Ten years ago, dear Lou Ravelle, the brain behind Wrestling Scene - the mouthpiece for all Paul Lincoln's ballyhoo - regaled Hack and me with stories of The Mandrake Club, behind Charing Cross Station. Apparently wrestlers congregated there after shows in the late fifties and sixties. We scratched around for corroborating evidence but always drew a blank. Today on Talking Pictures I see the Mandrake Club featured - it existed!
This is a long shot 60+ years on but maybe James or someone can tell us more about this apparently iconic locale?
Duke Ellington is an interesting mention as a Mandrake Clubber in your article, Hack. I had never quite fathomed how he could have been a buddy of Steve Logan. Maybe they met at The Mandrake?
Good research Ron, thanks for that. And thanks to Anglo Italian for reminding us about Lou. He was quite a character. I wonder if he's still with us. Scroll down this page about the Gargoyle Club and there's quite a bit about the Mandrake.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargoyle_Club
Meard St is not so far from Charing Cross Station
Think I have mentioned this before, but I am sure that in an interview, a long time ago, John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) said that his dad was a barman at a club in London, which was full of wrestlers. It could have been The Cromwellian, of course, owned by Paul Lincoln and Al Hayes, but I wondered if it could have been The Mandrake?
1955 , it was at Meard Street and did Chess Tournaments. In the news when USA cigs were being sold on the cheap in there and visitors bringing in a party and paying with cheques that bounced. Done multiple times for late night drinking. Changed owners a few times as well.
1971
There's a few bits about it on Google.
I know Lou Ravelle had a small gym down by Charing Cross Station but I always thought the Mandrake Club was in Meard Street, Soho. Certainly Paul told me that it was at the Mandrake he decided to unmask. I'll ask around but there's so few of us left don't hold your breath.