In short
The hosts travel in London and chat with Charlie Baker, boss of The Fence magazine, about London nightlife and food, plus music culture (Oasis, pub/club traditions), and a few local “Soho” safety incidents that changed venue operations. They also discuss wedding-DJ trends (DART collective), long lunches at places like The Ledbury/“Yellow Bittern,” and the history of espresso martinis (Dick Bradsell).
Key claims
good DJs are rare and DART hires working musicians who DJ with vinyl and styling; London’s brunch/flower-crown hen culture is stronger than other cities; Soho venues changed after murders/stabbings, with doors kept shut and more police/bouncers; espresso martinis were invented in London by Dick Bradsell; free parties (88–94) are returning but are unnerving and often lack basic amenities like toilets.
Notable examples
Dishoom breakfast; Archer Street strip-club-to-nightclub history; Be at One playlist; Yellow Bittern; Oasis at Wembley; Gary’s Place; free parties with gabba/psytrance.
Guests
Charlie Baker, editor/boss of London magazine The Fence (UK’s only remaining magazine), also interviewed by The Observer; he’s an American-raised, London-based publisher running four print issues/year plus weekly/fortnightly newsletters and a publishing arm.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOArrival in London
1:23 to 2:12
Hosts arrive in London after a busy weekend at Lollapalooza.
Introducing Charlie Baker
2:12 to 3:06
The hosts introduce their guest Charlie Baker, discussing his magazine.
Dining Recommendations
3:06 to 3:52
Discussion on local dining spots and personal food experiences in London.
“Pick it up if you subscribe to The Observer, right?”
Light Eating and Drinks
3:52 to 4:52
Hosts discuss their meal choices and preferences for light eating.
“Because I feel like there could be some variances.”
Sleep Patterns and Lifestyle
4:52 to 5:54
The guests talk about their sleeping habits and lifestyle differences.
“I'm not a lassie guy dog or drink I love a lassie I had the breakfast lassie which had some oats some dates mango and maybe some other stuff in there.”
Charlie’s Evening Out
5:54 to 7:06
Charlie shares details about his recent night out in London.
“Our whole shit is thrown off because our weekend started on Thursday.”
Office Location and History
7:06 to 7:58
Discussion about Charlie's office location near a historical strip club.
“I wish I could sleep 10 hours having done that.”
Nightclub and Strip Club Dynamics
7:58 to 10:15
Conversation about the dynamics of the strip club and nightlife in Charlie's neighborhood.
“You can towel off down there and I don't see hog at all.”
A Murder and Its Impact
10:15 to 13:20
Hosts discuss a recent murder in the neighborhood and its effects on local nightlife.
“No, no, no, ramping it up at Christmas time.”
Men and Health Care
14:23 to 15:40
Discussion about men's attitudes towards healthcare and seeking information.
“We avoid the doctor because we're immature and pathetic.”
Show all 33 chapters
Gypsy Families and Nightclub Violence
15:52 to 16:30
A story involving violence between traveler families in a nightclub.
“It was between two traveler families and one of them run traveler meaning gypsy or traveler meaning like yeah.”
Police Presence and Safety
16:30 to 17:01
Discussion about increased police presence in a neighborhood following incidents.
London's Trendy Restaurant Culture
17:01 to 18:24
A discussion about London's unique restaurant trends and atmospheres.
Dining Experience at Yellow Bitturn
18:24 to 20:20
Exploring the dining experience and wine service at the Yellow Bitturn.
“of the hen's brunching spot and it's still holding on strong compared to other cities where it was going for a couple years and then they removed them.”
Cash-Only Restaurants and Profitability
20:20 to 24:08
Exploring the concept of cash-only restaurants and discussing their profitability.
“Do you have to buy bottles or do they do it by the glass?”
Patrón and Tequila Culture
24:08 to 26:18
Discussion about Patrón tequila and its place in drinking culture.
“I think the tax man might notice the New York Times story though.”
Mixology and Cultural References
26:18 to 28:00
Exploring the origins of the espresso martini and mixology trivia.
“No, they were invented by this guy called Dick Bradsell.”
Family Backstory and High School Memories
28:00 to 29:50
Explore the guest's family history and amusing high school experiences.
“american i've got i've got u.s passport oh really where's where is he from he's from new york but he left there when he was 17.”
Reunion Reflections
29:50 to 31:40
Discussing the nature and experiences of high school reunions in the social media age.
“I bought enough Coke for everyone I knew that would do it, and I had to keep a little cash on me just in case.”
Oasis Concert Anticipation
31:40 to 36:10
Excitement builds for the upcoming Oasis concert and its cultural significance.
“I think that jumping in the seats is scary, depending on how up you are.”
Cultural Reflections on Aggression
36:10 to 38:07
Examining the reasons behind fights in social settings, especially among young men.
“What's the deal with all the fighting here?”
Cultural Reflections on Aggression
38:14 to 38:24
Examining the reasons behind fights in social settings, especially among young men.
“That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash how long.”
Reflections on Living in New York
39:40 to 42:00
The guest shares their experiences living in New York and the social scene there.
“Yeah, but there are people going out specifically to end their evening.”
Early Life in New York
42:00 to 44:47
Explore the guest's early experiences living in New York and what influenced their lifestyle choices.
“I lived in the West Village to begin with.”
The Magazine and Its Operations
44:47 to 47:35
Discussion about the operations of the guest's magazine and its various publications.
“Okay, what is the kind of North Star of that part of the operation?”
Nightlife and Party Culture
47:35 to 51:08
Delve into the rich history of nightlife and underground parties in London and beyond.
“And, like, yeah, there are lots of crazy stories.”
Weddings and Cultural Reflections
51:08 to 56:00
Reflections on weddings and societal expectations as they have evolved over time.
“There's no, you know, there's no real exchange of info except location and ticket purchasing.”
Reflections on Weddings
56:00 to 57:25
Explore the lighthearted take on modern wedding customs and the pressures surrounding them.
“it's about it's 8 minutes long it went well did you time it?”
A Unique Wedding Experience
57:25 to 59:11
Discussing a personal wedding experience and the charm of having a simple celebration.
“And you're like, oh, yeah, we got married at our branding event.”
Anticipation of Paris Alone
59:11 to 1:01:08
Anticipating a solo trip to Paris and the excitement of exploring the city.
“We stayed at the Hotel Rochouar, which is just by the Sacré-Cœur.”
The Celebrity Conversation
1:01:08 to 1:02:43
Discussing celebrity culture and the openness versus guardedness of public figures today.
“And then just like, it's not any, I would say Justin Timberlake might be the most famous.”
Reflections on Metal Music and Ozzy
1:02:43 to 1:04:48
Debating the significance of Ozzy Osbourne's musical legacy and personal preferences in music.
“But I mean, I think that the family, I mean, Sharon Osbourne is a real piece of work in a way that I kind of appreciate.”
Podcast Closings and Future Plans
1:04:48 to 1:06:33
Wrapping up the episode with a discussion about upcoming events and the podcast's newsletter.
“I think she's funny and kind of says whatever and is like funny about having fake teeth and everything.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Jason, we're at the age where we've attended a lot of weddings, not only our own, but friends, family, etc., etc. And the through line, unless they hire you, is shitty music.
