Daisy's Diary ... Feb 25 1977

photo by Rowland Evans

The Only Ones ... probably my favourite, favourite English band.
I definitely saw them at this gig at the Roxy Club, in Covent Garden.

At some point I found out that The Only Ones were playing regularly at an after-hours club called the Speakeasy Club in a basement on Margaret Street. It was in a back street off Oxford Street that felt like you were going in to a bank after hours rather than a club.
Once inside it was carpets and flowery plastic wallpaper and a bar with a screen so you could talk at the bar and not interrupt the band I suppose.
 It was a supper club so you could eat there and half the A&R men from London would go for dinner after the shows. It would probably be one of the only places you could get something to eat out at that time.
I also found out that if a band played at the Marquee on Wardour Street, about 10 minutes walk away,  the band would be given some sort of pass to get in free to the Speakeasy. I'm not sure if they got dinner too, but when Pere Ubu came to London, and their bass player, Tony Maimone, couldn't fit in the tiny dressing room at the Marquee and drank next to me at the bar, we got chatting and we went over there. We became good friends.
I can't remember if we saw The Only Ones that night or not.
I think that might be the night that we got there and a white Rolls Royce parked outside with the license plate IP 1.
It belonged to Iggy Pop.
He was having dinner with David Bowie.
Tony explained who Iggy Pop was.
I am not sure I was aware of him at that point.
Can't remember.
It was a strange mix of people at the Speakeasy.
The room had quite a history.
Jimi Hendrix had played there etc, etc...

Another time I was at the Speakeasy and someone had a very loud argument on the pay phone there and pulled the whole phone off the wall.  Someone told me he was in a band. Like Black Sabbath. I think his name was Graeme. Bit foggy now. I do remember he wore flares and had big hair and I was surprised that a hippy like him had lost his temper.
But I do remember that The Only Ones were there that night and they were great.
They sounded like this: