Where Legends Are Made: Inside the Rebirth of Ronnie Scott's Upstairs

London's most storied jazz club transforms its hidden upstairs space into "the greatest small live music venue in the world"

Ronnie Scott used to joke that his Soho jazz club was "just like home – filthy and full of strangers." It was the kind of self-deprecating quip that masked a deeper truth: since 1959, Ronnie Scott's has been home to some of the most transcendent moments in modern music history. Miles Davis. Ella Fitzgerald. Nina Simone. Prince appearing unannounced. Lady Gaga slipping in for a surprise gig. Amy Winehouse finding her voice. Princess Diana dancing in disguise.

For over six decades, the club's main room has been hallowed ground. But there's always been another story unfolding upstairs—a more intimate chapter that, until now, has lived somewhat in the shadow of its legendary downstairs sibling.

This month, that changes.

The Ronnie Scott's story begins not with jazz but with wartime ingenuity. During the Second World War, the Gerrard Street basement that would become the club served as a "bottle party" rendezvous—one of those grey-area establishments where Londoners could circumvent strict licensing laws and drink into the early hours. Later, it became a taxi drivers' social club, the clack of billiard balls echoing through rooms that would soon reverberate with bebop and hard bop.

When Scott visited New York in the late 1950s, he saw the potential for something London desperately lacked: a proper late-night jazz club. He found his answer in that basement. What he couldn't have known was that he was about to create one of the world's most important cultural institutions.

The early years were as colourful as they were precarious. Police raids. Tensions with the Kray twins. Navigating gangland Soho while trying to keep the music pure. But through it all, Scott maintained his vision: a place where the greatest jazz musicians in the world could play to audiences who truly listened.

Upstairs: The Secret Stage

While the main room became synonymous with jazz royalty, the upstairs space developed its own identity. For years, it hosted a vibrant live programme—more experimental, more accessible, a breeding ground for emerging talent and genre-crossing experiments. Then, in 2024, it closed for refurbishment.

What has emerged is nothing short of a complete reimagining.

Building the Greatest Small Venue in the World

"We set ourselves the somewhat audacious goal of creating the greatest small live music venue in the world," says Fred Nash, Managing Director of Ronnie Scott's. It's the kind of statement that might sound like hubris anywhere else. But this is Ronnie Scott's—a club that has earned the right to dream big.

The new Upstairs at Ronnie's has been rebuilt from the ground up as a purpose-designed intimate auditorium. Enhanced acoustics. High-spec Yamaha and D&B Audio sound and lighting systems. An upgraded stage anchored by a Yamaha S3X Grand Piano. A state-of-the-art kitchen helmed by newly appointed executive chef Steven Connolly, whose culinary programme will finally match the club's world-class musical reputation.

But the transformation isn't just technical—it's philosophical. The redesigned space pays homage to six decades of history while firmly facing the future, creating what Nash describes as "a beautiful, intimate space where audiences can experience extraordinary performances, and where artists feel truly valued."

Beyond Jazz: A New Musical Horizon

True to Ronnie Scott's legacy of pushing boundaries, the upstairs venue will present not just jazz but jazz-adjacent sounds: contemporary soul, acoustic R&B, gospel, hip-hop, global music, even classical. The opening programme reads like a roadmap of where UK music is heading—a Piano Trio Series featuring Ashley Henry, Reuben James, Charlie Stacey, and DoomCannon; straight-ahead vocal jazz jams hosted by Natalie Williams, Emma Smith, and Georgia Cécile; acoustic soul from club favourites Vula Malinga, Vanessa Haynes, and Tony Momrelle.

Perhaps most intriguingly, Upstairs at Ronnie's will host the first-ever Ronnie Scott's Classical Series, co-directed by Lizzie Ball and James Pearson, and launch the brand-new Ronnie Scott's Gospel Choir. It's an expansion that would have delighted the club's founder, who always understood that great music transcends genre.

The venue will also present its own version of the celebrated Ronnie Scott's Late Late Show, providing crucial platforms for emerging grassroots talent at accessible ticket prices—a lifeline in an increasingly precarious landscape for young artists.

The Greene Rooms: A Club Within a Club

For the first time in its history, Ronnie Scott's is opening its backstage spaces to the public. The Greene Rooms—named in honour of owner Sally Greene—will function as a members' lounge and artist space, a "club within a club" where the boundary between performer and audience becomes deliciously blurred.

It's the kind of innovation that channels the club's scrappy, intimate origins while acknowledging its current status as a cultural institution.

An Act of Defiance

The timing of this investment matters. The Music Venue Trust reported that 16% of grassroots UK music venues closed in 2023, while more than 40% operated at a loss. Against this grim backdrop, Ronnie Scott's multimillion-pound redevelopment—the most significant transformation since Sally Greene and Michael Watt's acquisition—reads as an act of defiance.

"At a time when so many venues face uncertainty, we're proud to be investing in live music, championing grassroots talent, and supporting Soho's vibrant cultural community," Nash emphasizes.

It's a statement of faith: in live music's enduring power, in Soho's cultural vitality, in the irreplaceable magic of watching artists create in real time, mere feet away.

The Next Chapter

Ronnie Scott never lived to see streaming, social media, or the wholesale digital transformation of how we consume music. He died in 1996, long before algorithms started deciding what we should listen to next. But he understood something fundamental: that certain experiences can't be replicated, that being in a room with extraordinary musicians doing extraordinary things is its own kind of communion.

Upstairs at Ronnie's represents the next chapter in that 65-year conversation. It's no longer just a satellite space to the legendary main room—it's a destination in its own right, purpose-built for an era when live music venues are vanishing but the hunger for authentic, immediate musical experience has never been stronger.

The basement that once hosted wartime drinkers and billiard-playing cabbies has become a temple. Now the upstairs is ready to become legendary in its own right. Just like home, perhaps. But thankfully, no longer filthy. And full of strangers who, for a few hours at least, become something more.

Upstairs at Ronnie's is now open at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, 47 Frith Street, Soho, London. For programme details and tickets, visit ronniescotts.co.uk

Cover photo Hulton Getty 1966