Johnny Gold
Tramp nightclub founder
BORN JUNE 25, 1932 – DIED OCTOBER 7, 2021, AGED 89
FOR more than 30 years Johnny Gold hosted the super rich, the world’s best singers, celebrities and a few rogues at his Tramp nightspot in central London.
When he opened the doors in December 1969 in Jermyn Street, the likes of Joan Collins, Michael Caine and Peter Sellers danced until dawn.
Gold and his business partners Bill Ofner and Oscar Lerman couldn’t believe the instant success they had with Tramp, named after the Charlie Chaplin character.
Founding member Mick Jagger was a regular, along with Jackie Collins, whose bonkbuster books were often based on the antics she witnessed there.
Mickey Rourke challenged George Best to a drinking contest there, and Rod Stewart drank Champagne from a female companion’s high-heeled shoe.
Hell-raising Who drummer Keith Moon was banned for a month for swinging on a chandelier and breaking it. The ban was reduced to 48 hours after Moon sent his chauffeur around with £500 in cash and phoned Gold in tears, asking where else he would party.
Affable and charming, Gold didn’t impose a dress code and was known for his discretion and humour.
“I tried to treat celebrities as ordinary people and the ordinary people as celebrities,” he said. “I’d walk down the stairs every night and say ‘Showtime!’”
Jesse John Gold was born in Stamford Hill, north London. His family later moved to Brighton where, after National Service in Germany with a tank regiment, he worked with his father in a betting shop.
He is survived by his wife Jan and their children Nick and Claire.