The Filthy Six

It all started in a dingy Soho basement about 20 years ago. Nick Etwell of Mumford & Sons/Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats wanted to form a group to play classic soul jazz tunes from the groove laden vaults of the famed Blue Note records. I met a few guys from the Trinity College of Music Big Band, who he was playing with at the time, and started to piece something together.

After a few rehearsals guitarist, Jerry Haglund (aka The Swede, aka The Hair, aka Mr Big Nose) said that he'd come across a venue called The Tatty Bogle club - a little den of iniquity that may or may not have been a brothel during the daytime, but opened up as a bar and music club at night. They were looking for bands to play on a regular basis so we quickly booked in a date. That first night went well enough to secure a monthly spot and lo, the band was born. Born in a basement off Kingly Court, deep in the heart of London’s Soho, around the back of Carnaby Street and all the legendary jazz and R&B clubs of the 50s and 60s - The 41 Club, The 2i’s, The Flamingo, The Scene, The Marquee and of course Ronnie Scott’s.

The Filthy Six takes their influences from the Black American groups of the 1960s, and called themselves The Blackjacks after the Donald Byrd track of the same name. They played the night ’The Thursday Boogaloo' once a month for over 2 years, building a following as the nights got busier, honing our sound and eventually turning the covers into originals. Then, they changed their name to The Filthy Six, befitting of this dingy spot, filled as it was with a variety of Soho’s many and interesting characters, and had far too much of a good time to go into it all now. The night eventually stopped for the club’s refurbishment, but they never went back. The Filthy Six moved above ground into slightly more salubrious establishments and the rest, as they say, is history. Now 20 years and several records later, coming full circle, back to making music in a Soho basement and back with some new tunes. It’s a funny old game, but they wouldn’t change it. So from The Filthy Six to you Peggy Sue, here's a few slices of Soho Filth.