The prince at the palace of punk
Charles and Camilla back arts venues
IN the Seventies it hosted the first Punk Festival. Bands included the Sex Pistols, famous for their notorious anti-royal song God Save The Queen.
Yesterday the 100 Club in London’s Oxford Street welcomed a couple more used to hearing the traditional form of the anthem – Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.
And while they may not have been punk devotees, Camilla, 73, revealed that in her early 20s she had been a big fan of Rod Stewart’s band Faces, whose hits included You Wear It Well and Stay With Me.
‘I saw them live,’ said the duchess, who asked Sir Rod to perform at Charles’s 60th birthday party in 2008.
She and Charles chatted to singer Emily Capell, who seemed to know about the prince’s musical tastes, asking: ‘ And you like The Three Degrees, sir?’
Charles, 72, who was once romantically linked with Three Degrees singer Sheila Ferguson, laughed and remarked: ‘ That was a very long time ago.’
Camilla complimented Miss Capell on her beehive hairdo, adding: ‘I used to have my hair like that in the Sixties, so I know your pain.’ The royals, wearing masks, watched the 22-year-old west London singer perform and seemed to enjoy themselves, drumming their fingers and tapping their feet to her song Bonanza.
As well as punk bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash and Siouxsie And The Banshees, the 100 Club has hosted gigs by the greats of jazz, pop and rock’n’roll including Paul McCartney, Chuck Berry and Louis Armstrong.
Many of them signed their autographs on the dressing room wall, a tradition Charles and Camilla seemed pleased to follow. Ruby Horton, daughter of the club’s owner, joked with the duchess about looking forward to cocktail hour, to which Camilla responded: ‘You can’t beat a margarita!’
Charles and Camilla were at the club to support the night-time entertainment industry as part of London mayor Sadiq Khan’s Culture At Risk campaign. They also visited the Soho Theatre, where the prince said he was ‘ praying’ that venues will be able to reopen as they battle to stay in business.
He has previously warned of the terrible impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the arts.
The couple were treated to a special performance by Natasha Marshall of her one-woman play Half Breed.
Afterwards Miss Marshall revealed she had to dash from her supermarket job to perform and was still wearing her Morrisons uniform. Mr Khan, who accompanied the royals on their visit, told the prince: ‘You coming here has been so important, it will really make a difference.’
Later he said: ‘I’m encouraging all Londoners to do what their Royal Highnesses have done and that is to visit safely and enjoy these great venues.’ His ‘night tsar’ Amy Lame said: ‘There are huge numbers of cultural venues that have still not been given the financial aid they need.’