Crawdaddy Club
The Crawdaddy Club was a music venue in Richmond, Surrey, England, which opened in 1963. The Rolling Stones were its house band in its first year and were followed by The Yardbirds. Several other notable British blues and rhythm and blues acts also played there.
History
Giorgio Gomelsky was a Georgian émigré who worked as an assistant film editor by day and a music promoter by night. He began in the jazz scene before starting the Piccadilly Club, a blues club in central London. When that closed in early 1963 he needed a new venue and, since he knew the landlord of the Station Hotel in suburban Richmond, he took over the back room, which had been little used since its jazz sessions had petered out.[1] The name of the club derived from Bo Diddley's 1960 song "Doing the Craw-Daddy",[1] which The Rolling Stones regularly performed as part of their set. In turn the club would inspire the name of the American music magazine Crawdaddy!
Gomelsky's first house band was the Dave Hunt Rhythm & Blues Band whom he knew from the Piccadilly. Sometimes they used a young drummer called Charlie Watts, and for about six weeks in January–February 1963 their guitarist was Ray Davies, who later formed The Kinks.[2]
The Rolling Stones played their first gig at the Crawdaddy in February 1963, because the Dave Hunt band were snowed in during the coldest winter since 1740. Although the Stones had played their first gig the previous summer, Bill Wyman did not become a member until 7 December 1962, and Charlie Watts joined in January 1963,[3] so the Crawdaddy saw the first public performance with them in the band. This first gig was not a commercial success; Gomelsky had to plead with customers of the main hotel to attend, offering two entries for the price of one ticket.[1]
Within three weeks word had spread and the Stones took over the residency; by April they had two gigs a week at the Crawdaddy and a weekly slot at Eel Pie Island, 2 miles (3.2 km) away in Twickenham. The Beatles came to see them on 14 April 1963, and afterwards went back to Mick Jagger's flat in Chelsea.[4] Audiences overflowed onto the street, and the Crawdaddy was forced to move up the road to a larger venue, the Richmond Athletic Ground. During that time, the Stones had their first chart hit, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On".
When the Stones became too big for small local clubs and went on tour, their residency at the Crawdaddy was taken over by another leading R&B group from nearby Kingston upon Thames, The Yardbirds, featuring Eric Clapton. Other artists who played at the club included Led Zeppelin, Long John Baldry, Elton John and Rod Stewart.
The Crawdaddy Club also ran events at the same time at The Star public house in Broad Green, Croydon. The main band was The Yardbirds, but other bands from the Richmond Crawdaddy would visit and play. It hosted a lot of American R&B artists who would jam with them, including Sonny Boy Williamson. The Animals would also visit to enjoy a pint at the bar after gigs at The Orchid, Purley. Julie Driscoll started her singing career there after being dared to get up and sing.
In March 2011, the Crawdaddy Club was revived at the Athletic Ground by Mike Rivers and his wife Sylvie. Gigs have been held on a monthly basis, and feature top R&B bands, including The Others, who were the third house band at the original club after The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds.[5]
The Station Hotel has gone through several incarnations, including as the Bull & Bush pub and Edwards. It is currently One Kew Road bar & restaurant where in 2015, Music Heritage London began hosting regular live 60s music events promoting cover bands of the era and more recently, The Crawdaddy Showcase offering contemporary singer / songwriters a platform on which to perform - a fitting tribute to the Crawdaddy legacy.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Norman, Philip (2011). The Stones: The Definitive Biography. Pan Macmillan. pp. 23–24. ISBN 9781447203506.
- ^ Kitts, Thomas M. (2008). Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else. Routledge. p. 29. ISBN 9781135867959.
- ^ Wyman, Bill (2002). Rolling With the Stones. DK Publishing. pp. 32 & 44. ISBN 0-7894-9998-3.
- ^ Cross, Craig (2004). Beatles-Discography.com: Day-By-Day Song-By-Song Record-By-Record. iUniverse. pp. 61–2. ISBN 9780595314874.
- ^ "History of Venue".
