From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia UFO Club
UFO Club
Coordinates: 51°31′06″N 0°07′55″W / 51.518354°N
0.132073°W / 51.518354; -0.132073
UFOria
The UFO Club was a famous but shortlived UK under-
ground club in London during the 1960s, venue of perfor-
mances by many of the top bands of the day.
History
The UFO Club (pronounced Yoof-oh) was founded by
John Hopkins (usually known as "Hoppy") and Joe Boyd
in an Irish dancehall called the "Blarney Club" in the
basement of 31 Tottenham Court Road, under Berkeley
Cinema and opposite the Dominion Theatre. It opened on
Dec. 23, 1966. Initially the club was advertised as "UFO
Presents Night Tripper". This had been because Boyd and
Hopkins could not decide on "UFO" or "Night Tripper" Were All Doomed!!!
as a name for their club.[1] Eventually they settled on
"UFO".
• ginger johnson african drums" as well as "feb 17 — soft
Pink Floyd were booked for the first two Fridays, and
machine • mark boyle projections • movies • food • eroge-
then re-engaged as the club carried on into 1967 after
nius 3 + 4".
its initial success. Initial events combined live music with
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, consisting of
light shows, avant garde films and slide shows, and dance
Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, designed psyche-
troupes.
delic posters to advertise events. The food was macrobi-
Pink Floyd’s tenure at UFO was short run. As their
otic and included brown rice rissoles, vegetarian stuffed
fame grew they were able to play bigger venues for high-
vine leaves and felafel.
er fees. Boyd protested that their increasing fame was
The UFO Club’s success was its downfall — being too
largely due to the success of UFO, but the band’s man-
small to accommodate the increasing number of visitors.
agement wanted to move on and an agreement was made
If a big name such as Jeff Beck was playing, UFO broke
for just three more Floyd performances at UFO, at an in-
even, but the club usually lost money. In October 1967 the
creased fee.
UFO Club at the Roundhouse folded.[citation needed]
Hopkins and Boyd had to cast around for a new
"house band" for UFO. They settled on Soft Machine but
also started booking other acts who were attracted by UFO Club billings
the club’s reputation. Amongst them were The Incredible
• Dec 23/30: Freakout under Berkeley Cinema; Warhol
String Band, Arthur Brown, Tomorrow, and Procol
movies; The Pink Floyd Sound; Anger movies;
Harum, who played there when "A Whiter Shade of Pale"
Heating warm; IT god
was No 1 in the charts.
• Jan 13: Pink Floyd; Marilyn Monroe movie; The Sun
An advertisement featuring the Flammarion engrav-
Trolley; Technicolor strobe; Fiveacre slides; Karate
ing in the Feb 13–26 issue of The International Times for
• Jan 20: Pink Floyd; Anger movie
UfOria!
"UfOria! Festival of Love 10.30 till dawn" [sic] announced
"feb.10 — the bonzo dog doodah band • flix–dali–bunuel
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia UFO Club
• (Apr 29/30: 14-Hour Technicolor Dream at the
Alexandra Palace)
• May 5: Soft Machine; Arthur Brown
• May 12: Graham Bond Organisation; Procol Harum
• May 19: Tomorrow; Arthur Brown; The People Show
• May 26: The Move
• Jun 2: Pink Floyd
• Jun 9: Procol Harum; The Smoke
• Jun 16: Crazy World of Arthur Brown; Soft Machine;
The People Blues Band 4.30am
• Jun 23: Liverpool Love Festival; The Trip
• Jun 30: Tomorrow; The Knack; Dead Sea Fruit
• Jul 7: Denny Laine; Pretty Things
• Jul 14: Arthur Brown; Alexis Korner; Victor Brox
• Jul 21: Tomorrow; Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band
• Jul 28: Pink Floyd; CIA v UFO; Fairport Convention
• Aug 4: Eric Burdon; Family
• Aug 11: Tomorrow
• Aug 18: Arthur Brown; Incredible String Band
• Sep 1/2: UFO Festival: Pink Floyd; Soft Machine; The
Move; Arthur Brown; Tomorrow; Denny Laine
• Sep 8: Eric Burdon & The New Animals; Aynsley
Dunbar
• Sep 15: Soft Machine; Family
• Sep 22: Dantalian’s Chariot w Zoot Money & His Light
Show; The Social Deviants; The Exploding Galaxy
• Sep 29: Jeff Beck; Ten Years After; Mark Boyle’s New
Poster for Pink Floyd at the CIA-UFO club, July 28, 1967, by Sensual Laboratory; Contessa Veronica
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat
• Jan 27: AMM Music; Pink Floyd; Five Acre Light; References
Flight of the Aerogenius Chpt 1; International Times; [1] Boyd, Joe, White Bicycles - Making Music in the 1960s,
IT Girl Beauty Contest Serpent’s Tail, 2006. ISBN 1-85242-910-0
• Feb 3: Soft Machine; Brown’s Poetry; Flight of the
Aerogenius Chpt 2; Bruce Connor Movies
• Feb 10: Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band; Ginger Johnson; External links
Bank Dick WC Fields • Original Founder John ’Hoppy’ Hopkins
• Feb 17: Soft Machine; Indian Music; Disney Cartoons; • Original Founder Joe Boyd
Mark Boyle Feature Movie • Original Fan Club
• Feb 24: Pink Floyd; Brothers Grimm
• Mar 3: Soft Machine
• Mar 10: Pink Floyd
Further reading
• Mar 17: St Patrick’s day off • Hopkins, John, FROM THE HIP - Photographs by JOHN
• Mar 24: Soft Machine "HOPPY" HOPKINS in the 1960-66, DAMIANI. 2008. ISBN
• Mar 31: Crazy World of Arthur Brown; Pink Alberts; 978-88-6208-018-7
’spot the fuzz contest’ • Boyd, Joe, White Bicycles - Making Music in the 1960s,
• Apr 7: Soft Machine Serpent’s Tail. 2007. ISBN 978-1-85242-489-3
• Apr 14: Arthur Brown; Social Deviants; Special: the • Miles, Barry: In the Sixties. (London 2002)
fuzz • Green, Jonathon: Days in the Life: Voices from the
• Apr 21: Pink Floyd English Underground, 1961-71 (London 1998)
• Apr 28: Tomorrow; The Purple Gang • Saunders, William Jimi Hendrix London Roaring Forties
Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9843165-1-9
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_Club"
Categories: Culture in London, 1966 establishments
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia UFO Club
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