Inside celeb nightclub Tramp, where royals, rockers & film stars behaved so badly they should ‘be in prison’

IT was the den of debauchery where royals rubbed shoulders with Rolling Stones, and A-listers jostled to be on the guest list.

But now exclusive London nightclub Tramp has shut up shop, in somewhat mysterious circumstances.

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For more than 50 years it was the place to be for any self-respecting celeb after hours. It was where Tara Palmer-Tomkinson partied in her bikini and was used by Rod Stewart as his own personal dating service.

The rocker once declared: “It’s lucky they didn’t have camera phones back in those days at Tramp, or we’d all be in prison, the things we got up to.”

Tramp prided itself on its discretion, giving rise to a very loyal fanbase. General manager David Fleming said in 2019: “What happens in Tramp, stays in Tramp.”

He added: “It was always meant to be a place where people could let loose and party and be free.”

And they certainly did that. Kate Moss was a Tramp regular, and on one notable occasion in 2015 — celebrity hairstylist Sam McKnight’s 60th birthday bash — she jumped on the decks and was so good that her hard-partying guests were literally swinging from the chandeliers.

And that was something that had got Keith Moon temporarily banned from the club in the 1970s.

The Who’s hell-raising drummer turned up at Tramp naked, strapped to the bonnet of a white Rolls-Royce. And once inside, he swung from a 17th-century chandelier, bringing it crashing down, along with some of the ceiling.

Darkened corner

His behaviour got him barred by owner Johnny Gold, who only let him back in after Keith rang him, sobbing: “You can’t bar me, where else will I go?”

The members-only club on Jermyn Street in London’s Mayfair first opened its doors in 1969.

Named after the Charlie Chaplin character, it was the brainchild of Johnny, the son of a Brighton bookie, who set it up with partners Bill Ofner and Oscar Lerman — husband of novelist Jackie Collins.

Johnny managed to persuade 300 friends and celebrities to become founding members for the princely sum of ten guineas each, or £10.50.

 Those original members have not seen their annual membership fee increase in more than 50 years — although new members today have to pay £1,000 a year.

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Johnny once confessed: “I thought we might get two or three years out of it.” But with no strict dress code and no paparazzi getting tipped off by managers, the dimly-lit basement club was an instant hit.

David Fleming says that in the early days it was “just normal” to find The Beatles seated next to the Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra. He added: “No one batted an eye.”

Among the founding members was Mick Jagger, who once arrived with his new girlfriend, model Jerry Hall, to discover that his estranged wife Bianca was in the toilets.

Luckily for the Stones frontman, quick-thinking maitre d’ Guido blocked the couple from view before leading them to a darkened corner where they wouldn’t be spotted.

The club quickly became a byword for debauchery. One night Jack Nicholson French-kissed a homeless man who asked him for change outside the club’s entrance.

George Best was a regular — so much so that his Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby would call Tramp when the player failed to show up to training. And George’s second autobiography, The Good, The Bad And The Bubbly, even featured his favourite nightspot.

The 1990 book opened with the immortal line: “I punched Michael Caine to the floor in Tramp one night.” One waiter said of the scrap: “What a show!”

Sir Michael was another regular face at the club, where he met his wife, actress and model Shakira. He said in 2007: “I used to live in Tramp. I was in there every night — givin’ it some of that!”

And manager David recalled how 20 years ago the club played host to three James Bonds — Sean Connery, George Lazenby and Roger Moore — after they bumped into each other at Tramp and ended up having dinner together in the club’s Zodiac restaurant. The club inspired Jackie Collins’s erotic 1969 novel The Stud, and the 1978 film adaptation was shot there, including a racy scene of Jackie’s sister Joan cavorting on a swing above the dance floor.

Jackie once said: “Tramp has given me more research than I can handle.”

Joan is said to have been a fan of Tramp’s 24-carat gold burger, a regular 3am order of hers.

Once Shirley MacLaine fell asleep at a table while fellow actor Mel Brooks ran around barking like a dog. David Fleming said Shirley was a fan of Tramp’s bangers and mash, recalling that she would “form them into the shape of a man’s genitals”, complete with the naughty addition of some mayonnaise.

Marlon Brando refused to leave, and would even stay for breakfast, tucking into a dish of pasta. A waiter, Nicolas, said: “After a night here he’d say, ‘No, no, I won’t leave!’ He used to sit there with the staff.”

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Tramp’s laid-back attitude was a hit with celebs. As well as Tara Palmer-Tomkinson spending her 27th birthday bash there in a bikini and snorkel, Catherine Zeta-Jones also held her 30th birthday party there in 1999, with new boyfriend Michael Douglas in attendance.

And Naomi Campbell chose Tramp to host the 1994 after-party of the launch of her forgotten debut novel, Swan.

