The Groucho Club at 40

Reminiscing about my four decades as a Founder Member

The Groucho Club is almost as old as my sex life. What can I say? I was a late starter. On Friday, the Club celebrated its 40-year anniversary with a drinks party for Founder Members, and I could not be more proud to be among them.

The Club was founded by publishers Carmen Callil, Liz Calder and Ed Victor, along with literary agent Michael Sissons, as an alternative to the men’s clubs that dominated the London media scene at the time. I remember, when I moved to London in 1984 without a job, spending my dole money on a briefcase and one drink in El Vino’s, the famous wine bar that had only just started serving women. Walking up and down Fleet Street with my empty leather cache, I felt I had arrived. I just didn’t have the money to pay for the destination.

Then came the Groucho Club. I was alone, in an alien city, with no friends and no work, but I knew instinctively that this was The Place To Be. The year before, I had been published in Faber’s First Fictions, one of an annual collection promoting new writers, and I felt I was on my way, professionally. I took out an overdraft to join the Groucho (I’m still paying ot off, albeit with many thousands added to it) and, on my first night, Bob Geldof and Paula Yates were enjoying their engagement party. Oh ye gods. Little me. From Wales. I really had arrived.

I cannot overestimate the crucial part the club has played in my life. I’ve sat in the armchair by the piano, sobbing over money, men and work; I’ve been comforted by members and also staff, many of whom, to this day, remain friends. Oh, that chair, though. The stories it could tell.