the Profumo Scandal erupted – a love triangle between a Murray’s showgirl, Britain’s Minister of War, and a Soviet spy, all at the height of the Cold War.Here, Benjamin Levy tells the story of Murray’s founding and the tales of the dancers both before and after their time at the club, the work that went into the shows and - in dazzling photographs and designs – reveals the recently discovered costumes that were worn in London’s most glamorous floorshow.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published July 4, 2019

Reviews

[Brian Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book will resonate differently to certain readers.
Having found an old table card/menu amongst my Father's effects I was fascinated to find out about where a Derbyshire Miner had spent one evening many years ago!
This was a club for royals and celebs including the infamous Christine Keeler and Profumo.
However as a written history I found it very disappointing and thin but if you are a budding costume designer this is a 5 star book as over half is taken up with the original designs.