‘King of clubs’ Stringfellow, 77, dies after cancer battle
‘KING of clubs’ Peter Stringfellow, who made his fortune with lap-dancing venues, has died, it was announced yesterday.
The 77-year-old nightclub mogul died in the early hours of yesterday morning, having battled cancer in secret.
During his career, Stringfellow opened many venues around the world – and during the boom years, he attempted to make his mark on the Dublin market.
However, local protesters made it difficult for the millionaire when he opened a venue here.
People congregated to protest on a weekly basis outside the Dublin venue and the club closed its doors in July 2006, just five months after it had opened.
The Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin at the time, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, welcomed the closure of the venue, saying Parnell Street was a residential area and ‘never suitable for a club of that nature’.
In 1980, the successful businessman opened the iconic Stringfellows in Covent Garden in London’s West End – and went on to open venues in Paris, New York, Miami, and Beverly Hills.
With its topless girls and exuberant after-hours entertainment, the Stringfellow brand became a byword for debauchery and sexual kicks that had echoes of the empire created by the late Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner.
Over the year, the London club Stringfellows became a magnet for celebrities in the West End.
The Beatles, The Kinks and Jimi Hendrix were among the musical legends whom Stringfellow booked to perform – before they were famous – in his six decades in the industry.
The mogul said his clubs had
‘It was kept very private’
hosted A-listers including Prince, Marvin Gaye, Rod Stewart and Tom Jones.
And it was not just celebrities who experienced Stringfellow’s hospitality – Professor Stephen Hawking once joined him for dinner at one of his clubs.
Born in Sheffield, England in 1940, the son of a steelworker, Stringfellow was the eldest of four boys who were brought up by the women in his family after the men went to war.
He served a brief prison sentence in 1962 for selling stolen carpets, a sharp lesson which he later admitted put him on the straight and narrow for life.
In a 2012 article for The Guardian, he attributed his strong entrepreneurial spirit to his mother, whom he described as ‘feisty’.
He said sex was never a topic of conversation in the house when he was growing up, while his father declined an invitation to visit one of his establishments in his later years.
Host TV appearances in recent years included Come Dine With Me, when his sink collapsed.
His publicist Matt Glass yesterday spoke of his passing, saying: ‘It’s very sad news. He passed away in the early hours of this morning. It was kept very private; he wanted to keep it a secret.’
He added that the Stringfellow club in Covent Garden will continue to operate ‘as normal’.
Stringfellow underwent treatment for lung cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in 2008. However, he only told family and close friends and kept his health problems a secret until it was leaked in 2015.
The 77-year-old was married three times, and is survived by his wife Bella, and his four children: Karen, Scott, Rosabella and Angelo. He is also survived by four grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements for the flamboyant club host have yet to be announced.