The 400 Club was a night club at 28a

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

, in the West End of London. The building was originally home to the Cranbourne Club, then part of it became a cinema in 1909, with a basement tearoom. In 1914, it became Cupid's Cinema and in 1926, the Palm Court Cinema, but closed in 1928 in the face of mounting competition. It later became a restaurant, before it was the 400 Club. For two decades the 400 Club catered to "the upper classes at night time". During World War II, the 400 Club was frequented by people in the armed forces. These included

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

pilots, one of whom,

Brian Kingcome Group Captain Charles Brian Fabris Kingcome (31 May 1917 – 14 February 1994) was a British flying ace of the Second World War, most notable for serving with No. 92 Squadron in 1940 during the Battle of Britain. He frequently led the squadron on ...

, recollected in his memoirs spending time at " . . . the Four Hundred, whose dimly lit dance floor and seductive music were excellent backdrops for young men in uniform trying their luck with the 'I'm off to war tomorrow and may never come back' routine . . . "Brian Kingcome, "A Willingness to Die," Tempus Publishing Ltd, May 1, 1999; also available in Kindle edition. There was an 18-piece orchestra, and it was a favourite of Princess Margaret from the early 1950s, with the table used by her and her friends being known as "The Royal Box". From 1957, the 400 no longer required gentlemen patrons to wear a dinner jacket. In the 1970s, it became ''Adam's'', an upscale gay cub, then ''Subway'', a sleazy gay disco that was closed down by the local council, then the

Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy S ...

. In 1992, the cinema became part of the

Wetherspoon's J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It op ...

pub ''The Moon under Water'', with the basement a nightclub called ''Storm'' and later ''Club Koo''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:400 Club, The Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Clubs and societies in London Buildings and structures in Mayfair