Dancing Royals and hiding Mick Jagger: Notorious celebrity club Tramp turns 50, here's why the stars love it!

When you’re a celebrity constantly judged in the public eye, it is only natural to want a place where you can let loose, away from scrutiny, among people sworn to discretion. That is exactly what London’s Tramp, which was opened the same year that Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon and John Lennon married Yoko Ono, offers to celebrities and royals, alike, and it has done so for the better half of a century. 

The Edwardian building at 40 Jermyn Street, in St James London does not stand out in any way to the naïve eye, except for a brass name-plate which reads, “members only". However, for 50 years, it has been home to some of the most “unashamedly decadent, champagne-fueled hedonism", according to Daily Mail. The dimly lit stairs of the Tramp, which lead to the basement club, have assured many a royal, Hollywood star, and socialite, blind eyes and the freedom to explore limitless fun.

Daily Mail reveals that this is the very night club where a 19-year-old Princess Anne danced her heart out, and where her moves are still remembered with fondness. It is also here that Prince Andrew first met Koo Stark, and post their marriage, him and he Duchess of York became regulars at Tramp. 

Princess Margaret, had also reportedly been comfortable enough in Tramp to let her hair down, while her boy toy Roddy LLewellyn tried to unsuccessfully launch his singing career there.  
Mick Jagger, who was a founding member, and a regular at Tramp, on one occasion found himself in a pickle while enjoying a night with Jerry Hall. The staff, allegedly, had to act fast when they realized that his estranged wife Bianca was in the ladies’ room when the Rolling Stone appeared with Jerry in tow. Legend goes, that the maitre d’, Guido, had to expertly steer him and his paramour to a darkened corner, before they could be spotted by Bianca. 

Reportedly, Tramp was the brainchild of a former bookie turned impresario Johnny Gold who started the club with Jackie Collins’ husband, and a third partner Bill Ofner, just as the 1960s were ending. He got 300 friends and celebrities to become founding members for the whopping sum of £10.50 annually. Today, the annual membership to Tramp would cost you £1,000 ($1289 approximately).

David Bowie Wonderworld Photo of the Day ★ by Tom Wargacki, David with Louise Lecavalier of La La La Human Steps at Tramp night club, Jermyn Street, London SW1 on 2nd July 1988

— David Bowie Wonderworld (@bowieww) October 27, 2018

“I thought we might get two or three years out of it,” Daily Mail quotes Gold as saying a few years back. “Demand for membership didn’t just soar, it spread like an uncurbed virus. I never realized I had so many friends.”

Fifty years later, the club continues to host Gold’s dream clientele - the “right people,” as he called them – and business is thriving.