Season 5 · Episode 1
Rocky Horror's Columbia · the face of Nell's · tap-dancing star
Released 18 Jun 2025 · 50:13
Every name, club, book, song, night and look from the interview - 146 references and 341 mentions in this episode. Nell Campbell, just turned 18 and newly arrived in London from Sydney, sells frocks at Kensington Market opposite a stallholder called Freddie - and tells him to keep his day job. She tap-dances on the tables of a Knightsbridge cafe until Jim Sharman, Richard O'Brien and Richard Hartley walk in and cast her as the third servant in a new rock musical: The Rocky Horror Show, 1973, in the Royal Court's attic on £18 a week. Sue Blane's £200 costumes, the King's Road with Vivienne Westwood down the street, Do the Swim on Janet Street-Porter's show in one take - then New York, where Keith McNally, the old spotlight boy, and Lynn Wagenknecht knock on her door: do you want to do a nightclub? Nell's on 14th Street (1986) - old gentleman's club grandeur, keys in the mail, a door policy Nell hated, Cher turned away, Prince on stage and Andy Warhol's last party. Always say yes to everything, gentlemen!
Turquoise square glasses, dark auburn bob with a fringe, red lipstick, black polka-dot scarf over a black-and-white striped top, gold rings
A grey sofa with pale cushions against a pale green wall
Vintage 1950s swimwear
Borrowed from a friend of Janet's for Do the Swim; it kept sliding down as she danced
The 1975 film with Nell as Columbia: midnight shows, shadow casts and fans who found courage and each other there. Nell says the cast never got residuals, and Disney+ asked Jim Sharman about cutting a nipple shot
FashionColumbia's look
Heard as “Rocky / Raki Hara / rocky”
Director of The Rocky Horror Show and Picture Show; walked into the cafe and cast Nell as the third servant on the spot in 1973. He turned 80 and told her how rare a gay celebration on stage was then
Heard as “Jim / Sharman”
Nell's club on 14th Street (1986), opened with Keith McNally and Lynn Wagenknecht in an old hardware store: shabby-grand like an English country house, about 400 people on two floors, a dance floor added so Nell could stay awake till 4 a.m., and black round key-ring keys mailed out before the opening
Heard as “Nels / nails / Nells / Nell's”
Nell's home from 18 - she knew she was never going back
The 21-year-old spotlight boy at the Chelsea Classic who became Nell's pal; with his wife Lynn he ran the Odeon and Cafe Luxembourg and asked Nell to do a nightclub with them. Nell says they later divorced and Lynn kept Nell's
Heard as “Keith / McDow”
Keith McNally's wife and partner in the Odeon, Cafe Luxembourg and Nell's; Nell says Lynn kept those three after the divorce
Heard as “Lynn / Wagonet / Lynke”
The guest: Columbia in The Rocky Horror Show and Picture Show, singer, actor and the face of Nell's on 14th Street. Links to her Night Fever episode
FashionSchiaparelli-pink hair, tap shoes and Comme and Issey from the sales
Heard as “no Campbell / Nell / Campbell”
Nell visited Keith there for Rocky Horror, then opened Nell's
Where life happened in 1973 - Nell busked there during rehearsals
Heard as “Kings Road / King's Road / King's enemy”
TV presenter whose show had Nell do Do the Swim in one take; Nell calls her scary. One of only three people in London with hair dyed like Nell's
FashionBright-dyed hair before punk
Heard as “Janet”
James says Musto never got a Nell's key and was often turned away; Nell remembers sending him a bottle of Cristal, but he doesn't drink
Heard as “Musto / Mousto”
Keith and Lynn's TriBeCa restaurant with the art and literary crowd; Nell trained there as a hostess and maître d'
Heard as “Odeon”
Wrote Rocky Horror's songs and its first dozen pages of script, and walked into the cafe with Jim Sharman
Heard as “O'Brien / Brian. had written”
Rocky Horror opened in its attic Theatre Upstairs, 63 seats
Heard as “Royal Corps / Royal Court / theatre upstairs”
Host; saw Rocky Horror at a midnight show at 15 or 16 in Saginaw and says it changed his life. Links to his own Night Fever episode
