Strip membership shut down after ‘no-touch rule damaged’ and ‘binned condom’ discovered
A Soho strip club loved by celebrities has been shut down after police found the no-touching rule had been broken.
Sunset Strip, which welcomed the likes of Chris Pratt and Kate Moss through its seedy doors, has had its licence pulled after dancers and punters breached its ‘not touching rules’ in private booths.
The Dean Street club can longer operates as a sex entertainment venue (SEV) as Met Police found footage suggesting dancers were touching clients and other performers, breaching the rules of the club’s licence, reports MailOnline.
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Accusations aimed at the club include a used condom found in a bin, not enough qualified bouncers and failing to maintain a decent CCTV system.
The breaches came to light following a visit by the police in January investigating an alleged spiking. While trying to collect CCTV footage, they noticed a number of private dances which included “flagrant breaching” of the hands off policy.
A review of footage revealed a number instances of touching, including one in which two strippers perform with each other before “intentionally mak[ing] contact with customers”, reports MyLondon.
(Image: Getty Images)
A statement by police read: “In one instance a customer has to move her hand away to avoid touching the dancers [sic] bottom.”
Westminster Council ruled that operator Sohomead Ltd was “unsuitable to hold the licence” following a hearing, and revoked the venue’s alcohol licence too.
Described as “the most seductive bar in London” where drinks are “sold at pub prices” on its website, Sunset Strip opened in 1960 and was one of 13 clubs in the area to have a SEV licence. It has been operating in some form for around 70 years, making it one of Britain’s longest-running strip clubs.
(Image: Google Maps)
It’s where Hollywood star Chris Pratt celebrated his engagement to Katherine Schwarzenegger in 2019 while on tour promoting Lego Movie 2, dropping £500 on bottles of bourbon and champagne, and jokingly asking a blonde stripper to marry him instead.
At the time, a source told The Sun: “Chris was hell-bent on celebrating last month’s engagement as soon as he touched down in the UK for his promotional tour.
“At one point he spotted an attractive blonde stripper who was dancing around a pole and he started cheering.
(Image: Getty Images)
“He was even telling the girl about his engagement and joked about asking if she’d marry him instead. Throughout his stay, Chris didn’t hold back and ordered several bottles of bourbon and champagne.”
It’s believed supermodel Kate Moss used the club’s downstairs theatre to learn how to pole dance.
Kate Winslet and DJ Chris Evans have also been spotted in the strip joint.
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