After around fifteen minutes of sitting in class talking about the vibrant streets, colorful culture, and rich history, our professor delivers the class a surprise:

“Alright, get up, I’m taking you to Soho!”

As part of class, my group was assigned to read a chapter of How Britain Got the Blues, and I learned so much about the significance that London had as the hub for the R&B craze, leading it to spread around the entirety of Britain. We walked by the places where the popular clubs of the time used to stand, like the Marquee Club and The Flamingo, which is now known as O’Neill’s.

The essence of that chapter compares how young British musicians, clubs, fans, and the press created a vibrant scene of electric blues/ R&B like that of Chicago.

The people in Soho majorly crowded buildings for clubs, restaurants, and other gathering spaces. I was taken back to the lines of people around those same buildings back home, waiting for a show, to have a lovely dinner, and to take part in the lively culture that makes cities what they are. Standing there as someone who wants to major in music, I could visualize the people my age back in the 1960s gathering around the clubs awaiting the R&B shows they may have attended weekly. I was witnessing the very scene that made me thrilled to have this opportunity to be in London and fuel the dreams I’ve had for so long. I was awestruck. People were holding hands, laughing with one another, and dancing on the street if they found space amongst the hundreds of people walking through each second.

To put the number of people into perspective, on this class venture, I could confidently say that we were nearly lost from everyone else around three times, as the familiar sight of our classmates vanished into the sea of people. Again, being from Chicago, this felt like a common occurrence to me from previous experience, but I also know that not many, or possibly none, of my classmates are from big cities, so this feeling of nostalgia and connection felt different in my heart.

Everyone was rightfully as excited as I was when we went on this adventure, but my excitement to run around such a lively place at night and connect to every “unique” person there was that piece of my heart that drew me back home with the memories I made with my friends and family.

A vibrant neighborhood in Westminster, London, Soho is known for its wide range of shops, restaurants, bars, and remarkable role as a centre for arts and culture. For my course named Music in 20th Century Britain, we were learning about various areas around London shaped by their music scene, and the genres of music that took over communities for decades on end. One significant genre, directly from the United States, was Rhythm and Blues, or R&B.

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