We're all sad at the passing of the 'Janus' shop in Old Compton St. But does anyone else share my sadness for the passing of the 'good old-fashioned' strip club from Soho?
I first visited such an establishment in 1972 at the tender age of 19 and it was an unforgettable experience, slightly dangerous and erotic! A few years later some friends had a bad experience when they visited a club only for a girl to sit at their table, followed by a waitress who plonked down a bottle of champagne and a bill for £120. When they protested they were threatened by bouncers who insisted on taking them to a cashpoint and forcing them to with draw the cash. Thankfully I never had this experience but it did put me off from going back, particularly on my own.
But on a visit a couple of years back I decided to risk it only to find they'd all gone to be replaced by lap-dancing clubs. One establishment, on Brewer St, claimed to be a 'strip club' but I met an unhappy punter
coming out who warned me against entering as it only had lap-dancers.
My reason for bringing this up on here is that I had an idea a while back for a different routine from the usual 'bump'n' grind' which could often be a bit repetitive and possibly boring. I remembered this recently after watching the Paul Raymond biopic 'The Look of Love'. When I first had the idea I thought of sending it to him : A lady in ordinary outdoor clothes, carrying shopping, enters the darkened stage, obviously lost and calling her husband's name. When she spies the all-male audience and realises where she is, she's shocked at first. But then the music starts and, with a wicked gleam in her eyes, she puts down her shopping and begins to, tentatively at first and then steadily and more boldly, strip, revealing rather exotic underwear beneath her normal clothing. Eventually when she's daringly danced around stark naked her husband appears, also calling her name. He's outraged at the spectacle, sits down on the chair she's been dancing round and delivers a mock spanking - or perhaps a real one!
I'm sure the audience at these establishments would have found this a welcome and stimulating change from the norm. | 
