Jane Giles

October, the time when all the weird books come out (including mine – more on that tomorrow). Last night the legendary Scala Cinema in King’s Cross rolled back the decades for the launch of my pal Jane Giles’s awesome Scala book, the definitive volume on this epoch-defining club/cinema/crazy space, covering everything from its punk years […]

A million people walked (or often fell) through the doors of London’s Scala cinema between June 1978-June 1993. Most of them staggered out. Now my old friend Jane Giles, who was the life and soul of the 24 hour party that was London’s Scala Cinema, has written a book on this scurrilous subject, which promises […]

London’s cinema club the Scala started life in a building backed onto Scala Street near Goodge Street tube, with a tiny screening room and a cafe with plastic tablecloths. It was founded by my old pal Steve Woolley, who modelled it on the Nu-Art Cinema in Los Angeles, showing everything from Russ Meyer to Jacques Tati. Steve went […]

Earlier I posted about the return of the repertory film house, and lo and behold, I discover we’re in the middle of – well, if not a return, certainly a celebration that’s been going on all month across London. The Scala Cinema began on Scala Street just off Tottenham Court Road. It had a stained […]