. The basement was the location of Annabel's from 1963 to 2018.
Establishment and opening In 1962 the
Clermont Club, a private gambling club catering to London's high society, was established at 44 Berkeley Square, a townhouse in the Mayfair district of London, in 1962 by
John Aspinall. The house was built between 1742 and 1744 by
William Kent for Lady Isabella Finch. The Clermont Club was one of the first private gambling clubs in London following the passing of the
Betting and Gaming Act 1960. Aspinall suggested to his friend
Mark Birley that he start a piano bar in the extensive vaults and basement of No. 44. Birley himself had intended to start a club after being inspired by the piano bar of the
Carlyle Hotel in New York. 6,000 tonnes of
London Clay were removed from the basement and garden at the rear of the house to create the principal rooms of the club. The dance floor of the club was the floor from the old kitchen of No. 44. Birley blocked off the staircase due to his disapproval of Arab gamblers coming down into Annabel's from the Clermont Club in various states of "dress and disorder which jarred with the tone of the nighclub" as recalled by
Jonathan Aitken. Lady Annabel herself said that she was not fond of having the club named after her when it first opened but subsequently looks back " ... on [Birley's] decision with pride and consider it the most tremendous compliment he could ever have paid me. Having a nightclub named after you is much better than being immortalised as a rose, which, unlike Annabel's, does not necessarily survive very long". Unaccompanied journalists were not allowed in Annabel's except for the gossip columnist
Nigel Dempster. Plum Sykes described how "Birley's collection of horse and dog paintings and prints covered the walls top to toe; flickering candle lamps lit the tables while guests ate dinner seated on banquettes upholstered in red velvet; the cramped dance floor, almost an afterthought, was hidden at the back of the club and boasted only a couple of disco lights ... Guests felt more like they were at a party in someone's fabulous drawing room than in a London nightclub". Campbell subsequently lined them with a Chinese red silk and put examples of blue and red Imari porcelain on display.
Sarah Ferguson and
Diana, Princess of Wales went to Annabel's disguised as police officers a few days before
Ferguson's wedding to Prince Andrew in July 1986. Annabel's marked its 40th anniversary in 2003 with two dinners attended by 125 founder members among 320 guests hosted by Mark Birley and Lady Annabel Goldsmith.
Barry Humphries wrote and performed a special song about Annabel's on both nights in character as
Dame Edna Everage. It was the first time that the Queen had been in a nightclub since she was married. In 2004 India Jane became pregnant and Robin paid former London police officers who claimed to be private detectives more than £400,000 from the accounts of Annabel's in exchange for false information about her then partner, and the father of her child, Robert Macdonald. The investigation was to establish whether Macdonald had a financial motive behind his relationship with India Jane. Mark Birley fell out with Robin following the revelation. India Jane Birley solely managed the club in 2006 after her estrangement from her brother, and left the management of her father's clubs after their 2007 sale.
Music and entertainment Annabel's was one of the first nightclubs in London to replace their live band with a
discothèque. Birley would go to New York City to get the latest records from
Sam Goody. Mabel was particularly keen that all women would wash their hands after visiting the toilet, and would stand next to the basin with a towel and fill it with warm water. She would then update Lady Annabel with her weekly list of women who had and hadn't washed their hands. ==Minimum wage law breach==