The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #20801 Message #4212599
Posted By: GUEST,henryp
30-Nov-24 - 05:49 PM
Thread Name: Remember Les Cousins, in London's Soho?
Subject: RE: Remember Les Cousins, in London's Soho?
[Kenneth Leech] recommended that she get in touch with Judith Piepe, who lived in Dellow House just off Cable Street. Judith was a well-known figure, not just for her social work but also because she befriended leading folk singers. [Piepe] provided some of them with temporary accommodation in her spacious flat at 6 Dellow House. Here they might find themselves in the company of the famous folk singers for whom Piepe also provided beds when they were visiting London. It seems likely that it was staying in this mixed household that inspired the nineteen-year-old Al Stewart to write his song ‘Pretty Golden Hair'.
https://www.independent.com/2018/05/08/interview-al-stewart/ I was 19, and a social worker found me a flat in London. It just happened by coincidence that I found myself living in the next room to Paul Simon. I was there when he wrote some of those early songs … and he did indeed come out and play them to me … because if you’re a songwriter, as soon as you’ve written a new song you want someone to hear it. So I got to hear a lot of those songs from that period of time.
Having bought his fourth guitar from future Police guitarist Andy Summers, Stewart traded in his electric guitar for an acoustic guitar when he was offered a weekly slot at Bunjies Coffee House in London's Soho in 1965. From there, he went on to compere at the Les Cousins folk club on Greek Street, where he played alongside Cat Stevens, Bert Jansch, Van Morrison, Roy Harper, Ralph McTell, and Paul Simon, with whom he shared a flat in Dellow Street, Stepney, London.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03wxjk0 BBC Radio 6 The First Time With...Release date:01 June 2016 Duration: 3 minutes ‘I stayed with a family out in Brentwood, Essex’ - Paul Simon’s England. The songwriter reflects on his memories of the folk scene in London.
"In 64/65, Paul Simon was living at Judith Piepe's council flat in Dellow Road, off Cable Street. He wrote 'The Big Bright Green Plesure Machine' in nearby all-night laundrette. Other house guests included Al Steward, Sandy Denny, occasionally Art Garfunkel..." from Pete Frame's book Rockin' Around Britain: Rock'n'roll Landmarks of the UK and Ireland