As well as the celeb crowd, the Mayfair haunt was also a favourite among royals. Princess Margaret enjoyed a dance with Lord Snowdon there in the 1970s, and it was where Prince Andrew met actress Koo Stark in 1982 and where he took future wife Sarah Ferguson. It was also where he allegedly whirled around the dance floor with Virginia Roberts — something he denies.

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Princess Diana was also among the clientele, particularly when she was dating Tramp fan Dodi Fayed. Before he was with Diana, Johnny Gold recalls trying to steer Dodi away from one attractive woman. Confused, Dodi is said to have asked: “Johnny, what’s the matter with you?” with the owner replying: “If you must know, your father’s f***ing her.”

Alleged former Russian spy Anna Chapman is also said to have stalked Tramp and other favourite Royal nightspots, according to MI5 chiefs, in her bid to scheme her way into the social circle of Princes William and Harry.

A pal of Chapman’s said in 2010: “She was pushy but clever enough to be discreet with it. As a regular at these places, Anna would have found it easy to get near the princes and was certainly pretty friendly with people in their world.”

In 2016, Tramp was chosen to host the afterparty of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds gig at London’s Brixton Academy, with David Beckham taking a then 17-year-old son Brooklyn along.

That same year, Rihanna and Drake partied at Tramp until 5am after their super steamy performance at the Brit Awards.

Tramp’s legendary founder Johnny – often a shoulder to cry on for the rich and famous – sold the club in 1998 but continued at the helm as host for another five years before retiring to the Bahamas. He died aged 89 two years ago.

Only a month ago Idris Elba chose Tramp to launch his rosé champagne, Porte Noire. But just weeks later five of the club’s key directors – who acquired the club for £4million in 1998 – resigned from the holding company which now owns Tramp.

Members received an email to say the club was closed because it had been sold.

The directors include Guy Sangster, who is the son of businessman and race horse breeder, the late Robert Sangster.

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Trump’s new owner is reported to be Luca Maggiora, a former credit analyst for Intesa Sanpaolo Bank turned hospitality entrepreneur. He said in a 2019 interview that “nightclubs was my hobby on the side of my banking job” but “When my nightlife work was making more money for me than banking, I quit banking to set up my first boutique West End club called Luxx which specialised in EDM and house music DJs.”

He is also the Toy Room club in Piccadilly, another popular celeb haunt.

With many celebs today focussed on wellness and maintaining their image on social media, the closure of such a haven for hedonism could signal that the golden age of celebrity debauchery is well and truly over.

MY VIEW

By Kate Spicer, who partied at Tramp

Its heyday had to be the Seventies and Eighties, when if anyone was looking for George Best the answer always came, “Have you tried Tramp?”

Last time I visited I drank champagne and caviar vodka, and ate a burger with gold leaf and fois gras. But don’t be fooled by these symbols of wealth and luxury. Tramp was never up its own a***. It let me in, for starters.

I could never have wriggled past the door at Annabel’s, Tramp’s only rival for the rich, famous and royal. But you’d find all sorts down in the basement club where the only no no was to be a bad drunk or a fighter. The DJ Fat Tony remembers bribing the toilet attendant to let him shag someone in a cubicle. A glamorous 80 year old I know says she danced topless on the bar there.

Yes it was a favourite disco for three generations of British royals, major and minor. Buckingham Palace is a stone’s throw away, so Margaret, Ann, William, Harry, Fergie, Diana all piled in. Andrew met Koo Stark there and.

But while royals from Saudi to Sweden loved it down there, the other punters were a fabulous assortment. They might have been loaded but they certainly weren’t posh. While the other establishments were still stuck in antiquated ideas of no jeans, and jackets and ties, Tramp never had a dress code. Nor any snobby ideas of whose face fitted. It was international back when other clubs were far too snooty to be so. And its international money that has made London what it is now. Tramp were on to something!

Before Multicultural Britain was even a concept, Tramp’s 17th century woodpanelled dance floor was a seething, boogying example of our national ability to get down with one and all.

Rock stars and royalty is what it will be best remembered for, but there were also suave gangsters and society girls, badly behaved sport stars, off-duty movie stars, a United Nations of international rich spoilt brats and a rogue’s gallery of playboys and fun-loving girls on the make.

There were secret ways in and out, and little pictures or gossip leaked out. In its 54 year history, the St James’ nightclub with the distinctive logo on its doormat, was never cool. Its music policy seemed to be there’s no such thing as too much Abba. And it was always riotous good fun.

One thing that is often missed in story of Tramp is the cheeky good humour of the Italian waiting staff. I’ve never known such sincere warmth and patience, even at 5am. I hope it rises again because Tramp embodies a very British type of acceptance.