{"id":1895,"date":"2022-12-22T15:13:49","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T15:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/setyourownscene.com\/?p=1895"},"modified":"2022-12-22T17:57:15","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T17:57:15","slug":"the-significance-of-the-2is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/setyourownscene.com\/?p=1895","title":{"rendered":"The significance of ‘The 2i’s’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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It’s been a while since I’ve written and published anything on this site. 2022 ended up being a busy year, balancing two jobs, enjoying the benefits of a renewed post-pandemic social life, all whilst continuing my Italian life experiment living in Bari in Puglia, Southern Italy. I took off for an extended period of travel in late-August, beginning with Vietnam and then moving onto Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, before deciding to fly over to North-East India to spend some time with family on my paternal grandmother’s side in Shillong, Meghalaya. I’ve been here since 24th October and as I’m lucky enough to be able to continue working remotely from here, am likely to remain in India until mid-April 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been ruminating about the significance of the name ‘The 2i’s’<\/em> (most familiar in modern pop culture as the name of an influential Soho coffee house-turned-music venue). Below is something of a sprawling, stream-of-consciousness piece of writing that looks back at my experiences over these past three years of living overseas, namely the curious similarities between India and Italy and what I’ve learned from the time I’ve spent in these countries. Much of this article flowed out of me one afternoon over numerous cups of coffee whilst sat on the balcony of Caf\u00e9 Shillong<\/a> in Laitumkhrah, Shillong. I’ve revisited and wordsmithed it a couple of times so hopefully it now resembles something coherent…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1.) The 2i\u2019s<\/strong>.  <\/em>The Soho coffee bar that in the 1950s and ’60s became the birthplace of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll and the modern popular music industry as we know it today.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2.) The 2i\u2019s<\/strong><\/em>.  Italy and India.  The two countries where I’ve decided to spend the majority of my time over these past three years.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3.) The 2i\u2019s<\/strong><\/em>.  The twins representing my astrological sign, Gemini.  Geminis are said to have two sides to them but don\u2019t we all?  It\u2019s not something I\u2019ve paid a huge amount of attention to in the past but in India where I\u2019m currently residing, people take astrology very<\/em> seriously and prospective spouses are even matched, based on birth charts and compatibility readings.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1.) The 2i\u2019s<\/em> Coffee Bar, Soho, London<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A coffee bar that was located in the basement of 59 Old Compton Street in the heart of London\u2019s Soho, and as the Westminster City Council blue plaque outside it now proclaims, \u201cthe birthplace of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll\u2019 and the modern popular music industry\u201d<\/em>.  The likes of Cliff Richard, Hank Marvin, Tommy Steele, Adam Faith and Joe Brown were all discovered performing here and despite only having a standing capacity of 20, The 2i\u2019s<\/a> is arguably the most influential British music venue of the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bar was the inspiration behind Liverpool\u2019s Casbah Coffee Club, which played a key role in the development of an early line-up of The Beatles, and Bruno Koschmider, the manager of Hamburg\u2019s Kaiserkeller visited the bar in 1960 to scout out British musicians to play at his venue.  Derry and The Seniors were one of the groups he spotted and Allan Williams, who looked after them was also the first manager of The Beatles and arranged for them to play a run of shows in Hamburg.  The rest is history\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 2i’s, 59 Old Compton Street. Soho, London.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2i\u2019s\u2019 name derived from the surname of its first owners, brothers Freddie and Sammy Irani and although it closed in 1970, the legacy it created lives on.  Serendipitously, my final PR Director job before leaving London in 2019 was for a company based at 58 Old Compton Street, opposite the site of The 2i\u2019s (it\u2019s now home to Poppie’s Fish & Chips<\/a>, although the rock and roll-themed basement seating area pays homage to its musical past).  Music was pivotal in my formative years (particularly that of an off-kilter or rebellious nature), gave me an identity and the significance of working so close to a such revered part of pop music heritage was not lost on me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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