If you booked a studio session here one Saturday back in 2017 you might have arrived to find The Premises surrounded by 4000 Hells Angels. No, it’s not a war zone, just our biker next door neighbours gathering for one of their grand send-offs for a fallen comrade (in this case, the elusive Dodgy Dave).
Photo by Chris Dorley Brown. From his new book of stunning portraits 'A History of the East End' published by Nouveau Palais.
Hells Angels’ funerals have become a major event in our part of east London, often attracting bikers from all over the world. They usually extend over two days, culminating in a mass ride-out following the hearse through London to the cemetery. These funerals, policed by the Angels themselves with not a copper in sight, also draw huge crowds of onlookers and photographers who turn out to line the route. It’s quite a spectacle.
The London chapter of the Hells Angels was founded in 1969, way before we arrived on our present site. Their Clubhouse HQ is next door to our main studio entrance and it’s not unusual to find the Premises Cafe filled with visiting bikers. Despite their fearsome and mostly undeserved reputation, we’ve always found them to be the best of neighbours. Occasionally useful neighbours too, like the time Lily Allen was recording an album here, besieged by paparazzi and a quiet word was all it took to clear the street.
Video by Tony Holland