Twickenham’s Eel Pie Island

What do the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton have in common? They’ve all played at one of the capital’s now lesser-known musical hotspots: Eel Pie Island.

This 600 metre-long island in Twickenham has been used as a boatyard since 1892, providing essential services that keep the River Thames a working river.

But it was also a destination for entertainment-seekers escaping the smog of the city. In the 1950s and 1960s, the island’s hotel became a popular spot for dancers and music-lovers looking to get their fix of jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll.

In the 19th century, the island was a popular resort for steamboats of tourists taking trips down the Thames. People would stop off for refreshments and take part in boat parties. Irish journalist John Fisher Murray wrote in 1853: “The river steamers are accustomed to a land great numbers of holiday folks, desirous of the delights of pure air, and solicitous to banquet upon eel-pies.”

The Eel Pie Island Hotel opened in 1830. Its ballroom opened in 1898 – complete with a bouncy sprung dance floor. The hotel hosted ‘tea dances’ with classical and big band music in the 1920s and 1930s.

In the 1950s, the sounds and crowds of Eel Pie Island shifted. Thanks to the bright idea of antiques dealer Arthur Chisnall, the hotel began hosting traditional jazz gigs to attract new waves of jazz-hungry youngsters.

Chisnall booked big names on the British circuit like Ken Coyler, Acker Bilk and Chris Barber. Until the footbridge was built in 1957, fans would bundle into a ferry to cross the Thames.

Then the 1960s came along. With it, came rhythm and blues. The Rolling Stones had a five-month residency at Eel Pie Island in 1963, before their career really took off. John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers brought guitarists like Eric Clapton to the island. And American artists like Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker stopped off there on the European tours.

Eel Pie Island became a haven for young Londoners. With little residential housing on the island – it was mostly boatyards – crowds could revel in noise and its relatively secluded freedom. It was also a place for self-expression – colourful statement clothing, like these boots, were the fashion of the day.

Eel Pie Island Hotel’s club night had been incredibly successful. But the building was falling into disrepair. The club's venue licence was revoked by the council in 1967.

The ballroom hosted gigs here and there for a few more years. The Who, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath soundtracked the venue’s later years. The Who’s Pete Townshend, a Twickenham local, even named his music company and upstream Thameside recording studio after the island.

By 1969, the hotel had largely become a commune of hippies and anarchists. It mysteriously burnt down in 1971 and was later replaced with housing.

Today, Eel Pie Island’s creative spirit continues in the community of artists who’ve worked from its boatyards since the 1980s.