London 1939 and The Paradise Adorables do Old Shanghai…Maybe

On the eve of World War Two The Paradise Club on London’s Regent Street was quite the place to go with a great cabaret and the resident dancing girls, “The Paradise Adorables”. This Pathe newsreel shows the club in action in 1939: girls, the band (Arthur Roseberry and his Swingtette), impersonators and magic acts for the revue “Going Out on the Town”. Many thanks to Rob Baker of the fantastic London history website Another Nickel in the Machine for posting this photo of the Adorables in a number obviously inspired by a sailors bar presumably in old Shanghai or San Francisco – tarts, booze and Chinese food. You’ll note a little Chinoiserie costuming in the back in black and a nice Chinese menu of sorts – chow mein, cold pork, rice and tea with (God love ’em for their spelling) that rather unknown Chinese dish in England, “Shop Suey”.