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The 2i's Coffee Bar was a coffee bar at 59 Old Compton Street, Soho, London, between 1956 and 1970. It played a formative role in the emergence of Britain's pop music culture in the late 1950s, and several major stars including Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard were first discovered performing there. ==History== The name of the 2i's derived from earlier owners, Freddie and Sammy Irani, who ran the venue until 1955.〔( Musicstorytellers: People With 2i’s ). Retrieved 24 October 2013〕 It was then taken over by Paul Lincoln – an Australian wrestler and wrestling promoter known as "Dr. Death" – and Ray Hunter. They opened it as a coffee bar on 22 April 1956.〔( 2 I's Coffee bar, The Birthplace of British Rock ). Retrieved 25 October 2013〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The London Compendium )〕 Tom Littlewood, previously its doorman and a judo instructor, became its manager in 1958.〔 The basement of the coffee bar had live music making use of a small, 18-inch wide stage. Lincoln and Hunter started putting on skiffle groups; the first resident group were the Vipers, who included Wally Whyton. It soon won a clientele attracted because of its rock'n'roll music, and for a time became "the most famous music venue in England," and attracted talent spotters and music promoters such as Jack Good, Larry Parnes and Don Arden.〔 The coffee bar allowed standing room for about 20 people, and had a serving counter with an espresso coffee machine, orange juice dispenser, and sandwich display case. A door at the back led to the manager's office, and a narrow stairway led down to a "dismal and dark cellar about the size of a large bedroom, lit by a couple of weak bulbs. At one end was the small 18 inch stage made of milk crates with planks on top of them. There was just one microphone, left over from the Boer War, and some speakers up on the wall."〔 Several recording stars were discovered at, or performed at, the coffee bar, including Rory Blackwell, Tommy Steele, The Vipers Skiffle Group, Cliff Richard, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett, Tony Meehan, Jet Harris, Brian 'Licorice' Locking, Vince Eager, Terry Dene, Wee Willie Harris, Adam Faith, Carlo Little, Joe Brown, Clem Cattini (The Tornados), Eden Kane, Screaming Lord Sutch, Tony Sheridan, Keith Kelly,Timothy Fitzpatrick, Lance Fortune, Jay Chance, Albert Lee, Johnny Kidd, Paul Gadd (later to be known as Paul Raven and then Gary Glitter), Ritchie Blackmore, Alex Wharton, Mickie Most (as the Most Brothers)〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Kent MusicBiz - Musicians - People )〕 and Big Jim Sullivan. According to an article in ''Time'',〔''Time,'' Monday, April 15, 1957〕 skiffle was new to the UK, and the 2i's Coffee Bar and, nearby, The Cat's Whisker, founded by Peter Evans, were where "Soho hipsters swelter and suffocate for it... and... generally the musicians were paid with coffee and cokes".〔McDevitt, Chas: ''Skiffle: The Definitive Inside Story''. Robson Books. ISBN 1-86105-140-9〕 Evans later started the Angus Steak Houses from the bar. Lionel Bart and Mickie Most worked there as waiters.〔 Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant, was a bouncer at the 2i's prior to his career in the music business.〔Mick Wall (2008), ''When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography Of Led Zeppelin'', London: Orion, p. 18.〕 The 2i's closed in 1967. It later became the Dome Café Bar and then the Boulevard Bar. The site is now The House of Ho, a modern Vietnamese restaurant owned by world-renowned chef Bobby Chinn. Every Sunday the restaurant holds 'Bobby's Rock'n'Roll Brunch' to celebrate the history of the site 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=THE HISTORY OF THE 2i’s COFFEE BAR )〕 and its rock and roll roots.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=House of Ho )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The 2i's Coffee Bar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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