If you’re ever going to do a rock’n’roll trip of London, see if you can book a room at the Columbia Hotel. At one point, this was the favourite place to stay for rock stars who were visiting the headquarters of nearby major labels.
Because the staff at the Columbia were permissive in their dealings with guests—not to mention its 24-hour booze service—word soon got out that if you wanted to behave badly, the Columbia was your home away from home. Oasis threw all the furniture in the bar out the window and then wrote a tribute song to the Columbia. A member of a band called Radio 4 didn’t want to walk down to the lobby, so he jumped from the fourth floor. Depeche Mode, The Strokes, Kings of Leon, and The Killers were all clients. The Killers designated a special bathtub that was used exclusively for vomiting.
It’s calmer today, but the Columbia is still happy to tell stories of some of the things it has seen.
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