Chelsea Drugstore

Last updated

The Chelsea Drugstore in west London The Chelsea Drugstore.jpg
The Chelsea Drugstore in west London

The Chelsea Drugstore was a sleek, modern travertine and brushed steel building on the corner of Royal Avenue and King's Road, Chelsea, London. It opened in 1968. [1] Designed by architect Antony Cloughley and designer Colin Golding of GCB Associates, and inspired by Le Drugstore on Boulevard St Germain in Paris that was designed by Slavik (Wiatscheslav Vassiliev), Chelsea Drugstore was arranged over three floors and on most days remained open for up to 16 hours. Inside customers would find bars, a chemist, newsstands, record stores and other concessions. A popular service was the 'flying squad' delivery option run by the store. [2] Those who used this service would have their purchases delivered by hand by young ladies adorned in purple catsuits arriving on flashy motorcycles. It closed briefly in 1971 after 3 years, reopening in September 1972. [3] Both pub and retail shops below were open until 1985. [4] The store became a wine bar, and is now a McDonald's.

The store is notably mentioned in The Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", where Mick Jagger sings of meeting "Mr Jimmy" and in The Kinks song "Did Ya", where Ray Davies sings "Now the Chelsea Drugstore needs a fix, it's in a state of ill repair". Chelsea Drugstore is also the title of a 2012 EP by UK band The Jetsonics [5] as well as it being a film location in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange . [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>A Clockwork Orange</i> (novel) 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess

A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian satirical black comedy novella by English writer Anthony Burgess, published in 1962. It is set in a near-future society that has a youth subculture of extreme violence. The teenage protagonist, Alex, narrates his violent exploits and his experiences with state authorities intent on reforming him. The book is partially written in a Russian-influenced argot called "Nadsat", which takes its name from the Russian suffix that is equivalent to '-teen' in English. According to Burgess, the novel was a jeu d'esprit written in just three weeks.

<i>Drugstore Cowboy</i> 1989 film by Gus Van Sant

Drugstore Cowboy is a 1989 American crime drama film directed by the American filmmaker Gus Van Sant. Written by Van Sant and Daniel Yost and based on an autobiographical novel by James Fogle, the film stars Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, Heather Graham and William S. Burroughs. It was Van Sant's second film as director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Road</span> Major street in west London, England

King's Road or Kings Road is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both in west London, England. It is associated with 1960s style and with fashion figures such as Mary Quant and Vivienne Westwood. Sir Oswald Mosley's Blackshirt movement had a barracks on the street in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea College of Arts</span> College of the University of the Arts London

The Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England.

<i>A Clockwork Orange</i> (film) 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick

A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 dystopian crime film adapted, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It employs disturbing, violent images to comment on psychiatry, juvenile delinquency, youth gangs, and other social, political, and economic subjects in a dystopian near-future Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulham Road</span> Street in London, England

Fulham Road is a street in London, England, which comprises the A304 and part of the A308.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gandalf's Garden</span> UK magazine

Gandalf's Garden was a mystical community which flourished at the end of the 1960s as part of the London hippie-underground movement, and ran a shop as well as a magazine of the same name. It emphasised the mystical interests of the period and advocated meditation and psychedelics in contrast to hard drugs.

<i>Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau</i> 1988 studio album by Die Toten Hosen

Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau is the sixth LP by Die Toten Hosen, released in 1988. This is considered by the band as the best DTH album as of 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Berkeley</span> Hotel in Knightsbridge, London

The Berkeley is a 5-star hotel, located in Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, London. The hotel is owned and managed by Maybourne Hotel Group, which also owns Claridge's and The Connaught in Mayfair, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granny Takes a Trip</span> Psychedelic boutique in 1960s London

Granny Takes a Trip was a boutique opened in February 1966 at 488 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, by Nigel Waymouth, his girlfriend Sheila Cohen and John Pearse. The shop, which was acquired by Freddie Hornik in 1969, remained open until the mid-1970s and has been called the "first psychedelic boutique in Groovy London of the 1960s".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tagg's Island</span> Island in the River Thames in London, England

Tagg's Island is an ait (island) on the River Thames on the reach above Molesey Lock and just above Ash Island, located in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and part of Hampton. The island is roughly 400 metres long by 90 metres wide at its widest point, covering 6 acres. Although close to the Surrey bank near East Molesey, Surrey, the island is connected to the further Middlesex bank by a single track road bridge, being the only island on the non-tidal Thames accessible by car.

David Nightingale Hicks was an English interior decorator and designer, noted for using bold colours, mixing antique and modern furnishings, and contemporary art for his famous clientele.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Karsino</span> Former hotel in London, England

The Karsino was a hotel on Tagg's Island in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames which stood from 1912 until 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powis Square, London</span>

Powis Square is a garden square and locality in Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. The closest London Underground station to the square is Westbourne Park tube station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BFI Southbank</span> Cinema in the UK

BFI Southbank is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilton London Hyde Park</span> London, England hotel built in 1907

The Hilton London Hyde Park is a hotel on Bayswater Road, overlooking Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens in Central London. It was opened in July 1999.

Mr Freedom was a clothing boutique in London which sold fashion by a number of young designers commissioned by the owner, designer Tommy Roberts, and his partner, Trevor Myles. Celebrities such as Freddie Mercury and Elton John wore designs from the shop which was at 430 King's Road in Chelsea, London from 1969–70 and then at 20 Kensington Church Street in Kensington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nell Gwynn House</span> Residential buildings in London, England

Nell Gwynn House is a ten-storey residential building in Sloane Avenue, Chelsea, London, designed in the Art Deco style by G. Kay Green. Completed in 1937, it stands next to the same architect's Sloane Avenue Mansions, built a few years earlier.

Patrick Barry Garnett was a Welsh architect, a leading member of his profession in Swinging Sixties London.

References

  1. Colin Golding FSIAD
  2. "Chelsea Drugstore in the 1970s".
  3. Kemp, Sam (22 March 2022). "The Chelsea Drugstore: Remembering the glittering heart of swinging London". Far Out. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  4. Walker, Dave. "Chelsea stories – onward to Sloane Square". Wordpress. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  5. "Home". Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  6. Reeves, Tony. "Filming Locations for A Clockwork Orange (1971)". Archived from the original on 10 December 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2009.

51°29′23″N0°09′46″W / 51.4898°N 0.1628°W / 51.4898; -0.1628