“
We have the best hot bars, speakeasies, restaurants and
members' clubs,” says Nicole Robinson, a senior member
of The Insider desk at London's new luxury W hotel. It's
Robinson's job to point guests towards the most on-trend
nightspots in town – and she is in no doubt. “In Soho you get
the complete 360-degree London experience.”
You could even say that this square mile is surfing the
cultural zeitgeist. Next year, Michael Winterbottom, director
of the remarkable Madchester classic
24
Hour Party People
,
will be releasing a Hollywood biopic about the rise and fall of
Soho porn magnate Paul Raymond. Starring Steve Coogan,
it should remind a global audience of the kind of hedonist
character the area was once famous for.
A new iPhone and Android app has also just been released
that promises to shed even more light on the area. Called
Soho Stories, the app markets itself as the ultimate virtual
tour guide. Using GPS, it can track where you are and deliver
multimedia content about any notable landmarks you might
wander near, regaling listeners with fresh stories of the area's
salacious past fromWWII to the present day.
That's precisely why I find myself on Carnaby Street
during a sunny autumn morning. Despite working nearby
for years, I'd never been particularly taken by Soho, but this
seemed like the perfect opportunity to be proven wrong.
Firing up the app on my phone, I headed out to explore.
And it wasn't long before it started to work its magic.
I soon learn that if it wasn't for the extravagance of King
Henry VIII, Soho wouldn't have even come into existence.
In 1536, Henry had the largest and most opulent palace in
all of Europe, with 1,500 rooms. The back of this touched
Soho, then marshland. Henry wanted a garden befitting
of his opulent home, so he turned it into a Royal Park.
Unsubstantiated urban myths still abound that its name
comes from the king's hunting cry.
03
We have the best hot newbars, speakeasies,
restaurants andmembers' clubs
PHOTOS ALAMY, PYMCA
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