This abridged extract from the book Sound Waves: Music in Newham remembers The Lotus, a club in Forest Gate, run by nightclub pioneer Kenny Johnson.
"I used to occasionally get to sneak into the Lotus," remembers Kevin Cockerell, "which had some amazing people there, like Muddy Waters.
"I saw the Electric Prunes because I'd heard their song I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night, and then I saw they were playing at the Lotus... I knew a guy who used to do security at the Two Puddings, Big Alex, he would sneak me in because I was a bit younger than average."
The Lotus Club was run by Kenny Johnson from 1962 until 2001, in a building above Courts Furniture on Woodgrange Road. Built in 1938, the ground floor began as a Burton Menswear store, with a snooker hall above that later became the Lotus Ballroom. Kenny, who had previously run the Jive Dive in Earlham Grove during the 1950s, took over the ballroom in 1962 and renamed it the Lotus Club. "Our uncle Kenny was quite a character," remembers Matt Johnson from band The The. "He had long hair and a beard, loved nightclubs like the Playboy, and was always around bands and music."
Kenny also ran music nights upstairs at the Two Puddings in Stratford, where his brother Eddie (who was Matt Johnson's dad) was landlord. The Lotus hosted many of the leading acts of the 1960s and beyond, including The Kinks, Small Faces, The Hollies, Manfred Mann, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, The Animals, The Temptations, Screaming Lord Sutch, John Lee Hooker, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Mary Wells and Long John Baldry. In the 1980s, DJs such as Tony Blackburn and Mick Brown also appeared.
"Kenny ran a number of clubs in the area," says Matt Johnson, "including the Jive Dive in Forest Gate with my father, Eddie. From the 1950s he was also promoting concerts, not just at the Two Puddings but at Stratford Town Hall and Poplar Town Hall, and even around the country.
"My Uncle Kenny was really a pioneer. He was credited as one of the people who started the concept of the disco — playing music over loudspeakers for people to dance. He was probably east London's most successful music promoter in the 60s."
Over the years Kenny adapted to licensing pressures, adding a restaurant, bingo, and gambling. In 1997 the club hosted Sabura, an Angolan-Portuguese night popular with the Angolan community, which was even broadcast to radio stations in Portugal and Angola. The Lotus closed in 2001 when Courts sold the building to Peabody. It later became a 99p Store.
Sound Waves: Music in Newham will be available as a book from Rendezvous Projects and Public Knowledge Books.
All images courtesy of Annabel Johnson. A lot of the acts in these photos remain unknown. If you recognise any, drop an email to [email protected]