0:10Jason Stewart:Yeah, the cross-section of people who can DJ a wedding well and people who are cool, very small. So much that you'd have to throw a dart at a dartboard and hit a bullseye just to find them. And luckily we did, Chris. Thank God. And Dart works with actual musicians and artists, many of whom have their own careers and tour in bands like Leon Bridges, Taylor Swift, The Dare, Sabrina Carpenter. I could go on and on. Dart DJs use vinyl and are cool in a way that your friends would be, not in a dated Vegas performer type of way. And they have an in-house stylist so they don't show up looking like shit.
0:46Shout out to Pete for that one.
0:47Jason Stewart:Dart can do intimate stuff to huge celebrity events as well. Hiring Dart feels like hiring your very talented friend who happens to be a DJ. Dart is for people who actually like music with 14 years in the biz. Tons of experience. I've worked with them. Highly recommended. So if you are getting married or you have any type of cool event going on and you need a good DJ, they got you. Hubs in LA, SF, Austin, New York, Chicago, all over the place. dart like throwing a dart dash collective.com that's d-a-r-t dash c-o-l-l-e-c-t-i-v-e.com email michael at dart-collective.com and tell him that chris and jason from how long gone sent you
1:47Jason Stewart:how long gone is here we're here to split the g chris what's up oh we're here we've arrived in london after a whirlwind there's no g on this glass weekend in chicago um thanks to our lullapalooza family oh yeah that's right and everybody we we talked to and hung out with there it was fun and then um yesterday was a full day of sitting in the airport but we're here now we're at beautiful kettner's in soho i'm in this room that has a bathroom downstairs and i've never had a hotel room with a staircase i know right it's a fucking flex i like it i really do like it especially because i'm not going to be drunk i can't fall down what are you going to wear also we have a guest today we do have a guest in the room in the room a rare in the room third for for how long gone charlie's wearing his dressing gown charlie go from the tub charlie baker's here in his dressing gown charlie is the uh the boss over at the fence which is uh called london's best magazine the uk's only magazine the uk's only magazine the only one left yeah last one standing i think i think they mean only one worth reading what about the observer magazine where how long gone is featured a beautiful interview it's more of a story than an interview sure sure with all of our friends over there.
3:07Jason Stewart:Pick it up if you subscribe to The Observer, right? Yeah, if you're at the local newsstand. But no, we're happy to be here. We're happy to have a local on the ground. I feel like this is a rare... Have you been to Dishoom? Many times, yeah. All right, so stay tuned. More stuff like that, insider info. I gotta say, as much as I want to eat there and I've never been there, eating that food during the day seems insane to me. I know, I know, but it seems... How do you feel? I've felt better. The insides of my body have seen better days. Sure, of course. We kept it light, though. I am drinking a Guinness right now.
3:43At 1 p.m., what does light mean to you? You know what? Let's do this. Charlie, what does light mean to you? Jason, what does light mean to you? Because I feel like there could be some variances.
3:55Jason Stewart:What I had was not light, so I'll start off with that. Light to me would be a bowl of yogurt with some berries. No, no. I mean at Deshooms. They have that there. Oh, they do. Okay. We had breakfast there. I know they have a great breakfast. We had the, everyone gets the bacon, non-bread kind of sandwich, you know, bacon egg kind of thing. The Aki way. Something like that, yeah. That's the British bacon, egg, and cheese? Yeah. I'll say more Indian than British. Yeah. But, you know, there's a lot of crossover nowadays, I've heard. But I got the full English but Indian version. so some baked beans little roll the mushrooms little bacon little sausage little scramby eggs it was nice that doesn't sound that crazy no we shared it kept it light kept it light I just like I like having the lassies they're delicious mother may I have another lassie I'm not a lassie guy dog or drink I love a lassie I had the breakfast lassie which had some oats some dates mango and maybe some other stuff in there.
5:04Jason Stewart:Some turmeric. I had a turmeric tonic. Carolyn had a cocktail that had turmeric in it, so it was feeling healthy and stuff. I had eggs and avocado and toast like a damn man. I don't know what this shit is y 'all talking about. I had avocado toast. I ain't no damn queer. I had my avocado toast. Exactly. I sprayed my... The avocados at Kettner's were better than avocados I've had in Chicago. It was interesting. It doesn't take much. I didn't know that the British avocados were coming in fresh like that. Shop local British avos. All those. Just making sure we're all good here. Yeah, so we flew in.
5:42Jason Stewart:I was telling Carolyn when I was walking back from Dishoom just moments ago, and I was like, do you ever feel like you know that today is happening today, but you don't know what today is exactly? Does that make sense? Our whole shit is thrown off because our weekend started on Thursday. Yeah. So every day, it feels like we're a day behind. Yeah. And we wake up at like five and we kill it. So like by the time noon comes around. I've had two days when you've woken up. So that makes it exponentially more confusing. Charlie, what time are you rising? I rose at 10 today. 10? Yeah. 10 a.m. Fuck me sideways.
6:20What the fuck? How late did you stay out last night? Went to bed at about midnight. so just enjoying a nice Sunday let's get that mic a little closer to that mouth yeah I was just enjoying a nice Sunday sneeze a lion
6:32Jason Stewart:a light 10 hours 10 hour layabout so you must have crushed it at the gym before because you left it all on the floor no I always went I went to the Lay Bowery exhibition yesterday I don't have time at the Tate right yeah it's amazing you should definitely if you can swing it and then I went with a few friends. Then we went and had a few pints. And then went to an Italian joint on the Holloway Road. And then, yeah. So it was a fun little evening. Fun little evening. I wish I could say the same. Jason and I had... I wish I could sleep 10 hours having done that. Yeah, that's natural. You're not snorting anything.
7:14No, that's natural. For me to sleep 10 hours, it's got to be a biblical night. That's Zanz only. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's Zanz only. I couldn't sleep 10 hours if unless you're so young. Yeah. You're so youthful. I'm 36. So. Okay. Not that young. Yeah. Okay. Not that. Well, I think your job is, I mean, you know, it's equal physically to working. Those are British years though. British years are different. 36 British years is 55 American years. So it doesn't make a lot of sense while you're sleeping like a teenager.
7:44Jason Stewart:55 in America. No offense. 55 American years. Yeah. We're at this beautiful hotel. it has some old world charm in the middle of soho don't you just love it man do we i've never been happier honestly there's nothing that feels better than having three coffees and taking a shower after you've been on a plane all night don't fucking rub it in man well i offered my shower no you did that was really sweet of you very sweet of you and i would because of its separation it's not even a big deal you get it's your own it's your own area down there you could be in I'm here having an old timey shave. You can towel off down there and I don't see hog at all.
8:26Jason Stewart:You only hear it. You don't see it. Exactly, I only hear it. I only hear it. You hear that thing flopping around? Charlie, is your office in this neighborhood? Yeah, it's like 100 meters away. Oh, it's that close? Yeah, it's on Archer Street. It's above the windmill, which is... When you say 100 meters, is that close? Or is that close? You mean close by. All right, got it, got it. Okay, so it's close. It's above the windmill, which is Britain's oldest strip club. And it stayed open throughout the whole of World War II. And they said, yeah, they never closed and they were never clothed. And it's made into a story of that was made into a film with Judi Dench called Miss Henderson Presents.
9:08If you're interested in this particular narrative. I'd be more interested in checking out what a British stripper looks like in 2025.
