Our new book looks back half a century and draws lessons for the future. “Boris Johnson was “bamboozled” and “confused” by the scientific modelling and data presented to him during the pandemic, the UK’s Covid-19 public inquiry heard on Monday” — Financial Times, 20 November 2023 Fifty years ago a…

These are the four best books on music I’ve read over the last year. The Musical Human Michael Spitzer’s The Musical Human is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between music and the human species. As professor of music at the University of Liverpool, he takes the reader on a remarkable…

The story of 50 Carnaby Street, London

After much thought we’re moving from Medium and continuing our Walk on the Wild Side project over on Substack. We think that the move will allow us to develop the project further, engage with our readers more and — in particular — allow us to develop podcasting alongside our regular posts. Over the next few weeks all the content here will transfer over to Substack — but we are taking this as an opportunity to revise the stories and add more of Jackie’s photographs to them. We also have some fascinating new stories to share, some arising from interviews we have been doing.

This is part of the Walk on the Wild Side project by Jackie Hopfinger and Mike Press. Read more at the project publication page. Within little more than two decades, Soho was surrounded. And transformed. The roads came first. In the late nineteenth century Charing Cross Road and Regent Street…

This is part of the Walk on the Wild Side project by Jackie Hopfinger and Mike Press. Read more at the project publication page. “I loved taking part in Walk on the Wild Side. The diverse musical history of Soho was brought to life with vibrant story telling! Our group…

This is part of the Walk on the Wild Side project by Jackie Hopfinger and Mike Press. Read more at the project publication page. How can medieval field patterns determine the nature of a 1950s dance craze? We find the answer to this question most vividly in the basement of…

This is part of the Walk on the Wild Side project by Jackie Hopfinger and Mike Press. Read more at the project publication page. “What happened was simply this. After I left you yesterday evening, Harry, I dressed, had some dinner at that little Italian restaurant in Rupert Street you…

This is part of the Walk on the Wild Side project by Jackie Hopfinger and Mike Press. Read more at the project publication page. And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon Englands mountains green… William Blake They walked upon Soho Square too. Indeed, as a Soho resident for…