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In the club
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Who performed at the Establishment Club, London? Is it still there?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.It was actually somewhat longer than a year. It finally faded out around 1964 after Cook, having returned from a stint in America, sold it - though it is possible that not much money changed hands - to a Soho gangster. It had been in decline since John Bird and John Fortune - yes, the ones still on TV - who, with Eleanor Bron, had been the mainstays of the club, went to tour in the USA and it was being run by someone less than competent. Other people who performed there included Fenella Fielding and Lenny Bruce, apparently. So, no, it wasn't closed down by the government - it was only satire, not sedition. More down to inexpert management and gangland pressure. As for where I looked: a swift phone call to Willie Donaldson, the man who bank-rolled Beyond the Fringe and staged a couple of shows at the Establishment. Could be more details forthcoming in a few days.