9:14Jason Stewart:Was Dame Judi Dench when she was in this film? Was it still all together? Did the bloomers stay on? She's been around for a long time. Because if this movie was from the 60s or 70s, I'll buy that shit on Hulu. I'll rent it on Mubi. I'm just guessing that it's not that old. If it's from 2019. It's from 2009, I think. But she's playing the madame Keeping the show on the road I had a feeling she was more of a den mother Than a worker bee in that situation So you don't see anything? Not of Jane Judy, no Well, you win some, you lose some So your office is above a strip club It's not functioning? Well, it then pivoted Kind of to being like the box Kind of like a burlesque performance The box is back in New York it's really interesting yeah and it's i mean it's the simon hammerstein i think is living here though and is running the box london here yeah when's the last time you went to the box in london uh god like seven or eight years ago okay okay because that it feels running the box different era yeah so this strip club doesn't function as a strip club so it then and then it's gone into being a nightclub and now the um spearmint rhino are trying to take it back to being a strip club that's nice so the spearmint rhino's coming over they're saying yeah they're saying we know how to do this yeah let's let's do a deal where we're the operating partners yeah and we'll bring some titties in here yeah this is a strip club monopoly i don't like what they're doing to my neighborhood but once again the fucking americans come in after the rhino had their ipo they can come in here and throw his money quite well on the rhino ipo that's not every not every company that goes public do i have eyes on you know am i privy to the goings on ground floor investor of sp rhino yeah i've i've invested in many ways to the good people the rhino so okay so it's it's functioning as a nightclub so that means there's no loud techno edm deep house going on while you're trying to type well well funnily enough the there's a bar opposite us called be at one which is like a very very cheesy place it's kind of it's like um it's kind of like a it's like a chain bar yeah i i was about to say i feel like i knew what that is yeah yeah g b as one be at one be at one and they um they play the same playlist every day uh which starts with anita ward's ring my bell and then goes into music, but then sort of goes into Hanson, Mbop, and Backstreet Boys.
12:06Jason Stewart:Every day. That's pretty rough, actually. Every day. Except for Christmas time, then we... No, no, no, ramping it up at Christmas time. Just the volume changes at Christmas. So that's mania-inducing, I would say. Yes, yes, yes. So it was mania-inducing, and I was trying to tell them to not do you know to turn the music down but they the thing that was particularly the thing that was particularly galling was that they played music they play it with the doors open which was you know it's not really legal um but but thankfully it's a customer acquisition yeah yeah yeah thankfully there was um a murder on on archer street on christmas day and as a result all the nightclubs now have to operate with bouncers and keep the door shut at all times so my mania my I won.
12:56So you can finally get your work done now that someone lost their life in a cold-blooded murder. Yes. Great. I mean, whatever it takes to get the job done.
13:03Jason Stewart:So somebody died and you said, I won. Have the police cleared you for this? Do you know where you were? We at How Long Gone need an alibi, so I'm sure the police needed one. And now, finally, I have my sweet silence. All right. So there's a murder. Do we know what the—was it domestic? Yeah. A murder most foul, I presume.
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13:59The perfect lunch combo. That first bite of your favorite sub, followed by ice-cold Pepsi. Add a couple of friends, and now that's next level. Suddenly, the laughs get louder, the stories keep flowing, and the food tastes better. Because Pepsi brings out more flavor, more fun, and more of the moment. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a Pepsi Zero Sugar today. You know, Jason, we're men. We avoid the doctor because we're immature and pathetic. But when I do go, I feel like I leave with less information than I went in with. They look at me. They see that I'm healthy. They say, you're fine. They tell me to drink more water.
14:37I said, not possible. Maybe they wouldn't order the testing that I want. They don't want to go the extra mile, Jason. I don't get the data. I don't get the game plan. Just to see you next year, jiggle your nuts, and then we're out the door.
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15:25Jason Stewart:Very powerful. Great way to get something more than just a one-time snapshot. It's going to track that health over your lifetime, build up a great custom plan just for you and your awesome little body. So take control of your health with Superpower for a limited time. How Long Gone listeners get$20 off their Superpower membership. Head to superpower.com and use the code howlong for$20 off and after you sign up they'll ask you how you heard about Superpower and tell them that the podcast How Long Gone sent you. It was between two traveler families and one of them run traveler meaning gypsy or traveler meaning like yeah.
16:03Is this like when there's a fight on the Carnival Cruise Line? Can we not say gypsy? Well yeah meaning yeah traveler meaning what you said yeah. He said you can say it. He said a few words.
16:13Jason Stewart:we're Americans we can say gypsy we don't know any better I really don't okay so these families were beefing they were beefing and one of them there was a beef in a nightclub and then one of them came out and one of them was run over and died but it was homicide by vehicle vehicular manslaughter I didn't know you could do that on a lime bike but I guess if you pedal fast enough murder on the lime bike wow that's okay so the neighborhood's getting cleaned up after one person dies the cops come in the manner of speaking well i mean there's um there's this thing on greek street um let's get right on that mic trotter come on there we go maybe maybe try to point it out of your mouth like this that's good that's good point at your mouth jason yeah point it like this okay so it's directional all right so there was um a couple a couple of um off-duty police officers were stabbed on greek street uh i saw that i saw the video yeah brother yeah cup but he didn't look like he was laid out like he he survived it right yeah if you don't survive a stabbing you're a pussy i mean straight up yeah stabbings are a spectrum queen come on bro yeah he's he survived it but i mean he got 70 in the spleen and he died yeah fucking bitch okay so he got i saw the video of it and yeah but as a result there is more police presence in soho um than there was a couple years ago which they're protecting all your back issues and all of your all of your transcription services yeah going on well you the tote bags you know officer we do have a big stock of tote bags up here you could just keep an eye on the door the bread and butter is on the tots actually well restaurant question london feels like the epicenter of places like you're saying they will play music to maybe attract customers brunch brunch hen dinners and lunches they london still has the fake flowers and vines arch going over the doorway of the hen's brunching spot and it's still holding on strong compared to other cities where it was going for a couple years and then they removed them.
18:35Jason Stewart:I would say it's stronger here than anywhere else globally that I have seen. That's what I'm saying. And I know that America is responsible for that trend. I'm sure that is, we have our dirty hands all over that. Some bitch in Boston invented it and then you guys really clasped on. Have you seen the Ivy chain? The one in Chelsea that on the king's road that has got the most over the top no i've only been to the ivy in soho when i'm when i after i finish shopping at amelion door i can go over and get a salad it's just right next door so it's it's easy so they have you're saying that the that location in chelsea has the biggest flower crown you've seen yeah but is it are those real um yeah they are they are okay i'm only talking about the the clearly fake plastic ones oh oh okay oh it's the same thing i mean i'm saying the they're all trying to achieve the same goal of attracting women to drink champagne yeah but if you have a like you know you're like your home in los angeles has beautiful ivy around it and you know you can't duplicate that that's god i agree with you i just mean that i think there's a lot of people that are just like this costs how much and this costs how much we'll still get chicks in here all right we're good because i'm i can't be arsed to water no no definitely not but it is funny that you say that because i remember noticing that a couple years ago and it's only gotten worse It's one of my favorite London food trends.
19:53We love a London food trend, especially if it's not actual food.
