Ian David Archibald Board (16 December 1929 – 26 June 1994) was an English nightclub owner who ran

The Colony Room Club The Colony Room Club was a private members' drinking club at 41 Dean Street, Soho, London. It was founded and presided over by Muriel Belcher from its inception in 1948 until her death in 1979. The artist Francis Bacon was a founder and lifelo ...

Dean Street Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. Historical figures and places In 1764 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then a young boy, gave a recital at 21 Dean Street. Admiral Nelson stayed ...

in London's

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

district, from 1981 to 1994, having taken it over from

Muriel Belcher Muriel Belcher (1908–1979) was an English nightclub owner and artist's model who founded and managed the private drinking club The Colony Room. The club opened in 1948 at 41 Dean Street, Soho, London and became known as "Muriel's". Its long ter ...

who founded the private drinking club in 1948.

Early life

Board grew up a poor family in Exeter, and his mother died when he was four years old. He liked neither his father nor his stepmother, and as a teenager ran away to London. On arrival, he went to

Speakers' Corner A Speakers' Corner is an area where open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed. The original and best known is in the northeast corner of Hyde Park in London, England. Historically there were a number of other areas design ...

and picked up a man, and lived with him for some weeks. He later worked as a commis waiter in Soho's

Greek Street Greek Street is a street in Soho, London, leading south from Soho Square to Shaftesbury Avenue. The street is famous for its restaurants and cosmopolitan nature. History It is thought to take its name from a Greek church that was built in 1 ...

Career

Board served behind the bar at the Colony Room Club for 46 years, initially as Belcher's barman, and after she died as its proprietor. He assiduously cultivated the custom of artists including

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

, Michael Andrews, and

Barry Flanagan Barry Flanagan OBE RA (11 January 1941 – 31 August 2009) was an Irish-Welsh sculptor. He is best known for his bronze statues of hares and other animals. Biography Barry Flanagan was born on 11 January 1941 in Prestatyn, North Wales. ...

. One night, he ejected Bacon from the premises with the words, "Get out! Call yourself a painter. You can't fucking paint. Take your boring friends with you and don't bother coming back." Board was known for carrying on Belcher's tradition of obscene language, with tirades to drunken customers such as "Look at you, you great lump, just take a look at yourself. You're a sad and pathetic sight. For fuck's sake pull yourself together..." Board was gay, and the club under Belcher, herself a lesbian, had always been a safe space to be openly homosexual. However, it was never exclusively so, and as Board said, "I don't mind those poofs, as long as they keep their distance." Aged 60, Board stopped drinking brandy for breakfast, but continued to drink vodka at home in the morning, and from noon to 11 pm would consume vodka and brandy at the club. Michael Wojas worked there as a barman and "Board's sidekick" for 13 years, and was bequeathed the club by Board at his 1994 death.

Personal life

Board died from

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

, on 26 June 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Board, Ian 1929 births 1994 deaths Bartenders Nightclub managers Businesspeople from Exeter Deaths from cirrhosis 20th-century English LGBT people