Paul Raymond (15 November 1925 – 2 March 2008), born Geoffrey Anthony Quinn, was an English strip-club owner, publisher of pornography and property developer who was dubbed the "King of Soho". After opening the UK's first nightclub to stage live striptease, Raymond launched Paul Raymond Publications with the soft-porn magazine ''

Men Only ''Men Only'' is a British magazine title that originated in 1935 as a pocket-sized men's magazine. It became a standard-sized pin-up magazine in the 1950s and was relaunched in 1971 by Paul Raymond Publications as a soft-core pornographic mag ...

'', soon followed by '' Escort'', '' Club International'', ''

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

'' and many other titles. He bought property on a large scale and became wealthy. He was starting to hand over control to his daughter Debbie when she died of a

heroin overdose An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to respiratory depression, a lethal condition that c ...

in 1992, after which he became a

recluse A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society. The word is from the Latin ''recludere'', which means "shut up" or "sequester". Historically, the word referred to a Christian hermit's total isolation from th ...

Early life

Raymond was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

to Frank Joseph (who later changed his surname to Quinn), and Maud McKeown, one of three sons of an Irish Roman Catholic family. The family was abandoned by the father (a lorry driver) when Raymond was five with the result that he was brought up by his mother, who refused to allow the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one o ...

'' in the family home. Raymond attended St Francis Xavier's College. The outbreak of World War II prompted relocation to

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District, Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennines, Pennine range of hills and part of the The National Forest (England), Nat ...

, where he was educated by the

Irish Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland ...

. Leaving school at 15, he was a

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...

office boy before taking up the drums with dance bands. He was conscripted as a Bevin Boy down a coal mine, but gave up after a day and was found by police; he then did his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) a ...

, while working as a switchboard operator and bandsman. A self-confessed

spiv In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed d ...

, he sold nylons and petrol coupons on the black market. His name change occurred when, at 22, he attempted a show business career as a mind-reader on Clacton pier.

Career

The

Lord Chamberlain's Office The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised the ...

then controlled what was allowed on theatre stages and ruled that nudes could not move, thus when Raymond toured with a show featuring nudes they were presented as statues, which moved about the stage on podiums. Raymond's preference, in this context, was for women between 18 and 30 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and with a chest measurement of no more than 36 inches. The reason for the latter provision, Raymond explained, was that "I wouldn’t like to embarrass my customers". (subscription required) He also circumvented the authority of the Lord Chamberlain's powers in 1958 when he opened the

Raymond Revuebar The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-front ...

strip club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. A ...

as a private club in the former Doric Ballroom in

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 ...

Walker's Court Walker's Court is a pedestrian street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, London. The street dates from around the early 1700s and escaped modernisation in the late nineteenth century so that it retains its original narrow layout. I ...

. He had been unimpressed with the first legal strip club in Soho, believing he could do better. Within two years, Raymond's Revuebar had 45,000 members. He also bought the

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

of his venue for £14,000 within a year or two, the beginnings of his property portfolio in Soho. According to Raymond's biographer, Paul Willetts, Raymond's Revuebar initially attracted a "chic clientele", including the actor

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...

and comedian

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

. The seedy reputation of the club led to regular clashes with the authorities about show content. In 1961, his club was called "filthy, disgusting and beastly" by the chairman of the London Sessions when Raymond was fined £5,000 following a magistrate's decision that permitting members to ring the Ding Dong Girl's bells constituted running a disorderly house. There was also the issue about an onstage snake charmer who it was ruled should not have swallowed the snake in public. Raymond first moved into publishing in 1964 when he launched the men's magazine ''King'', but it ceased publication after two issues. In 1971, he took over and relaunched the adult title ''

'' from

City Magazines City Magazines was a British publisher of weekly comics and men's magazines that operated from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. The company's most notable publications were comics magazines based on licensed television properties, including '' TV C ...

"Men Only," Magforum
Archived at the Wayback Machine
Retrieved Apr. 20, 2021. (it had been launched by C. Arthur Pearson Ltd in 1935); his other magazines eventually included '' Razzle'' and ''

''. Among the models featured in his magazines was Fiona Richmond, who became Raymond's girlfriend. Jean Bradley was married to Raymond from 1951 to 1974, divorcing him over the relationship with Richmond and received a settlement of £250,000; she died in 2002. Richmond denied breaking the marriage in August 2008. In 1974, he purchased the lease on the Windmill Cinema and returned it to the original name, the

Windmill Theatre The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude ''tableaux vivants'', which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians of t ...