19:58Jason Stewart:Well, I'm going to a trendy London restaurant tomorrow, the Yellow Bitturn. And he's been. Oh, I'm sure Charlie's been. Charlie's definitely got the kind of job where you can have a three-hour lunch. That is true. Yeah, no, we covered the Yellow Bitturn quite extensively in our newsletter. um this uh joe bishop who's our podcast host wrote a review of it having what's the newsletter called off the fence um but he wrote a review of it having not been to the la betton but it was my kind of guy yeah it was it was kind of a review of of the chef's uh instagram presence and yeah that that caused a bit of a stir but i think we were we were the possibly the first publication to review the bittern um and then i went a um i think in a couple months ago and it was actually quite good um and like it's the food is good the like the wine the way they do wine is really interesting where they don't have a wine list and he says the hue says you know what would you like to have and then he brings up some recommendations from the seller and he goes like we can have this, we can have this, we can have that.
21:13Jason Stewart:Do you have to buy bottles or do they do it by the glass? They have stuff by the glass, but you can. I'm more interested in how much did you drink and what was the ticket when you finished? It was, we drank two bottles and there were four of us there and I think it was 250. Oh, that's not even better. That's good. Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to lunch like that really, but that seems very fair. It was a bowl of boiled potatoes to be fair. It wasn't caviar service with sea urchin. I mean, I declined. I'm not joining them because it doesn't feel like something I would like. Yeah. The experience does sound awesome, though.
21:49Jason Stewart:Do you like a long, breezy lunch? No, that's when I have to be on my phone and computer. No. I mean, I go to a lunch pretty often in New York, but it's like, we got an hour max. I can't dick around like that. Yes, it's a place for a bibulous lunch. But it's owned by people that are, let's say, financially able to promote that kind of lifestyle? Yes. It's run a bit like a gypsy shop, wouldn't you say? Your words, not mine.
22:22It's cash only because they've got a lot of cash on site. The door is locked at all times. So you have to sort of, the door has to be unhackled. Everything about this appeals to me except the actual food.
22:35Jason Stewart:Everything you're telling me. And he was saying it's in a rougher part of town, and it's sort of like a lock. It's near St. Pancreas, right? Isn't it over there? Yeah, it's the bottom of Caledonian Road, right next to Kings Cross Station. So you go out for a cig in between your dessert courses, your sticky toffee's still being heated up. You got to knock on the door, so they bring out, I'm assuming, an old skeleton key to let you back in. That's cool, man. That's really cool. And then the different street urchins and gypsy folk claw at the glass throughout your long lunch, I hope. They know how much those bottles cost.
23:09Jason Stewart:And then I want to take the mini blind and twist it and close it on them. Draw the blind. But how many people does this restaurant hold, though? Not very many, right? I would say 20. 15, 20? But they're only open for lunch. So you can either get the 12 o 'clock or the 1 o 'clock. So you're very conscious of people coming in and out. It's very theatrical because it's a small space and people are coming in. What do you think I should wear to this? Sorry for interrupting you, Chris. I reckon you should, I don't know, like Paul Smith floral shirt. Call up Paul. Go over there, grab some stuff. Yeah, we were going to have Paul dress us, actually.
23:52I want to know what the chances of profitability on a restaurant of this concept are. With two experts, one who's eating there, one who's going to eat there. Zero?
24:04Jason Stewart:I think if it's cash only that means the tax man's not dipping his beak in there. I think the tax man might notice the New York Times story though. You know what I mean? Some things get charged. The cops here are subscribed to Off the Fence. I think he probably has a nice deal on the rent and I think if you're if he's selling 50 bottles of wine a day and he's open for three hours your operational costs are low. good point yeah margins are pretty good if he's just selling boiled calf's brain and shit yeah it's just it's just him and his wife working every day and she's the one who does luncheon she's the one who does luncheon um francis which is a great i love that magazine it's really great and it's been around for a while now yeah yeah i think it's like they do i think it's now biannual but it's yeah it's on like 60th issue i think great covers always have a great cover yeah yeah Yeah, I mean, I just love the idea of luncheon versus lunch.
25:01Jason Stewart:Sure, it's a different thing. Yeah. I just, okay, well, I hope you enjoy it. I'll be at. I just, I love that I'm bookending Oasis at Wembley and How Long Gone Live. Right in between it, a long luncheon on a Monday by the train. I mean, that's who you are. I'm going to show up hungover. I'm going to leave pissed. You've been drunk a lot. This is going to be a pretty drunk week for you. it's not good he got drunk in chicago this motherfucker was a little twisted i was a little twisted you were a little twisted but we were out we were there from 5 p.m on i mean you don't have a choice i mean you do have a choice obviously i've made that when you're backstage at the festival charlie and they got the cooler full of patron and budweiser's when's the last time you've had tequila charlie um i think like in a cocktail like last week okay all right yeah you stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to but you'll branch out yeah okay yeah i do i do love patrone it's it's delicious i think i would hope patrone is having a i like that it's the og expensive tequila like casamigos came along 818 tasted like feet and everybody thought that was cool but it was cheap but patrone silver that was the that was the most expensive bottle in the club in 2005 it's it's it should be that again thick glass bottle you drop it on the ground won't shatter it'll bounce i like cafe patron that's that's oh the coffee one oh that's good yeah that is good actually i remember having that back in the day yeah it's not it is nice it's a it's a good flavor combo and it also sort of masks the alcohol burning in a way that is good we should i'll get you a bottle of that shit yeah that'll be that's pre-espresso martini second comeback settle the stomach nicely for me did you know that espresso martinis were invented in london I did not know that.
26:51At Sexy Fish? No, they were invented by this guy called Dick Bradsell. But this completely blew my mind. I thought they were an American thing. It feels distinctly American. But you're saying Big Dick came up with it? Big Dick came up with it. I thought it was Australian in nature.
27:07Jason Stewart:I mean, we're all part of the Commonwealth. I think Australians are just the largest consumers of it. So it could feel like they took ownership. You invented them. They perfected them. Is he a known mixologist? Yeah, he's passed away, but he was the eminence grise of the London cocktail scene. Wow. What did you just say? Eminence grise, kind of like the senior authority. Eminence grise? Yeah. Did you know this phrase, Chris? Oh, no. Okay. No, no, no. Thank you for being honest. I bet Charlie has a lot of phrases in his arsenal that we will not know. And vice versa. i would say that's one of the larger reasons why we have asked you on today because we you know we just have our dumb american speak yeah and you're gonna say that peppers it all out real nice like yeah you're you're yeah you're making us look good yeah we're the we're a pot full of gravy and you're the cognac being stirred in my my dad's american i've got i've got u.s passport oh really where's where is he from he's from new york but he left there when he was 17.
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28:12To come here? To come here, yeah. And he met a British woman? He met my mother at university, yeah. Oh, so he was here studying? He was here. He left high school. He was at high school in Connecticut, not having a particularly good time. He was actually being bullied by Ted Danson, the actor.
28:32Jason Stewart:Oh, no. Not Ted? Yeah. What the word was this? Well, fuck Ted. Fuck Ted. So not a popular name in our household. so cheers you've never seen an episode never and then when he comes on Curb Your Enthusiasm you have to sort of feign ignorance look the other way I'll watch it at a different time what's Curb Your Enthusiasm what kind of bullying was your dad a bookish type yeah I think he was a bookish and Ted Danson obviously known thespian I'm sure he was participating in the theater then but maybe a jock as well. I think he was more of a jock. He was a stud back then. I saw him, I would say, two years ago, Brentwood Country Mart.
29:18It looked amazing. I'll lay him out right now. Your dad looks better, I'm sure. I haven't seen him on TV.
