A soul-music club at the White Lion – pairing the great heritage of soul with one of the most ancient of heraldic pub names
The Streatham Soul Club at the White Lion in Streatham holds ten hundred and eighty-seven reviews and a 4.3 – a large, solid sample – and it brings together two rich things: the great heritage of soul music, and one of the most ancient and heraldic of all pub names, the White Lion.
The White Lion
The venue’s home is the White Lion – one of the oldest, most common and most heraldic of all English pub names. The white lion is a powerful heraldic beast, appearing in the coats of arms of many great families and royal houses. Most famously, the white lion was a badge of the House of Mortimer, and, through the complex descent of royal heraldry, a white lion is associated with several royal and noble lines – it was, for instance, a badge connected to Edward IV and the House of York. The lion itself, in any colour, is the supreme heraldic beast – the king of beasts, the emblem of courage, strength, nobility and royalty, found throughout English heraldry (the three golden lions of the royal arms of England foremost of all).
The king of beasts
The lion has been the supreme symbol of majesty, courage and strength for thousands of years, across countless cultures – the “king of beasts,” emblem of kings and empires, of courage and nobility and power. In English heraldry, the lion reigns supreme, and pubs named for the lion in its various heraldic colours – the White Lion, the Red Lion, the Golden Lion, the Black Lion – are among the most common and ancient of all, flying the noble beast over their doors. The “White Lion” specifically, with its heraldic and royal associations, is a name of genuine antiquity and nobility – the noble white beast, emblem of courage and majesty. It is a fine, ancient, heraldic name for a pub.
The soul club
Within this ancient, noble White Lion beats a thoroughly soulful heart – for it is home to the Streatham Soul Club, dedicated to the great music of soul. Soul music is one of the glories of twentieth-century culture – the passionate, heartfelt, deeply moving music that emerged from African-American gospel and rhythm and blues, and flourished into one of the greatest of all popular musical traditions. From the great soul labels like Motown and Stax, to legends like Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke and countless more, soul music brought a depth of feeling, passion and beauty to popular music that has never been surpassed – music of love and heartbreak, joy and struggle, sung from the very soul.
A “soul club” dedicated to this music – with its soul nights, its DJs spinning the classic soul records, its dancing and its deep love of the music – is a genuine celebration of one of the greatest musical traditions. Soul has a particularly devoted following in Britain, home to the legendary “Northern Soul” movement and a deep, enduring love of classic soul and its rarities. The Streatham Soul Club continues this warm tradition – a home of soul music and soul-dancing, in the ancient and noble setting of the White Lion. It is a lovely pairing: the deep, warm, passionate music of soul, in a pub bearing the ancient, noble name of the heraldic lion. Its large following reflects the genuine warmth and popularity of both the pub and its soulful heart.
The pub
A large, popular pub doing a fair 4.3 across a large and real sample, home to the Streatham Soul Club – pairing the great heritage of soul music with the White Lion, one of the most ancient and heraldic of pub names.
Verdict
Large, popular, and richly doubled – the ancient, noble White Lion without, and the warm, passionate soul music of the Streatham Soul Club within.
Go to the White Lion for the Streatham Soul Club, and enjoy both sides of the name – the ancient heraldic lion, king of beasts, and the deep, warm, passionate music of soul, one of the glories of popular culture.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
