In the 1960's many people's idea of a swanky night out in the West End was watching acts in chic little nightclub cabaret rooms.
The tradition is enjoying a resurgence thanks to two very smart venues around Leicester Square. There's an elegant lounge in the Hippodrome Casino but my favourite is the Crazy Coqs cabaret room, in a side street off Piccadilly Circus.
There you can enjoy an array of top notch West End and Broadway stars regaling you with their favourite songs from the shows and charts, usually with just a piano accompaniment or a jazz trio.
These intimate gigs are a real opportunity to enjoy the musical technique and versatility of stars you'd normally only get to see on big stages or hear via recordings.
The place is the brainchild of the brilliant and welcoming Ruth Leon whose address book includes the great and the good from both sides of the Atlantic, allowing her to programme some top guest performers.
Check the Crazy Coqs website for exact times and dates but this November there's a range of acts appearing, with something to appeal to every taste.
Manhattan cabaret star STEVE ROSS presents his show ON BROADWAY promising to perform "songs he's always wanted to sing and songs you've always wanted to hear" from the classic Broadway repertoire.
MARTI WEBB makes her cabaret debut at Crazy Coqs this month singing songs from the many shows she's starred in. Long established as one of Britain's favourite musical leading ladies she has performed in an array of West End productions including Evita, Song and Dance, Cats, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Blood Brothers but perhaps she's best known for performing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tell Me On A Sunday.
JULIE MADLY DEEPLY is a critically acclaimed tribute to Julie Andrews and her career including songs from Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady intertwined with stories and anecdotes.
Award winning vocalist and guitarist Allan Harris will be performing a tribute to Tony Bennett and there are other evenings dedicated to the talents of X Factor's CASSIE COMPTON and to LORNA LUFT.
Luft returns to the Crazy Coqs’ stage with her brand new show TRIUMPH! Judy Garland was her mother, Liza Minelli is her sister and she's influenced by both.
So get dressed up, order a cocktail and enjoy the music and anecdotes of a West End cabaret.
Showstopper!, the West End's "improvised musical" show.