Time was, when you went along Hammersmith Road you would be greeted by a scruffy, dowdy, sprawling building that looked empty, save for posters outside proclaiming a frankly unexciting show. Ideal Home, early Christmas shopping, Wellbeing Live — these and more filled Olympia. The only one that caused a stir, no pun intended, was Erotica.
Everything about Olympia was dull, dull, dull. It seemed wrong and out of step with current London, from a different age. The doors were spread out, far apart, small, lost at the bottom of a featureless, imposing edifice. There were no kicking restaurants and bars — there was more life in the old-style Frank’s Sandwich Bar across the road.
