Sohemians

Sohemians Soho is a spiritual as well as a geographical location: a vortex of louche living, artistic creativity, cultural nonconformity and free expression.

The Sohemian Society exists to promote greater awareness of the characters and events associated with the history of Soho covering areas such as the arts, crime, s*x, and politics. A space free of kill-joy and culture-death pre-occupations such as anti-smoking campaigns, obsessive risk avoidance, concerns about diet, pubs with sofas and fear of ‘offensive’ statements. The Sohemian Society exists t

o try and protect and revive these life-enhancing values and ways of living in an age that appears increasingly regulatory and bland.

We still have tickets available to attend the conversation with Andrew Lownie about the scandal-strewn lives of the form...
24/05/2026

We still have tickets available to attend the conversation with Andrew Lownie about the scandal-strewn lives of the former Duke and Duchess of York. Who’d have thought that P. Diddy would end up featuring in a royal biography?

A limited number of tickets are also available to a couple of our other June events. There’s the Q-and-A with Robert Elms about that influential London nightclub, Blitz Club; and there’s Iain Sinclair, who’ll be delivering a specially commissioned talk about the experience of walking – something that’s been integral to his literary output.

Last time I looked, there were only four tickets left to the chat between David McGillivray and Max Décharné about Soho’s long association with s*x.

If you fancy attending any of these events, our website provides more details of the events themselves as well as how to book – https://www.sohemiansociety.com.

P.S. Longstanding Sohemian Society attendees may remember the Q-and-A featuring the now deceased writer Laura del Rivo, author of the 1961 novel, The Furnished Room, which was adapted into the cult British B-movie, West 11. She’s the subject of a recently completed film documentary, the producers of which have launched a Kickstarter campaign to finance its post-production. If you’re interested in contributing, please use the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/raw60s/finding-laura-del-rivo

On the afternoon of Saturday 11 July, historian Antony Clayton will be leading a tour through the fin-de-siècle world in...
17/05/2026

On the afternoon of Saturday 11 July, historian Antony Clayton will be leading a tour through the fin-de-siècle world inhabited by the likes of Oscar Wilde, Arthur Symons, and Aubrey Beardsley. Besides being the author of a book about decadent London, Antony’s recently released a brilliant book charting the literary and cinematic legacy of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher – https://mansionofgloom.com/books-by-antony-clayton

At 7.00pm on Tuesday 14 July, we’ll be hosting another of our staged conversations, this time starring a couple of very droll and amusing Soho veterans – writer/musician Max Décharné and David McGillivray, smutty film-maker turned scriptwriter and director for Julian Clary. The subject of their chat will be Soho’s more than 250-year history of s*xual transgression, s*xual commerce and s*xual slang. Expect the evening to be heavy with innuendo.

To book tickets for either or both these events, please go to https://www.sohemiansociety.com

Several people have asked me whether or not there’s a bar at the Fitzrovia Chapel, venue for the Wednesday 24 June Q-and-A with Andrew Lownie about former Prince Randy Andy. Though the Chapel doesn’t have a booze license, it’s close to a pub. Appropriately enough, the pub in question is the King & Queen…

There are only twenty tickets left for our Q-and-A with Andrew Lownie at the Fitzrovia Chapel. Click on the following li...
15/05/2026

There are only twenty tickets left for our Q-and-A with Andrew Lownie at the Fitzrovia Chapel. Click on the following link if you’d like to nab one of them: https://wegottickets.com/sohemiansociety

Dressed In Black: Goth Divas From The Dark Side1941-2025Compiled by Cathi Unsworth as a companion piece to her hugely ac...
11/05/2026

Dressed In Black: Goth Divas From The Dark Side

1941-2025

Compiled by Cathi Unsworth as a companion piece to her hugely acclaimed 2023 book Season Of The Witch: The Book Of Goth

Featuring Siouxsie & The Banshees, Lydia Lunch, The Cramps, Bobbie Gentry, Shirley Collins, Cocteau Twins, Billie Holiday, Karen Dalton, Anna Calvi and many more

Comes with extensive sleevenotes

Available on 2-LP and CD

Out 26 June

Today marks the release of the latest of our free monthly Radio Sohemia podcasts. This new instalment features crime nov...
03/05/2026

Today marks the release of the latest of our free monthly Radio Sohemia podcasts. This new instalment features crime novelists Jake Arnott and Cathi Unsworth chatting about Jake’s career in general and his latest novel in particular. Writing in “The Financial Times”, occasional Sohemian punter and multi-talented writer, Barry Forshaw, describd Arnott’s new novel as a “blistering and ambitious fusing of the literary novel and the tough crime narrative."

If you’d like to hear Jake Arnott and Cathi Unsworth, just click on one of the following links:

https://open.spotify.com/show/7v8RaoDrQRjS5HUDxb6Lfz

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-sohemia/id1798432565

May we ask a favour? Please give the podcast a nice rating, as that’ll increase the chances of Radio Sohemia showing up in other people’s podcast feeds.

