The Cave of the Golden Calf

The Cave of the Golden Calf was opened in 1912 and soon developed notoriety.

The Cave of the Golden Calfwas anight clubinLondon.In existence for only two years immediately before theFirst World War,it epitomised decadence, and still inspires cultural events. Its name is a reference to theGolden Calfof the Biblical story, a symbol of impermissible worship.

Description

It opened in an underground location in the basements from 3 to 9 Heddon Street, nearRegent Street,in 1912 and became a haunt for the wealthy and aristocratic classes, as well as bohemian artists in search of a European-stylecabaret.Its creatorFrida Strindbergset it up as anavant-gardeand artistic venture.

It introduced London to new concepts of nightlife and provided a solid model for future nightclubs.Philip Hoare,in his bookOscar Wilde's Last Stand,provided the following description:

Up in Regent Street young men wearing tight suits and nail varnish were sippingcreme de menthein theCafe Royal,while down a dark cul-de-sac lurked a new and devilish sort of place whereFuturistscavorted: a 'night club' profanely named 'The Cave of the Golden Calf'. Vague rumours had reached her that nowadays, the backstreets harboured all manner of such places, attended by members of the social elite. Such intimations confirmed all the suspicions of her class. At the root of these evils lay the name of Oscar Wilde, still unspoken in polite households. He may have been dead for more than a decade, but Wilde's decadence endured.

The club is also compared with the parties ofThe Coterie,a group of young aristocrats and intellectuals associated with the CambridgeSouls:

Their hedonism was not confined to private parties. In 1912, Madame Strindberg [...] leased a draper's basement in Heddon Street, a cul-de-sac behind Regent Street, and created the Cave of the Golden Calf. This 'low-ceilinged nightclub, appropriately sunk under the pavement', was decorated bySpencer GoreinRussian Ballet-inspired murals, with contributions byJacob EpsteinandWyndham Lewis;Eric Gilldesigned the club's motif, a phallicGolden Calf,symbol of biblical dissipation and idolatry. Here the cult of Wilde could continue to worship. The club's self-advertised aim was to be 'a place given up to gaiety', its art-subversive interiors 'brazenly expressive of the libertarian pleasure principle...' [...]

Ezra Poundcomplimented Strindberg on her acumen. Other notable visitors to the establishment includedKatherine Mansfield,Ford Madox Ford,Augustus JohnandWyndham Lewis.

Legacy

The Cave went bankrupt in 1914, but its name lived on, and recently inspired a show at theEdinburgh Fringeand the 2010Commemoration BallatNew College, Oxford.The building became a post office and can be seen in the background of the cover ofDavid Bowie's albumThe Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.The site is now occupied by a restaurant, Heddon Street Kitchen.