29:24Jason Stewart:Your dad surely looks better than Ted Danson. Did your dad go to any reunions then to kind of show how well he's done? No. No, no. He hasn't been doing well. No, he's not great. he hasn't he hasn't he hasn't been tenuinen't i think see i think a reunion are those popular here yes they were but i think in the era of social media they're getting they're getting they're getting less popular yeah i mean you kind of know what's going on yeah and you're in touch with your good pals from those times and the people you need to talk to you talk yeah and then you kind of know what people are up to because of linkedin and whatever yeah you can just go on facebook to see how fat everyone got you don't need to buy a ticket and get a babysitter i went to my high school reunion even though i didn't um technically graduate they did let me in that's nice and i gotta say it was they let you into the buffalo wild wings at five o 'clock it was a really good it was it was an amazing feeling to be um not successful at all yet the most successful person at this at this reunion it's a it's how much money did you take out of the atm before you went in there?
30:32Oh, at least$1 ,000. At least$1 ,000. I bought enough Coke for everyone I knew that would do it, and I had to keep a little cash on me just in case. And you couldn't fold it in the Amiri's. You can't fold it in the Amiri's.
30:44Jason Stewart:You got to put it flat. Flat. You already know. Skinny's are back. You already know. They are. Let's talk Oasis, my friend. We're going to go see Oasis in, what, five hours? Less. Three hours? We got to make it. We're leaving here at five because we got to see Ashcroft. Is it just you two going? Dickie Ashcroft. It's our friend David Cho who's in town and our friend Shiv who's also in town. We're all from New York and then. Oh, yeah. I forgot Shiv's going. Yeah. Los Angeles. The fucking lads, huh? Yeah. And if you want like a box together or whatever, you know, you can build. Shiv's sort of the ticket's out through a high-placed source in the business.
31:17I don't think we're going to be next to Anais and Gene, you know, but I think we're going to be. I'm not going to have a beer thrown on me, I don't think.
31:26Jason Stewart:We don't know that for sure. The beer throwing, I believe, is reserved for the floor that jumps the whole time. I'm guessing. Well, you said, I believe, and I believe I've seen all the videos where everyone jumping. Yeah, yeah. No, I... Not just the floor. I think that jumping in the seats is scary, depending on how up you are. Yeah, but every single person... No, I agree. I'm just saying I think it's risky. Oh, it's going to be scary, Chris. Have you been to see Oasis? Yeah. No, I would like to go. What are you doing today? Just kidding. we don't have any more tickets surprise no well they're coming back in september so i'm gonna try to try and go yeah yeah i i do not crazy about the gallagher's but i do think oasis what's not to be crazy about don't bring up politics speak more on this charlie they don't have bad politics do they i'm not let's let yeah let's that let's not get into it but i see i mean i see i've seen liam around a lot because he lives he we i used to live in the same neighborhood as him and he's he's what he walks around hamster heath a lot by himself and he like all those famous paparazzi photos of him jogging are in hamster heath correct yes yeah and then he's a big dog and when he does like 73 questions that's in the heath and he goes to the local pubs a lot and he he's kind of yeah he's i don't think there's any there's no like really famous this all sounds cool so far yeah There's no really famous London celebrity you see as much as him.
32:58Actually, Bill Nighy, you see him around the whole time. Where is Bill hanging out? Everywhere. The local planetarium? He lives...
33:05Jason Stewart:We're not talking about the science guy, Chris. Oh, we're talking about... Oh, I'm sorry. The actor, Nahi? Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Actor Bill Nighy. Yeah, he is... I'm sorry, guys. That's not even comparable to a Gallagher. Fame-wise. No, no, no. I mean, I think their music's fantastic, and everyone I know who's gone has said it was, you know, biblical. Jinx. I'm hoping for a biblical moment. I mean, I'm sure it'll be fun. I just, I don't think that the, what I'm most excited about is to, because everyone has told me that Manchester and London are extremely well run. Like, it's so many people, but the process is so good, and they get you in and out so fast and it's so pro because I've been to things.
33:54You have efficiency kink. I have an efficiency kink. And I've been to stuff like not this big but like this big and it's just all I can think about the whole time is how it's going to take me three hours to get home so I can't have fun. Yeah. And that's a Chris problem.
34:07Jason Stewart:I think it'll be a well-oiled machine. Do you think that if the crowd around you erupts into a mayhem and everyone has to sort of lock arms over each other's shoulders and jump up and down and kissing strangers on the mouth, throwing stuff, not getting into a fight but doing everything but that, are you going to participate? I mean, I'm either going to participate or protect David Cho. From what? I don't know if he can handle himself in that situation. I plan to drink a beer out of my shoe. A shoeie. A shoeie. A shoeie. I mean, the amount of videos I've seen of fucking guys that work construction crying with like their brother it's it really is heartwarming i gotta say it's really we don't have anything like this we really don't there's nothing in america at this point musically that could bring people together i really don't i really believe that john mayer and grateful dead yeah but that's still that's not this i think it's also they they both look they still look really good and they're both playing really well so it's kind of like it's trans transporting people back you know to their to their memories like in a way that i don't think the rope if you saw the rolling stones 10 years ago i don't think it wouldn't be like the same thing yeah i mean i did see the rolling stones like seven years ago yeah it was awesome but it's not like i don't know it's it's not the same it's not i think also the the age of the crowd was quite old and i think this is more varied yeah because i also think it's like i'm bringing my son who's 14 and knows every word to the yeah well there's been i've got my friend chris um his daughter who's 18s got into the verve oasis blur like all the bands of his of his of his teenage years and i mean that it's been it's quite a widespread phenomenon it's cool yeah it's really cool it's really i've i've been told somebody sent me a dm saying it's the exact same experience as when they were playing in the 90s the only thing that's changed is it's less less fighting huh everything else people are just too old to fight like i can't go to jail no i gotta make bricks nowadays 2025 we're all we're all keyboard warriors i just don't know what there is to fight about i guess you're just drunk yeah You just get blacked out and then somebody steps on your trainer, whatever it might be.
36:35Jason Stewart:Your shoe. What's the deal with all the fighting here? There's no guns. Yeah. I mean, there's no guns. But there are katanas and swords. I've heard there's a lot of sword stuff. It's propaganda that we get in America. Towns in the north of England. I mean, there will just be people going out to have fights. like like we all know we're going out to the pub we're all gonna get drunk and we all know it's going to end in a fight you want to impress them on a first date but also play it cool so what do you do i'm rufy thorpe and i wrote and read a real love story about a hinge couple that navigated exactly that listen to the free audiobook now i always look at august not only is the end of summer, but also the perfect time to hit that reset button before the autumn rush begins.
37:30We're busy. Everybody's busy.
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38:13Jason Stewart:Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns now available in Canada and the UK too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash how long. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Sounds about right until you actually do the goddamn math. For most, business shipping is that thing. What is it actually costing you? Because if nobody's questioning it, it's probably costing way more than it should. Ship station makes switching easy and the savings are immediate. Yeah, Chris, the shipping game, you go to the post office, you go to any of these places. And unless you have a friend on the inside who knows what's going on, They're going to get you, you know, the cost of all this stuff.
