Contributing Photographer John Claridge has been a regular at the French since the sixties and below you can read his eulogy to this beloved London institution. Now he has a book launch there and an exhibition of his photomontages in celebration of Lesley Lewis’ thirty years as publican, opening tonight – Wednesday 3rd July at 6pm. All are welcome to join us in raising a glass.
Gaston Berlemont, publican at the French House 1945-89
Lesley Lewis, publican at the French House since 1989
“I first went to Paris in the early sixties, when I was seventeen, working as an assistant to David Montgomery. We were there to shoot pictures for a fashion magazine and, early every morning before the shoot, we would go into a bar or brasserie for a coffee and a croissant. The smell of strong coffee, brandy and Gitanes, posters for art and photographic exhibitions – this was a whole beautiful new world and one that stayed with me.
In the sixties, I also started going to Ronnie Scott’s which was – at that time – in a basement in Gerrard St in Soho. One night on my way to Ronnie’s, I happened to pass the French. The door was open and the smell of coffee, French cigarettes and alcohol engulfed me. I walked in and the rest, as they say, is history.
It still holds that magic for me – a bohemian atmosphere, if you will. Full of artists, actors, poets, directors, media and, dare I say it, photographers. All crazy you understand! All with their own opinions and all very different, as it should be. And as the drink flows, all putting the world to rights, or at least trying to, and certainly with emotion.
I met landlord Gaston Berlemont in the early sixties. He invited me upstairs and introduced me to absinthe – the real stuff. It knocked my bloody head off! We started talking about all the wonderful people who had passed over the threshold, those who have passed away, those who are still around. Later I documented some of these people in my series Soho Faces, which at the moment totals over six hundred and fifty portraits.
It was thirty years ago that Lesley Lewis took over at Gaston’s retirement. After all these years, she ensures the French retains that magic. She not only encouraged me with my project of Soho Faces but also was a fantastic help. I regard her as a very special friend whom I love dearly.
To produce a small show and book that encompasses thirty years is impossible. So I thought I would approach it in an abstract way. Enough, I hope, to capture the smell of coffee, Gitanes, and of course alcohol, and including all the wonderful crazy people, past and present, who all call the French ‘home.’”
Images copyright © John Claridge