TIM ARNOLD Story, Book, Music & Lyrics
Soho is Tim Arnold, and Tim Arnold is Soho. In the 1950’s his comedian grandfather (Dickie Arnold – The Dillon, RSC) split the side of the Panama Club, in the 1960’s his mother (Polly Perkins) danced her way into W1 history at the Windmill Theatre and his first memory, aged eight, is the view from the stage door of the Queens Theatre - his brother was acting in Alan Bennett's 'Forty Years On'. Arnold has lived and worked in Soho for 17 years.
It was here that he cooked dinner at Quo Vadis, lunch at The Spice Of Life, touted for club trade for Maltese businessman Jean Agius on Great Windmill Street and signed his first record deal with Sony as the front man of 90’s Britpop band, Jocasta, embarking on a successful career in the music business. He has composed for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, worked as a producer for Universal Music and has subsequently released 13 albums, including the critically acclaimed ‘Secrets of Soho’ which has now been developed into a musical.
2010 saw the premiere of Tim’s latest album ‘Sonnet 155’ at The Almeida Theatre, a provocative re-imagining of Shakespeare’s themes through rock and classical music, with spoken word contributions by Richard Briers, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul McGann, Hattie Morahan and Lisa Dillon.
Tim has been writing about Soho all his life and began work on ‘Secrets of Soho – The Musical’ in 2008. He is also working on a book about the area and it’s history titled ‘Soho Heroes’.
