The Troubadour is a west London institution. Butif that implies stuffiness, forget it. Through the 50's and 60's it was one of THE centres of London intellectual and artistic life. It's where Private Eye was first produced and distributed; where the early Ban the Bomb meetings were held (the precursor to CND); and where the Black Panthers met when they left Paris after the '68 riots. The Troubadour was the first place where Bob Dylan performed in London. Paul Simon, Charlie Watts, Sammy Davis jnr and Jimi Hendrix have all played there. Richard Harris fell in love with his wife Elizabeth there (she was doing the washing up). Ken Russell recruited staff for his first shorts there, and it was there that he became friends with Oliver Reed. Led Zeppelin used to come and jam there after their Earl's Court gigs. Tom Robinson and Elvis Costello used to play there too.