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39:27Get started with ShipStation today and get 60 days free at ShipStation.com with code howlong. That's ShipStation.com slash howlong. ShipStation.com. Code howlong. Taxes and fees do apply. Yeah, but there are people going out specifically to end their evening. with um and it's not based on anything except i want to fight it's not some weird like there's some sexual undertones in play you're saying these guys want to have sex with each other
39:56Jason Stewart:well like when i was you know 21 and we would go out and get blacked out and if you're not fucking you're fighting kind of thing yeah there's a couple friends who you got or i i got the feeling I could be conspiracy here we go classic TJ conspiracy I got the feeling that sometimes these guys would pick a fight because they like the feeling of being overpowered by another man I'm not this is not a joke at all this is cool this is one of your coolest stupid theories but I don't think this is that crazy no no this is not this is a legitimate I stand behind this no no no I'm not First of all, it's not legitimate.
40:40You stand behind it. Those are two different things. But I don't...
40:44Jason Stewart:I'm not trying to be clever. I'm just saying this is a thing that I've witnessed where some of my friends, they will pick fights with people and we're like, do not do that. Do not do that. This guy is going to destroy you. And then he's on the ground and the guy is punching him and he's laughing. And then I'm like, oh, this is different. Yeah, sure. You're processing this differently than I would maybe. Yeah, and then maybe he'll be like, yeah, and then what if I drew like a mustache on you? Because you don't have that one. That's from there. What if you wore these glasses? Yeah, it starts getting a little dark.
41:19I don't know if, I guess that the, that's why I didn't want to go to Manchester. I was like, I feel like they'll still fight there. I don't know if there'd be fighting. I want there to be a little fighting.
41:29Jason Stewart:I don't want to be in a fight, but I want to see some scraps happening. You went to high school here, right? I did, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I never went to. I lived in. I went to university in Ireland. But I lived in New York like 15 years ago in between. What the fuck were you doing 15 years ago? Clap your hands, say yeah after party? The bravery roadie?
41:53Yeah, I was there on a year between school and university. Yeah, it was fun. I lived in New York for three or four months. Where did you live? What neighborhood? I lived in the West Village to begin with. Must be nice. Okay, baby. and then i i lived bullying works
42:15and then i lived on bleaker and thompson um the hits keep coming this is nice and then i lived in dumbo so okay i can't win them all but what is okay so what were you doing where were you haunting how was the coke in comparison he doesn't do that stuff man i was going to corner bistro a lot i was going i was getting what the fuck you were 21 and that that's what you were doing went to beatrice in that was okay okay damn i didn't know it was like that
42:46Jason Stewart:were you doing stolen credit cards or how's it working um uh what what how are you funding all of this um i was uh yeah i just oh no one's ever asked me that question that sounds that sounds like the perfect is it like an annadelvy situation it feels annadelvy-ish um i was yeah i was doing were you returning clothes for store credit credit card fraud were you like interning and shit because i was interning at something right yeah oh at sotheby's yeah in what department uh originally in english furniture but then i moved into french furniture okay so are would you consider yourself an expert on either one of those no furnitures no i wouldn't i wouldn't in in terms of the things that sotheby's auctions what would you be considered to be your specialty pokemon i probably i mean i probably would know the most about 20th century british art but okay that's So that's historic.
43:53A lot of this is historic knowledge. It's kind of slipping out of my mind now. You're saying historic knowledge in the sense that it keeps moving, but yours doesn't grow, maybe? Well, yeah. I'm just doing a lot more. I'm more time poor now, so I don't have... Sure, you're time poor. Yeah, my brain has been taken over with emails. As an independent magazine, EIC, and big boss, what is the day-to-day looking like of cranking this thing out? Because you do how many print issues? We're doing four a year. Four a year. And then the newsletter is like weekly or a couple times a week? We've got a weekly newsletter called Off the Fence and a fortnightly one about what's cool in London called Capital Letter.
44:34Yes. Okay. And there's a podcast now. And there's a podcast called Money's No Object. I've seen it. I haven't listened yet, but I've seen it in the newsletter. And we're doing books as well. Books? Yeah. So we have a publishing arm. Yeah. Okay, what is the kind of North Star of that part of the operation? Well, we've got this book coming out in two weeks called The Pub, which is a book about the pub. It's like the magazine, but about the pub. So it's a mixture of investigations, listicles, features, quite a funny array of writers doing it. It's like John Banville, the famous Irish novelist. Oh, so you're saying it's a book that feels similar to the magazine, so it's got contributors it's just like a different yeah form factor yeah it's much
45:21Jason Stewart:like a long magazine is that what i'm gathering hardback magazine you say i think it's a good idea just in time for the holidays i hope yeah well it's coming out it's coming out on august 14th and oh that's really soon yeah yeah and then we there's a we're working on a couple more after that but yeah it's it's um i'm the only person working there full time and i've got five or six brilliant colleagues who work for me a couple days a week. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But they're doing other stuff, like Seamus, who interviewed you for The Observer, is interviewing you for The Observer, and he's doing novels.
45:55So it's a nice thing where we all come together on a Monday and a Tuesday and do some interesting editorial work together and do some commissioning and some cogitating and some writing. And then the rest of the week, I'm doing quite a lot of admin, quite a lot of replying to Wes, where's my magazine and okay so we don't we don't have a we don't have a customer service department have you considered ai dealing with the usps i yeah people people have suggested ai but i think it's important it's important to reply personally in the ai if i sub subscribe to the fence i would
46:32Jason Stewart:be i would be upset and and if if i learned that ai was replying to my emails yeah i want to be able to talk directly to you yeah for something on that that scale of operation yeah i mean everyone i know who runs uh runs a restaurant um you know they're very involved in managing the booking system and customer feedback and you know and i think that you know running a magazine is kind of the same you know it's my pleasure that lots of people like it and i'm really happy to interact with people you know it's it's great it's really fun to read the pleasure going as a an american because i sort of get it you know and then sometimes i'm like this one i don't understand you know but the i was telling jason the story in the in the new issue about the guy who opened like the illegal nightclub yeah and like created shoreditch gary fearful that was just like that's as good as it gets yeah it's just like there's it's great the guy's a legend he dies it's got everything yeah you know he's kind of he he set up this place called gary's place somewhat somewhat for like runaway teens no this is the bar it's a club okay yeah it was a series it was a series of shabins in shoreditch in the say that again shabins like after like illegal illegal illegal bars you call it overpass it's called the afters tie angels shabins yeah that's cool That's where you do the off-ters at.
48:01Yeah. But they would go on all weekend. And, like, yeah, there are lots of crazy stories. You're saying, and when you mean go on all weekend, you mean you get there Friday at 4 in the morning and you leave. On Sunday. Yeah. You keep it coming back. Yeah. Okay. And there are lots of amazing celebrity stories. The only one we could put in was about Bez from the Happy Mondays. Sure. whose whole identity is based on taking drugs. He's got nothing to lose. But yeah, there's some pretty cracker stuff that unfortunately we couldn't get over the legal mark.
48:38Jason Stewart:So you're not able to add it in print, but maybe you could let one go on how long gone? Jude Law supposedly had a good time there. Oh, I mean, if Jude Law wasn't having a good time there in that era. Jude was cracking on at Gary's place? Jude didn't know how far Shortage was, but once he got there he was like shit i guess i'm gonna hang out here that's i mean i think that stuff like that just can't exist anymore and that's part of the reason that's that's so or now it's like the other story about the raves yeah there's a crazy story about these parties that happen like deep in the woods like up a mountain and people are like basically spending their own money to rent these sound sets and put the parties on and it's just like that to me feels like it's happening more now than than gary's place type yeah i mean the free the free party scene um was integral to british culture from like 88 to 94 and and by free party you mean basically like you just show up yeah the music is there and there's there's drinks or are you supposed to just do drugs i think well back then it was just kind of just drugs okay um and then and then the You can bring the sixer of Boddingtons, but, you know, whatever gear you got.