- ^ "One Kew Road, Richmond". Campaign for Real Ale. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
External links
- Official website of the revived Crawdaddy Club in Richmond[1]
- hosting sightseeing tours and live music events in West London / Richmond
- Eel Pie Club.com – gives information on the current Eel Pie Club in Twickenham and other 1960s r'n'b sites in the locality
- Heartland – provides current photos of the Crawdaddy and other "Rolling Stones London sites"
51°27′48″N 0°18′9″W / 51.46333°N 0.30250°W / 51.46333; -0.30250
- v
- t
- e
- Barnes
- Barnes Bridge
- Fulwell
- Hampton
- Hampton Wick
- Kew Gardens
- Mortlake
- North Sheen
- Richmond
- St Margarets
- Strawberry Hill
- Teddington
- Twickenham
- Whitton
- A307 road
- A308 road
- A309 road
- A316 road
- Barnes High Street
- Castelnau, Barnes
- Church Road, Barnes
- George Street, Richmond
- Kew Green
- Mill Hill, Barnes
- Mortlake High Street
- Old Palace Lane
- Old Palace Yard
- Queen's Road
- Ringway 2
- South Circular Road
- The Green, Richmond
- The Terrace, Barnes
- The Vineyard, Richmond
and river services
- Beverley Brook
- River Crane
- Duke of Northumberland's River
- Longford River
- Sudbrook and Latchmere stream
- River Thames
- Athletic Ground, Richmond
- Barn Elms playing fields
- The Championship Course
- Cricket clubs and grounds
- Golf clubs and courses
- Hampton Pool
- The Lensbury
- Pools on the Park
- Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court
- Teddington Pools and Fitness Centre
- Thames Young Mariners
- Twickenham Stadium
- Twickenham Stoop
- former Ranelagh Club
- former Richmond Ice Rink
- Britannia, Richmond
- The Bull's Head, Barnes
- The Crown, Twickenham
- Dysart Arms, Petersham
- The Fox, Twickenham
- The George, Twickenham
- Hare and Hounds, East Sheen
- Jolly Coopers, Hampton
- Old Ship, Richmond
- Park Hotel, Teddington
- Richmond Brewery Stores
- Sun Inn, Barnes
- Twickenham Fine Ales
- Watney Combe & Reid
- White Cross, Richmond
- The White Swan, Twickenham
and music venues
- The Bull's Head
- Crawdaddy Club
- The Exchange
- Olympic Studios
- Orange Tree Theatre
- OSO Arts Centre
- Puppet Theatre Barge
- Richmond Theatre
- TwickFolk
- Wathen Hall
- former Eel Pie Island Hotel
- former Richmond Theatre (1765–1884|
- Richmond and Twickenham Times
- former Gaydar Radio
- former Hogarth Press
of interest
- 123 Mortlake High Street
- 14 The Terrace, Barnes
- 18 Station Road, Barnes
- 70 Barnes High Street
- Asgill House
- Barnes power station
- Brinsworth House
- Bushy House
- Chapel House
- Chapel in the Wood
- Clarence House
- Doughty House
- Douglas House
- Downe House
- East Sheen Filling Station
- Fulwell bus garage
- Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare
- Garrick's Villa
- Grove House, Hampton
- Halford House
- Ham House
- Hampton Water Treatment Works
- Hampton Youth Project
- Harrods Furniture Depository
- Hogarth House
- The Homestead
- Hotham House
- Kew Mortuary
- King's Observatory
- Kneller Hall
- Langham House
- Langham House Close
- Latchmere House
- Lichfield Court
- Marble Hill House
- Montrose House
- National Physical Laboratory
- Normansfield Theatre
- The Old Court House
- Old Town Hall, Richmond
- Ormeley Lodge
- Parkleys
- The Pavilion
- Pembroke Lodge
- Pope's Grotto
- Poppy Factory
- Royal Military School of Music
- Royal Star and Garter Home
- St Leonard's Court
- Strawberry Hill House
- Stud House
- Sudbrook House and Park
- Thatched House Lodge
- University Boat Race Stones
- Victoria Working Men's Club
- West Hall
- White Lodge
- The Wick
- Wick House
- Yelverton Lodge
- York House
- former Admiralty Research Laboratory
- former Alcott House
- former Camp Griffiss
- former Cardigan House
- former Cross Deep House
- former The Karsino
- former Mortlake Tapestry Works
- former Mount Ararat
- former Pope's villa
- former Radnor House
- former Richmond House
- former Richmond Lodge
- former Richmond Theological College
- former Sheen Priory
- former Star and Garter Hotel
- former Twickenham Park
- Adana Printing Machines
- Ashe baronets
- Cook baronets of Doughty House
- Darell baronets, of Richmond Hill
- GHQ Liaison Regiment (Phantom)
- Hampton Court Conference
- Kew Letters
- Petersham Hole
- Pocock baronets
- Richmond Flyers
- Richmond, Petersham and Ham Open Spaces Act 1902
- Treaty of Hampton Court (1562)
- Vandeput baronets
- Warren-Lambert
- Wigan baronets
- Richmond Park
- Twickenham
- former Richmond and Barnes
- former Richmond (Surrey)