thumbnail|The Raymond Revuebar in [[Walker's Court. (1997)]]

Paul Raymond (15 November 1925 – 2 March 2008), born Geoffrey Anthony Quinn, was an English strip-club owner, publisher of pornography, and property developer who was dubbed the "King of Soho".

After opening the UK's first nightclub to stage live striptease, Raymond launched Paul Raymond Publications with the soft-porn magazine Men Only, soon followed by Escort, Club International, Mayfair and many other titles. He bought property on a large scale and by 1994 was the richest person in the UK. who refused to allow the News of the World in the family home. located in Liverpool. The outbreak of World War II prompted relocation to Glossop, Derbyshire, where he was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers.

Leaving school at 15, he was a Manchester Ship Canal office boy before taking up the drums with dance bands. His name change occurred when, at 22, he attempted a show business career as a mind-reader on Clacton pier.

Career

The Lord Chamberlain's Office then controlled what was allowed on theatre stages and ruled that nudes could not move, thus when Raymond toured with a show featuring nudes they were presented as statues, which moved about the stage on podiums. Raymond's preference, in this context, was for women between 18 and 30 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and with a chest measurement of no more than 36 inches. The reason for the latter provision, Raymond explained, was that "I wouldn’t like to embarrass my customers".

He also circumvented the authority of the Lord Chamberlain's powers in 1958 when he opened the Raymond Revuebar strip club as a private club He had been unimpressed with the first legal strip club in Soho, believing he could do better. He also bought the freehold of his venue for £14,000 within a year or two, the beginnings of his property portfolio in Soho. The seedy reputation of the club led to regular clashes with the authorities about show content. following a magistrate's decision that permitting members to ring the Ding Dong Girl's bells constituted running a disorderly house. There was also the issue about an onstage snake charmer who it was ruled should not have swallowed the snake in public. (it had been launched by C. Arthur Pearson Ltd in 1935); his other magazines eventually included Razzle and Mayfair. Among the models featured in his magazines was Fiona Richmond, who became Raymond's girlfriend. she died in 2002.

In 1974, he purchased the lease on the Windmill Cinema and returned it to the original name, the Windmill Theatre, Other theatres controlled by Raymond included the Whitehall Theatre (acquiring its lease in 1968)

Raymond diversified, investing millions into buildings and other property, especially in Soho starting in the 1970s, through his company, Soho Estates. During 1977, when many sex shops and strip clubs were closing because the police were active in closing them down, he was able to buy them cheaply. Forbes also placed him on its list of US dollar billionaires.

Often dubbed by the press 'King of Soho', he was the target of two extortion attempts, which were disclosed in the October 2010 release of Metropolitan Police papers. The second attempt was from decorators who threatened Raymond with bombing and shooting while pretending to be members of the IRA.

On 22 January 1967, Raymond was initiated into the Grand Order of Water Rats for his contribution to entertainment in the UK.

Personal life

Around 1990 Raymond began to hand over control of his empire to his daughter Debbie (Deborah Jane Raymond, born 28 January 1956), but she died from an accidental heroin overdose on 5 November 1992. Debbie was editor-in-chief of the company's titles, as well as involved in its property concerns.

Death

A recluse in his last years and living in a penthouse near the Ritz Hotel, Directed by Michael Winterbottom, it featured Steve Coogan as Raymond, Anna Friel as his wife Jean, Imogen Poots as his daughter Debbie and then-current Paul Raymond Publications employees and editors (extras or pseudo-cameos). The working title was The King of Soho, but this was changed as Howard Raymond had already trademarked it for another (as yet unmade) drama about his father's life; he stated that he had "never wanted or sought" to prevent Winterbottom's film being made.

Notes

References

Further reading

  • Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema by Simon Sheridan (fourth edition) (Titan Publishing, London) (2011).
  • Men Only, Vol 37. No 4. April 1972. "The New Raymond Revuebar Show".
  • Today Magazine Vol 2. no 45. 31 December 1960. "Raymond King of the Strip Clubs". An article by Ernest Dudley.
  • Today Magazine January 1961. "A Nice Quiet Country Town, That's the Place for a Strip Club". An article by Ernest Dudley.
  • The Sunday Times Magazine, 23 November 1980. An article about Raymond.
  • The Soho Clarion, Issue 132, Spring 2008. "My Own Private Revuebar". An article by Gerard Simi in the Soho Society magazine.
  • The Sunday Times Magazine, "Virtue and Vice", 17 August 2008.
  • The Soho Clarion, Issue 136, Spring 2009. "When the Show Has To End". An article by Gerard Simi in the Soho Society magazine.
  • British Pathe film, Clubs Galore. Released 22 December 1958. Film no.1563.29. Raymond talks about the Raymond Revuebar.
  • "For the Record: Paul Raymond". LWT television programme 1969. Raymond interviewed by Alan Watson.
  • "Good Afternoon". Thames Television 1975. Raymond interviewed by Elaine Grand.
  • Paul Raymond's Erotica, Film and video. 1981.
  • A Night at the Revuebar. VHS Video. Electric Video. 1983.
  • "Soho Stories". BBC Two. 12 television documentary programmes screened from 28 October 1996 to 20 November 1996. Some programmes featured the Raymond Revuebar.
  • Soho Sex King: The Paul Raymond Story. Channel 4 TV documentary aired 15 March 2008. A shorter version, Sex in the 70's: The King of Soho, was produced in 2005 before his death.
  • Members Only: The Life and Times of Paul Raymond by Paul Willetts. London: Serpent's Tail, August 2010. .
  • (retitled film tie-in edition) The Look of Love: Paul Raymond – Soho's King of Clubs by Paul Willetts. London: Serpent's Tail, April 2013. .
  • The Real Paul Raymond on Channel 4
  • 'Clubs Galore!' – 1958 newsreel exposing Paul Raymond's Soho empire, from British Pathé News