Freight Train
By Antony Clayton
The Freight Train was opened on the corner of Berwick Street and Noel Street by skiffle player Chas McDevitt early in 1958, following the success of his record of the same name. Initially it hosted impromptu sessions, where musicians such as Diz Disley and Les Bennetts would jam into the night. It was also the venue for an early performance by Cliff Richard and the Drifters in June 1958. Unlike many other local establishments, however, the coffee bar’s basement was not transformed into a music club. Instead the Freight Train served as, “a rendezvous for many of the London-based groups, a point where they could assemble to leave for a gig or unwind in the early hours returning from work.” McDevitt claims that it was on one such occasion, in the Freight Train’s derelict basement, “surrounded by empty Coca-Cola crates and broken furniture”, that Brian Gregg, formerly in Les Hobeaux Skiffle Group composed ‘Shakin’ All Over’ in collaboration with Fred Heath of the Nutters. Heath would make the song another seminal British rock ‘n’ roll number when he took it into the charts with his group The Pirates, under his alter-ego Johnny Kidd.