49:50Ketamine, okay. Yeah, and then the conservative government at the time passed the criminal justice bill, which outlawed people having these sort of parties. And they're still very much illegal. And they've come back a lot in the last five, ten years. And you have them a lot in the West Country and in Wales. That's kind of like the spiritual heartland for them. But I mean, they're also at the same time. I've been to a couple. They're quite unnerving. How bad is the music? Yeah, I mean, it's Gabba. It's often like Gabba and Psytrance. It's sort of like music that sort of sounds like drugs. Sure, sure, sure.
50:37I'm just popular genres.
50:39Jason Stewart:I'm happy and proud that you even know what Psytrance is. Yeah. it's that's i mean that is a great example of something that in theory i would want to go to one to kick the tires and try to understand what it is and then once i'm there 10 minutes and i'm like what have i done it's three hours from the hotel i don't know where i am yeah yeah i mean that also there's there's no toilet there's no toilets as well so you know that there's lots of people just you know you see lots of people just shitting you know like it's not it's not you lost me there i was i was gonna check one out but it's i think it is a cool it's it's cool and it is cool i mean i think so jude law is just shitting everywhere sounds like a fun party yeah but going back to your going back to your point about um are things like gary's place going on i think there are there are there are some interesting parties happening in london which people you know people don't want them to be written about sure um i think a lot there's a lot of that on on the um on the lgbt scene uh maybe less so well yeah those motherfuckers they'll do poppers in the woods they'll poppers at their friend's apartment at an afters no i think it's you're absolutely right and that is all i feel like always who's on the forefront of everything yeah as far as like bleeding edge yeah but i i think that um there is stuff like that happening i was talking about this with you the other day there's stuff like this happening in new york and there's stuff that's been around since the 70s it's still going on but it's it It is like invite only.
52:01Yeah. You get a text. There's no, you know, there's no real exchange of info except location and ticket purchasing. Be here now. Be here now. It's at the place. Yeah. I mean, I don't, that wasn't really a thing. When I was partying, that wasn't really, we just did it regular. Did you go to that place in Williamsburg called Cokies, which was kind of. Yes. You could do, yes. I've been to Cokies. That was a very vice. You can do Coca-Cokies? That was a very Vice heyday look. I mean, the McKibben lofts, which were this thing in Brooklyn. Before I lived in New York, I would come visit. There would be crazy parties in these lofts in Williamsburg before.
52:41I think it was Williamsburg. Maybe it was Bushwick. But whatever. Before it was developed, basically. And it was like an insane place where several people that we all know have lived there. Like Raven Smith lived there for a summer type shit. Like it's like a weird, like a flop house kind of. But there are different, obviously different spaces. but i just don't think those kind of things can really exist anymore they're just they're priced out yeah well i think one thing like london is such a is is such a vast city and it you know like it's in just in terms of it it's acrid it's miles it's so big so there is always there are always things happening and like there are you know the city is so big that it can like absorb um absorb change in a way i don't think because new york is manhattan is a small island that's That's why all these parties happen in Brooklyn.
53:30That's the problem. The only ones I really hear about are the gay ones. They sound insane and awesome.
53:36Jason Stewart:I think it's either gay or psytrance. Those are the two paths. You want to have a party? Pick one. We got two ways. You want to have sex with a girl? The music's going to be bad. You got to pay the price. You're on good tunes? Wear two pairs of underwear. You got to pay the price. You just got married, right? I did. Yeah. Congratulations. Let's see the ring, honey. Let's see the ring. Show us the ring. Cartier? No, it's from my friend Delavelle Knight. Oh, that's nice. You got a custom from the homie. Delavelle Knight? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a fantastic jeweler. And he did my wife's engagement ring and her ring as well.
54:11Where did you guys get married? We got married in Burghouse in Hampstead by the Heath. I thought Burghouse was a brand of jackets. Am I mistaken?
54:21Jason Stewart:Panorama bar is there, right? Burghouse. Who's closing? but yeah we wanted to have a we wanted to have a london wedding just just so everyone could come of course and everyone did come that was that was that was really okay how many people are we talking about 110 okay no joke and everybody both parents yeah her parents too yeah how did they get on they'd met before they met sure but how did they get on yeah they get on they get on really well um we um and my wife's very close with my parents and i get on very well with her parents That's nice. It's nice. Were there tea sandwiches before? There were sandwiches.
54:58Jason Stewart:There were sandwiches. Walk me through the fillings. Crust or no crust? I wasn't across the fillings, but my mother was very much. This is very much my mother's department. What were you? You were more in charge of florals, I'm assuming, then? That was my mother-in-law's bailiwick. I was focusing on the. I was focusing on speeches. I was doing just my speech. and yeah i'm not like you took a red pen to that motherfucker didn't you yeah that's interesting because when i for my wedding a couple years ago i i made the the music playlist because i wanted to control it so i recorded four hours of a dj set beforehand because it was the set of my life you know this is your life control it without having to do it yeah that being said yeah as a as a writer and editor of a magazine the speech this is this is arguably your most important work people are going to be judging it with a more watchful eye did you stick the landing?
55:57Jason Stewart:how many words did you turn in? it's about it's 8 minutes long it went well did you time it? it's a long 8 minutes brother yeah I did that's the best way to prepare I personally don't prepare like that but I like when people do I feel like I gave a good speech at your wedding off the cuff. Yeah, definitely. Did you enjoy your weddings? Yeah, definitely. Yeah, definitely. Who says no? I mean, it's a lot of bullshit, and then it's over. And it's like, damn, we just talked about this for a year. It's something that I think about all the time when you watch old movies or TV shows or you read stories.
56:37Jason Stewart:And it's like, we got married. You go to the restaurant in town where the weddings happen. And you eat the food that they serve you. and you dance to the music that the band plays. Yeah. And then that's it. You have a fun party. You get wasted. You dance around and then you go home and you never, and now, like you said, people spend years. The wedding industrial complex. Yeah. I mean, Alex and I basically did what you said. Yeah, that's true. You know what I mean? Where did you guys get married? At our house. And then we had the dinner at the sushi restaurant that we got to. And Jason DJed. We didn't.
57:12we just got straight on the Eurostar after at six o 'clock we went to you're saying you finished the nuptials finished the nuptials there was a reception with with with sandwiches and and champagne and then we went to the pub for an hour and then we got in a taxi and waved at everyone and left that's very cool that's good yeah so you you went to Paris yeah went to Paris that night had arrived arrived arrived in paris at the garden or at 11 30 and went and had something to eat and then you know woke up the next day and you know having getting all the messages from all our friends who'd you know gone on big nights out about us this is a great idea this is a very cool way i've never heard of this style before yeah i mean it's like it's slightly old-fashioned that you just have a ceremony and then a reception speeches so it's it's kind of so the kooks weren't available to do a private set i get it that's okay that's okay man yeah you don't have
58:06Jason Stewart:to explain yourself to us the curbs were available though that's actually really that's very i like that a lot because i think the people don't really have fun at their weddings anymore they're more concerned with like did we get a cool tray for the cigarettes yeah and then like who's doing the who did the merch the merch you know the martini illustrator you know it's it's all content based So you're thinking about everything but the actual wedding. And you're like, oh, yeah, we got married at our branding event. Yeah, at our activation. At our activation. It really is like that, though. But that sounds very charming.