, though he relinquished it in 1986. Other theatres controlled by Raymond included the

Whitehall Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

(acquiring its lease in 1968) where the sex comedy ''Pyjama Tops'' ran for more than five years along with several sequels, and the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

. When strip tease began to decline, Raymond let his Boulevard Theatre within the Revuebar in 1980 to ''

The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...

'' team and others pioneering the new "

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

" of the time. Raymond diversified, investing millions into buildings and other property, especially in

starting in the 1970s, through his company,

Soho Estates Soho Estates is a British property company created by entrepreneur and pornographer Paul Raymond. The holdings of Soho Estates are mainly based in Soho, a district in the West End of London. Through Soho Estates Holdings Limited and parent com ...

. During 1977, when many sex shops and strip clubs were closing because the police were active in closing them down, he was able to buy them cheaply. In that year, he was buying one Soho freehold each week, and also acquired property in Chelsea, Kensington and Hampstead. Raymond owned about 400 properties in the Soho area. He was a frequent name on lists of the UK's wealthy reportedly with an estimated £650 million. One associate claimed the estate was worth billions, though public records of assets overseas did not exist. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also rep ...

'' also placed him on its list of US dollar billionaires. Often dubbed by the press 'King of Soho', he was the target of two extortion attempts, which were disclosed in the October 2010 release of Metropolitan Police papers. The second attempt was from decorators who threatened Raymond with bombing and shooting while pretending to be members of the IRA. On 22 January 1967, Raymond was initiated into the

Grand Order of Water Rats The Grand Order of Water Rats is a British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation based in London. Founded in 1889 by the music hall comedians Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, the order is known for its high-profile membersh ...

for his contribution to entertainment in the UK.

Personal life

Around 1990 Raymond began to hand over control of his empire to his daughter Debbie (Deborah Jane Raymond, born 28 January 1956), but she died from an accidental

on 5 November 1992. Debbie served as the editor-in-chief of the company's titles, as well as becoming involved in its property concerns. Raymond also had two sons; Derry McCarthy (born Darryl) being from a previous relationship with Noreen O'Horan (who had worked with Raymond as an assistant on his stage act), prior to his marriage (his proposal of marriage was rejected), and Howard, his son by his wife Jean Bradley. Jean became estranged from him, blaming Debbie's death on Raymond. Raymond acknowledged only four grandchildren: Cheyenne and Boston Raymond, from his son Howard, and Fawn and India Rose James from his daughter Debbie. Mark Quinn, a nephew, oversaw much of Raymond's business in his later years.

Death

A recluse in his last years and living in a penthouse near the Ritz Hotel, he died of prostate cancer and respiratory failure in 2008, aged 82. His granddaughters Fawn and India James inherited his estate once estimated at £600 million in ''The Sunday Times'' Rich List in 2004. He had been estimated as worth £1.5 billion in 1994, overtaking the

Duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

as Britain's wealthiest man. Fawn announced her intention to commit to charity work in 2010. Their combined wealth was estimated as £454 million in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' Rich List of 2015.

Film biography

'' The Look of Love'' (released 26 April 2013) is a film about his life. Directed by

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—'' Welcome to Sarajevo'', '' Wonderland'' and ''24 Hour Party People''� ...

, it featured

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, whic ...

as Raymond,

Anna Friel Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, she has been acting professionally since age 13. Friel achieved fame with her portrayal of Beth Jordache on the British soap opera '' Brookside'' ...

as his wife Jean, Imogen Poots as his daughter Debbie and then-current Paul Raymond Publications employees and editors (extras or pseudo-cameos). The working title was ''The King of Soho'', but this was changed as Howard Raymond had already trademarked it for another (as yet unmade) drama about his father's life; he stated that he had "never wanted or sought" to prevent Winterbottom's film being made.Steve Coogan porn king biopic to be renamed
''BBC NEWS'', 6 July 2012

References

External links

The Real Paul Raymond
on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in ...

'Clubs Galore!'
– 1958 newsreel exposing Paul Raymond's Soho empire, from British

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as British Pathé. Its co ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Paul (Publisher) 1925 births 2008 deaths Adult magazine publishers (people) English pornographers People from Glossop Publishers from Liverpool Bevin Boys 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel 20th-century English businesspeople English people of Irish descent