Nick Dixon and I will be recording an episode of the Weekly Sceptic live at Lola’s, the downstairs bar of the Hippodrome, between 7pm and 9pm on Monday. The famous casino is located on the corner of Leicester Square and Charring Cross Road – just turn up at reception from 6.30pm onwards and ask to be directed to Lola’s.
Tickets to the live recording of the podcast are £25 – a steal for what is effectively a two-hour West End show – with the doors opening at 6.30pm. However, for £75, not only do you get a ticket to the show, but you can also have a drink with Nick and me afterwards in the Hippodrome’s exclusive rooftop bar, with the first drink free. You can purchase tickets here.
Lola’s is a seated venue with a proper stage and PA system, as well as a bar, and has a capacity of 160. Nick will be introducing the event by doing a bit of stand-up comedy – always a pleasure to see.
I look forward to seeing some of you on April 8th. This event is kindly sponsored by Car26, a pro-motorists lobby group that you can find here.
Note: Under-18s won’t be admitted and you don’t wear steel-reinforced work boots, as they won’t admit you if you’re wearing those, either.
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Interesting that the bar is called “Lola’s” – in homage no doubt to the Kinks’ song written by the great Ray Davies, even more relevant now than when it was written, 54 years ago.
Here is what Wikipedia says about the “controversy for its lyrics”:
‘In a Record Mirror article entitled “Sex Change Record: Kink Speaks”, Ray Davies addressed the matter, saying, “It really doesn’t matter what sex Lola is, I think she’s all right”. Some radio stations faded the track out before implications of Lola’s biological sex were revealed. On 18 November 1970, “Lola” was banned from being played by several radio stations in Australia because of its “controversial subject matter”, though some began playing “Lola” again after having made a crude edit, which sounded like the record had jumped a groove, to remove the line “I’m glad I’m a man and so’s Lola”.
The last line is pure genius (as is the whole song). In a tale all about gender ambiguity, the final line, “I’m glad I’m a man and so is Lola”, is brilliantly ambiguous. It can be interpreted EITHER as (a) I’m glad I’m a man and Lola is glad I’m a man, OR (b) I’m glad I’m a man and Lola is a man.
The second interpretation would now be regarded as “transphobic” by the current trans cult, but Ray Davies was so prescient that he wrote an ambiguous line with an alternative meaning which takes the wind out of the sails of any accusation of ‘transphobia’!
I met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca-Cola
C-O-L-A, cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said, “Lola”
L-O-L-A, Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Well, I’m not the world’s most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight, she nearly broke my spine
Oh, my Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Well, I’m not dumb but I can’t understand
Why she walked like a woman, but talked like a man
Oh, my Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Well, we drank champagne and danced all night
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up and sat me on her knee
And said, “Little boy, won’t you come home with me?”
Well, I’m not the world’s most passionate guy
But when I looked in her eyes, well, I almost fell for my Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
I pushed her away
I walked to the door
I fell to the floor
I got down on my knees
Then I looked at her, and she at me
Well, that’s the way that I want it to stay
And I always want it to be that way for my Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls
It’s a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world
Except for Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Well, I’d left home just a week before
And I’d never ever kissed a woman before
But Lola smiled and took me by the hand
And said, “Little boy, I’m gonna make you a man”
Well, I’m not the world’s most masculine man
But I know what I am, and I’m glad I’m a man
And so is Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
https://youtu.be/LemG0cvc4oU?si=is5SaMNm15zyv3-w