58:41Now, Paris, is that a destination that your spouse chose? Or is that something you both agreed upon? We both agreed on. She works in fashion. She's the print designer for Dallara and for Charlotte Knowles. I think I know. I think you told me that. Yeah, so she loves Paris. She spent a lot of time there. I've never met a woman that doesn't love Paris, if I'm being completely honest. I think it's like a romantic city, too. It's super pretty. It's good for a wedding. Yeah, so we went there for two days. Where'd you guys stay? Did you splash out? We stayed at the Hotel Rochouar, which is just by the Sacré-Cœur.
59:19It's not like really baller, but it's not. I mean, the thing about Parisian hotels is really baller is insane. price wise. 8 ,000 a night? Literally, it's unbelievable at Bristol. It's crazy.
59:36Jason Stewart:How much was your hotel room per night? 300 euros. Oh, that's good. That's too low. That's too low. I would agree. I have to go to Paris. Not have to. I'm going to Paris after we leave here. We're going to Copenhagen. Then I'm going to Paris for the first time ever alone to see the Wolfgang Tillman show and the David Hockney show. but I've never been there alone because I don't really like it that much but I'm sort of getting excited about it now because I've never been there alone it's like a new feeling and you love spending time with your friends and wife when you're in Paris but normally I go with my wife because she also works in fashion so we're there and she's there working and I'm dicking around on a bike all day having my third coffee at Dreamin' Man while Devil Wears Prada 2 is being filmed you're going to be in Paris This is like...
1:00:27I just don't. From the pages to real life. I don't know. But I'm excited to be there a lot because I've never really gotten it. I just don't get it. But I'm happy to go with a purpose. Yeah. I quite like it. Do you speak French? Really badly. Does your wife? Not really. Okay. Yeah. I thought you might be able to. You seem like a multi-language kind of guy. No. My French has got so bad that whenever I go to France, I say I've got long COVID. so just jay kovid long and jay kovid long jay just sort of make up for that i got a lot of kovid bro leave me alone i can't yeah to make up for that i'm speaking to my brain is real slow
1:01:07Jason Stewart:right now my brain ain't really functioning i'm thinking this is a nice idea okay so what it's just like when justin timberlake says i got lyme's disease yeah do you think he doesn't oh i think he does yeah i think that lyme's disease there's a spectrum yeah you know and And I think that's my, we talk about this a lot because in America, it's a very popular problem for celebrities. It's a little bit of a get out of jail. Who else has got it? Oh, like one of the Hadids. Yeah. And then just like, it's not any, I would say Justin Timberlake might be the most famous. Yeah. But they're all like realities, you know, people that are known to some extent.
1:01:49yeah but i just don't it doesn't seem it seems like something you can beat yeah you know i mean and it's it's you get it from a tick you get it from a tick which is which is um and it makes you extremely lethargic so when the justin timberlake was doing all these shows and people were like he's not bringing it i paid 200 for this it's once the tour ended he was like the reason you know i was a flop in Budapest is because of this. And I believe it's true, and I also believe that it's being used as a sort of like tactic. What do you think celebrities are deceitful about in terms of like their public appearance these days?
1:02:31Because in the UK at the moment, lots of politicians are on ismpic and obviously not admitting it. I don't, we talk about that a lot. I don't understand at this point why that, like who cares yeah like there's nothing wrong with that there's no reason to be ashamed of that if it makes you feel better yeah and more confident and it's covered by insurance or it costs a couple hundred bucks like yeah it is a miracle i completely agree i don't understand the stigma i think that celebrities are able to be both more guarded and more open now because they control a channel that is often more powerful yeah than the media so it's but you can you can still get caught yeah because everybody has a camera or get get caught up or whatever it so it's like a weird i feel like we're in a weird time in that sense yeah we're like the celebrity can be like i'm not being interviewed yeah i'm only going to talk to my friends yeah instead of you know having it but also like they're on instagram posting pictures of their kids it's
1:03:36Jason Stewart:which is why we need to become more friends with celebrities so they can we can be their trusted source trusted source like how theo vong yeah gets them to open up i just think that it's i just think that we're living in a strange time of celebrity where it doesn't take much yeah as far as uh revealing anything or being good at anything yeah um but it's still like the appetite is still air like everybody wants the the slop yeah as far as like the public digesting yeah the tatlers are still tatling yeah yeah what did you make of the passing of ozzy osborne did you think that was oh i mean i don't i hate music like that and i know the black sabbath is legendary and i would never take that away from them but like all music like that to me just i don't like the way it looks yeah i like the way it sounds i'm with you i think that what i think that him dying is appropriate because he was old as fuck.
1:04:33It was an appropriate death. But I mean, I think that the family, I mean, Sharon Osbourne is a real piece of work in a way that I kind of appreciate. But like, I don't want her in charge when I'm dead. Like, I like to see her, a quote here and there. I think she's funny and kind of says whatever and is like funny about having fake teeth and everything. But I just don't, i don't i don't want her doing my death rollout no so you're not a metalhead bro no no no no no
1:05:06Jason Stewart:were you were you how heavy yeah of course yeah yeah i still listen to metal how heavy have what's the most heavy you ever got um i mean i like i like to i don't really listen to music that much these days but i really liked post music kind of like just spend just spend all day doing emails and you just want a bit of silence at the end of that. I really liked hip-hop as a teenager. That was my big thing. And then I got really into house and techno in my 20s. Sorry to hear that. I'm not sorry to hear it. I think it's cool. You were in your in-betweeners phase? Well, in-betweeners was in the UK TV show.
1:05:48Yeah. I've never left it.
1:05:53Jason Stewart:I love that show. it's so funny it's very true to life sorry chris oh chris is taking a photo yeah we're we're wrapping this pod up right now yeah big charlie we had a little um you know i just wanted to apologize if our listeners like what the hell's going on you know i don't know what day it is no i don't what do you mean this is a regular this doesn't feel okay good feel different at all except that we have charlie with us in the room which is a nice treat i think and charlie just slides right in i'd like another card in the deck another card in the deck if you um want to check out the fence um you can subscribe you get four issues a year there's the newsletter there's the newsletter which is complimentary off the fence is the newsletter yeah and we've also got our new newsletter about london life called capital letter which is on substack but i can't say enough how great it is and how it's nice and something like this exists so if you have any interest you should support it that's nice and if you know somebody in your life who loves the pub the pub is out august 14th buy them the fucking pub buy them the pub um all right how long gone uh we will see you tonight at the 100 club in soho with blondie uh there might still be some tickets available and uh otherwise that's it we'll be potting from copenhagen crazy man thanks for parting with us we appreciate it hope you had fun thank you so much for having a pause of course
1:07:39I didn't like what you said Odin pauses about the future. This is the love story of real hinge couple Odin and Edward, written and read by me, Curtis Garner. Listen to the free audiobook now.
From the publisher
Recorded live and uncut from Soho House in London, Chris and Jason are joined by our friend Charlie Baker, editor of the UK's only magazine, The Fence. We chat about our travels, including breakfast at Dishoom, The Spearmint Rhino, and The Yellow Bittern. We also plan our night out for Oasis at Wembley, a book called "The Pub," about the pub, The Happy Mondays, flop houses, and Charlie's refreshingly traditional wedding.
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