Fixing Day

An Oral History of Live Musician's Work in London's West End.

This project was set up and run by oral history specialists and educational charity digital-works.

"Fixing Day" is a project that  explores the history of the working lives of musician's working in London's West End. The gigs at the 2i's club in 1950s Soho, the jazz venues, the theatre work, the Palais Scene and more. Through 22 oral history interviews with musicians young an old, we have explored the skills, how they got their work, the highs and the lows, as well as the changes in the working lives of musicians from the 1950s to the present.

We take as our starting point the 100th anniversary of the inception of what became a musical institution in London, but one that is very little known, even among present day musicians.

Archer Street has a central place in the history of live musicians work in London's West End. In 1924 the dance craze around the Charleston arrived in London transforming the dance scene which until then had been dominated by ballroom dancing. With it came opportunities for musicians in London but also for immigrants to meet the new demand. The musicians would get their work by lining Archer Street in London's West End, instruments in hand, waiting for band leaders or contractors, also known as fixers to come looking for musicians. This open air unofficial labour exchange became an integral part of London's music scene and Monday was the day jobs were given. It became known as "Fixing Day". For forty years this was the main way musicians got work. It was not only a means of getting work, it was also a social scene, where musicians would meet and socialise, often in the three pubs on the street, but when they closed for the afternoon, out on the street which would be packed with musicians.

From the mid 60s the widening use of the telephone led to the end of Archer Street with "fixing" taking place over the phone. The way of getting work in the West End's jazz and dance clubs, as well as the theatres changed and Archer Street became just another London street but musicians have continued to ply their trade in the West End and built on this work to make the West End end scene what it is today.

This project uses oral history as the primary means to research, record and share this heritage.

We trained 12 people in heritage and oral history techniques covering how to develop an oral history project, interview skills and audio recording skills as well as researching and developing themes and questions. They then worked in teams using these skills to conduct and record oral history interviews with 22 people.

The full interviews will be deposited with City of Westminster Archives, Camden Local Studies and Archives and Bishopsgate Institute.

This project website houses all of the full interviews, the podcasts, the film and covers the progress of the project.

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Acknowledgements

This project is run by digital:works working closely with the City of Westminster Archives and Camden Local Studies and Archives.

We are grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for their financial support.

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digital:works has been running oral history projects across London working with communities to explore the history of work and workers in the capital. Projects so far include printers on Fleet Street, bus workers, underground workers, black cab drivers, jewellers in Hatton Garden, tailors in Saville Row, the Thames Lightermen, Thames boatyards and more. Other projects explore the history of Battersea, North Kensington, Southall, Eel Pie Island, as well as some of London’s indoor and street markets. If you would like to see any of these wonderful films and find out more about digital:works please visit:
www.digital-works.co.uk.

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All material created for this proejct is covered by a CC BY 4.0 license.