In collaboration with Fitzrovia Noir, we’ll be presenting a talk by Iain Sinclair on Sunday 28 June at 2.00pm. He’ll be ...
03/05/2026

In collaboration with Fitzrovia Noir, we’ll be presenting a talk by Iain Sinclair on Sunday 28 June at 2.00pm. He’ll be musing on the experience of walking in the footsteps of Nicholas Hawksmoor, Vincent Van Gogh and others.

By the way, Iain’s talk is being staged at a marvelous venue: the huge pontoon supporting the S.S. Robin, a Victorian steamship moored at Trinity Buoy Wharf, which is close to the East India Dock D.L.R. station. Both the steamship and the wharf itself are worth seeing in their own right.

£10 tickets for this event can be booked via the following link: https://www.sohemiansociety.com/opening-page. In the unlikely event that you have problems with the ticketing link on our website, just go to the We Got Tickets website and key in “Sohemian Society”.

In collaboration with Fitzrovia Noir, we’ll be hosting a Q-and-A between journalist and broadcaster Robert Elms and biog...
03/05/2026

In collaboration with Fitzrovia Noir, we’ll be hosting a Q-and-A between journalist and broadcaster Robert Elms and biographer Keiron Pim on Saturday 27 June at 2.30pm. They’ll be discussing that ultra-trendy early 1980s hangout, the Blitz Club.

To add to the fun, Robert’s talk is being staged in the huge pontoon supporting the S.S. Robin, a Victorian steamship moored at Trinity Buoy Wharf, which is close to the East India Dock D.L.R. station. Both the steamship and the wharf itself are worth seeing in their own right.

£10 tickets for this events can be booked via the following link: https://www.sohemiansociety.com/opening-page. In the unlikely event that you have problems with the ticketing link on our website, just go to the We Got Tickets website and key in “Sohemian Society”.

At 7.00pm on Wednesday 24 June, we’ll be hosting a Q-and-A starring the bestselling biographer Andrew Lownie, who will b...
26/04/2026

At 7.00pm on Wednesday 24 June, we’ll be hosting a Q-and-A starring the bestselling biographer Andrew Lownie, who will be discussing his headline-grabbing investigation into the murky lives of the former Duke and Duchess of York. Due to the scale of the demand for tickets to this event, we’ve switched it from the lovely Horse & Groom pub to a much bigger venue – the spectacularly beautiful Fitzrovia Chapel, which resembles a Byzantine church, though – unlike most churches – it’s well-heated! Directions on how to get to it are included on our website.

For further information about the Q-and-A with Andrew Lownie, about how to buy tickets, and about the Fitzrovia Chapel and how to get there, just click on the following link: https://www.sohemiansociety.com/opening-page

In the unlikely event that you have problems with the ticketing link on our website, just go to the We Got Tickets website and key in “Sohemian Society”.

Through the summer, we have more of our guided walks, as well as a varied selection of Q-and-As, featuring guests such as Robert Elms, Iain Sinclair, and the founder of Blondie

David Bieda, owner of the amazing early Georgian house at No. 68 Dean Street, has agreed to host a third and final Sohem...
19/04/2026

David Bieda, owner of the amazing early Georgian house at No. 68 Dean Street, has agreed to host a third and final Sohemian Society tour of his beautifully restored home. The tour will take place at 2.30pm on Sunday 3 May.

Each of the previous two tours has sold out within a few hours so, if you’d like tickets, I suggest you nab them quickly. The tickets include a drink and some nibbles. Once the cost of these has been covered, the rest of the proceeds go towards maintaining the building.

Tickets can be booked by clicking on the following link: https://www.sohemiansociety.com/opening-page

If you have problems with the link (as one of our mailing list members reported), just go to the We Got Tickets website and key in “the Sohemian Society”).

We’ve just unveiled the latest of our summer series of guided walks. This time the guide will be the acclaimed East End ...
12/04/2026

We’ve just unveiled the latest of our summer series of guided walks. This time the guide will be the acclaimed East End historian Ken Worpole, whose most recent book about the area was chosen by Geoff Dyer as one of the New Statesman’s “Books of the Year”.

Entitled High Rise & Low Life: a Poplar Journey, Ken’s guided walk will kick off at 2.30pm on Saturday 27 June, 2.30pm. It’ll take you on a journey into the world of post-war utopian architecture as well as the louche 1950s and 1960s world of East End bohemia, two of whose most famous participants were the photographer, writer and chat-show-host, Dan Farson, and the jazz pianist, singer and pub landlady, Queenie Watts. The walk culminates aboard the world’s only surviving complete Victorian steamship.

By the way, the multi-talented Farson will be the subject of a Q-and-A on the evening of Tuesday 1 December.

To book tickets and/or obtain more information about Ken’s walk, just click on the following link and scroll down to the slideshow and blurb for it: https://www.sohemiansociety.com/opening-page

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