WORKERS
RULE AT THE SOHO SHOW
The
Sunday Times (London) July 14 1985
By
Brian Deer
LONDON'S Soho spawned an industrial first this
weekend with the opening of Britain's only commercial
strip show run as a worker's co-operative. The show,
now on display in the capital's centre for everything
erotic, is the work of a group of young ladies who
want to cut out the middle-man.
Technically,
the new venture is known as a peep-show, which makes
it different from a striptease, a nude encounter
parlour or a topless bar. Eight booths surround a
narrow stage and for a bare 50p customers get a
scanty 1 minute 40 seconds peering through a glazed
slot as the naked ladies dance to music. When the
time runs out, a shutter comes down.
Among
the 200-or-so sex establishments in Soho, the peep
shows have proliferated - and profits can be huge.
Most take in more than £1,000 a day and are run by
shady groups of businessmen who have moved from other
areas of sex entertainment under pressure from
Westminster council.
But
at the bottom end of Wardour Street the pickings were
not so great and the man who owned the peep-show
there packed it in after making a loss. That provided
the opportunity the ladies sought and they took over
the premises themselves, painted the place in pastel
pink and opened it up for the punters.
They
are in a tough market, however, and the eight women
know they will have to work hard if they are to make
the venture pay. With a mere 30-foot-square space,
they pay £2,000 a month in rent, with Westminster's
rates on top. More than 400 customers are needed
during each seven-hour shift before they stand a
chance of staying afloat.
The
current takings yield them each £20 a shift, but
they say running your own business is best. "I
really work harder here than I do anywhere else, just
to get them to put more 50ps in," said Julia,
after coming offstage. "It's working for
yourself, and that really makes me throw myself
about."
Liana
added: "We get slightly less here than we would
get working for one of the straight commercial
places, although we do have communal funds for things
we share. We are introducing a profit-sharing scheme,
but we can't do that properly until we have
registered for VAT."
Although
they would like to stand on their own feet from the
first, they are not averse to accepting some help.
The government offers three schemes for small
businesses and the ladies are seeking advice. The GLC
women's committee is also regarded as a possible
source of cash.
The
Department of Trade and Industry said there could be
money available under its business expansion scheme.
"They need a sound business plan," said a
spokesman. "People tend to get too involved in
their own affairs and don't keep their eyes open to
what is going on around them."
But
the ladies are prepared to perspire for their living,
and turnover yesterday was brisk. "We are
getting a lot of support from the people round
here," Jerry explains. "Because they know
we are trying to do something different."
Copyright,
Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved. No portion
of this article on Soho's premier sex industry
peep-show may be copied, retransmitted, reposted,
duplicated or otherwise used without the express
written approval of the copyright owner. Responses,
information and other feedback are appreciated - via
Brian Deer's homepage.
