Tramp (nightclub)
Tramp is a private, members-only nightclub located on Jermyn Street in central London, England. It was founded in 1969 by Johnny Gold, Bill Ofner and Oscar Lerman. The club built a reputation for discretion, banning photography and gossip writers from inside, and is popular with celebrities. Currently under the ownership of Luca Maggiora, an Italian hospitality entrepreneur, the club is due to reopen in September 2024.
History
[edit]Tramp was opened in December 1969 by Johnny Gold. It was owned by Gold, Bill Ofner and Oscar Lerman.[1][2] The trio positioned Tramp as an alternative to the formal supper clubs which were then popular. They thought the club might survive for two or three years before its clientele moved on to another venue, and were surprised that it remained popular.[3][1] The club was named after Charlie Chaplin's tramp persona.[3] The club was outfitted smartly with oak panelling and chandeliers.[1] The club had 300 founder members, all celebrities, who paid an annual fee of 10 guineas.[1]
Gold banned all photography within the club and prevented paparazzi and gossip columnists from entering.[3][1] Anyone who asked a guest for an autograph was also thrown out and Gold cultivated a reputation for discretion. When a newspaper described Tramp as a disreputable club attended by "tarty little pieces" Gold sued and won damages.[1] Despite this, Gold was lenient with his regulars and rarely banned any. The Who's drummer Keith Moon was banned for a month after destroying a chandelier but Gold reduced this ban to 48 hours after Moon sent his chauffeur around with £500 in cash and phoned Gold, in tears, asking where else he would party. Members were sometimes permitted to run up large bar tabs; Moon's reached £14,000 at one point.[1] In contrast to rival club Annabel's, Gold refused to apply a dress code at Tramp; Tara Palmer-Tomkinson famously attended her 21st birthday party there wearing only a bikini and fur coat.[1] Men were not allowed entry unless accompanied by women.[4]
Joan Collins was a member, and the nightclub scenes in The Stud, a 1978 film adaption of her sister Jackie Collins's 1969 novel The Stud, were filmed inside Tramp. Gold thought he might have been the inspiration for the nightclub manager in the film.[1] Gold established a Los Angeles branch of Tramp in the 1980s.[5] In 1998, British businessman and racehorse owner Robert Sangster was interested in acquiring shares in Tramp.[2] Gold sold his stake later that year to Caledonian Heritable, an Edinburgh-based property firm. Gold remained employed as "greeter-in-chief" until 2003 as he was the only person who knew the entire membership personally.[3][1] There was some concern among members over the 2001 publication of Gold's memoir Tramp's Gold, but he maintained his discretion and it caused no scandal. The book's foreword was by long-time member Michael Caine.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Johnny Gold obituary". The Times. October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Bob to Boogie". The Times. 26 June 1998.
- ^ a b c d "Brian Crawford". The Times. 17 December 2014.
- ^ a b Cope, Rebecca (8 October 2021). "Johnny Gold, the legendary founder of Tramp nightclub, has died aged 89". Tatler. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ Foulkes, Nick (4 July 2000). "Be There or Be Nowhere". The Times. p. 65.