Squadron HQ Limited - BBC Radio Interview

BBC London: Do you remember when we were all devastated by the closure of Laurence Corner? One of the most famous landmarks in North London and it’s been there, or was there, for years. You could get combat trousers, you could get...it was actually a fancy dress, it had fancy dress floors as well on the 2nd and 3rd and 4th floor. And it was devastating news, it was written about – many novels said, you know, “turn left at Laurence Corner”.

Tina Henley is from Laurence Corner and she’s got a good bit of news for us this morning. Good morning to you Tina.

Tina: Good morning everybody

BBC London: Hello Tina

Tina: Hello

BBC London: So, Laurence Corner survives then. Tell us about it Tina.

Tina: Laurence Corner survives, it goes on. We’ve (the staff) have got together, having been devastated ourselves at losing our jobs after 20-odd years of working there, and we’ve opened a new shop called Squadron HQ.

BBC London: And where is it?

Tina: It’s in Kentish Town, 121 Kentish Town Road, so it’s a couple of stops away from where we were at Laurence Corner. We’ve got a website which is squadronhq.com, and the family has been kind enough to give us a lot of the Laurence Corner stock.

BBC London: How wonderful! So you’re from the shop, you’re not the family, but you’re the people that were all working in the shop, I must have met you.

Tina: We were the former staff. You did meet us when you came round.

BBC London: I came round with Baylan I remember

Tina: You did. And you did “Where are we?” from Laurence Corner as well

BBC London: That’s right we did “Where are we?” from Laurence Corner, in fact you can see all those pictures on the Saturday website.

So could you not take the name with you because you’re not at Laurence Corner? Or did you just think it would sound silly?

Tina: We just thought – Laurence Corner is what it was, and it was better to leave it, it was Mr J’s dream and we wanted to leave the dream there with him and move on and just use a new name – a different name – as a new area of Laurence Corner. But it’s not forgotten, we do have many of Mr J’s pictures and artefacts up in the shop so that we can remember him and remember Laurence Corner. So a lot of the old customers will see things that are familiar to them.

BBC London: You decked out loads of bands, you know people that go in for original military gear and everything like that haven’t you?

Tina: We did, we did. Yeah I mean everybody, if I had a pound for every famous person that came in while I was working there I’d be rich

BBC London: Just name a couple Tina, go on

Tina: We even had royalty in. Oh my god, thinking off the top of my head, who has come in? The Libertines, we did their famous red jacket shot for one of their albums, and after we done them everyone came in and screamed for the red jackets. It was just amazing, and the people that were coming because they’d seen something in a magazine that that one of the bands would have worn. Kate Moss was a girl that used to come in lots, she’d buy some really nice jackets, then she’d be photographed in a hat and everybody would run down and see the hat in the window. You know. It was great publicity for any of the bands.

BBC London: And so what about – you’ve got all military gear, all that fabulous stock, are you also doing fancy dress on the other floors?

Tina: We’re doing uniform hire at the moment, we’re concentrating on that, we’ve got two floors where we are, and gradually we’re going to back into the theatrical hire. But because we’re starting up as a new business it will take us about a year maybe to get all the theatrical stuff up and running again [note: we are now offering a full fancy dress & theatrical hire service, see www.shqhire.com].

BBC London: I’m really pleased that you’ve reopened. Because it was – you know as I say – it was part of my youth and Robert Elms and I were going on and on about it.

Tina: Exactly, I know. And the customers that have been in so far have been great. There are signs on Laurence Corner doors directing you to us and everyone that came up this weekend was so happy that we’re around, and that we’re back, and that Laurence Corner almost lives on.

BBC London: Good. So Tina, tell us the name again.

Tina: It’s Squadron HQ, and it’s 121 Kentish Town Road.

BBC London: Good luck to you and all the girls there.

Tina: Thank you so much! Thank you

BBC London: Bye bye

Tina: Bye

BBC London: Squadron HQ in Kentish Town, and everything that you could get in that store, and the shop’s still there I assume they’re going to pull it down – don’t know what they’re going to do. I still don’t know, Max, whether Laurence Corner was the shop and they named it after, or the shop was named after Laurence Corner.

Max: I imagine someone will know that

BBC London: One of the cabbies will. 020 722 42000. Squadron HQ is where it’s gone if you’re looking for all your military memorabilia.