Heard as “James”
Co-host; says Rocky Horror was a complete redirect in his life, and calls it queer joy
Heard as “Randy / Barbado / Reni”
Where Nell sold frocks at 18 - opposite Freddie Mercury's stall
Heard as “Kensington”
Rocky Horror's set designer, whose budget was £500 for lights, stage, seats and set; co-wrote Do the Swim
Heard as “Brian Thompson”
Nell's 1975 single by Richard Hartley and Brian Thomson, signed to A&M; she sang it on Janet Street-Porter's show in one take, in a borrowed strapless swimsuit that kept slipping
Heard as “Do The Swim / Do the Swim / the goddamn swim / doing my swim”
Keith and Lynn's Upper West Side restaurant, where Nell also trained
Heard as “Luxembourg”
The giant discotheque in an old theater; Nell's was much smaller, though the crowd outside never knew it
Heard as “Studio 54 / Suda54”
Nell's was the last place he partied; he and Nell became pals and went to dinners together
Heard as “Andy”
James recalls he left the benefit night with Melissa Gilbert, a big story at the time
Directed Tiger King, the lockdown hit Nell couldn't believe
Heard as “Eric Good / by Eric”
Fenton and Randy's company; its Los Angeles theater wants Nell's one-woman show
Heard as “World of Wonder / WowPP”
Nell's one-woman show about growing up and Rocky Horror, with slides and photos, in London, Australia and Los Angeles (2022-2023)
Heard as “all's now that ends now / alls nail / all Zannell”
Nell's was in an old hardware store on 14th Street between 7th and 8th Avenue
Nell did a Rocky Horror event there in October
Heard as “Los Angeles / LA”
Jim Sharman and Brian Thomson chose to keep Rocky Horror out of it
Opened in 1973 in the Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court for a planned few weeks, on £18 a week, and ran seven years on the King's Road - never in the West End, by choice
Heard as “Rocky Horror Show / Rocky Horror show”
Rocky Horror's star; Nell thinks he was at the early AIDS benefit at Nell's
Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren's shop at 430 King's Road, down the road from the Royal Court in 1973; Nell saved up from £18 a week to buy clothes there as it went from Let It Rock to SEX and Seditionaries
FashionLet It Rock, SEX, Seditionaries
Heard as “world's end / let it rock / sex and seditionaries”
Borrowed from a friend of Janet's for Do the Swim; it kept sliding down as she danced
FashionVintage 1950s swimwear
Heard as “bathing suit”
Bought Rocky from Fox and asked Jim Sharman about editing it for Disney+
Where Sting performed before his 40th birthday party
Heard as “Hollywood ball / Hollywood poll”
Turned away at Nell's door in a fringed leather cowboy look; Nell met her at Barneys three days later and apologised, and Cher found it funny
FashionFringed leather cowboy look
Heard as “Cher / turning share”
The party photographer who combines every crowd; Nell is thrilled he has built an empire
Heard as “McMullen / Meemaw”
Nell's favourite label, bought in the sales; still in plastic boxes downstairs
FashionComme des Garçons
Heard as “Comdek / Come Take Our Sons / Kumbigar Sun”
Nell's other favourite designer from the sales
FashionIssey Miyake
Heard as “Icy Miyake / Izzies / Isemi Aikis”
Co-host; World of Wonder came on board Strange Journey as executive producers
Heard as “Fenton”
Ran the stall opposite Nell's at Kensington Market in tight bright trousers, talking about his band; she told him to keep his day job
Heard as “Freddie”
The cafe where Nell tap-danced and was discovered
Nell's tap-dancing look at the Knightsbridge cafe, an outfit she made herself
Fashion1930s tap star look
Rocky Horror's musical director; co-wrote Nell's 1975 single Do the Swim
Heard as “Hartley”
Richard O'Brien's rock musical was based on it
Heard as “Frankenstein”
The first song Richard O'Brien played Jim Sharman
Heard as “double feature”
Stretchy pedal pushers with the odd sequin - Nell says she didn't like it
FashionSequinned pedal pushers
Heard as “stage costume”
Directed Strange Journey; he was two or three, in a stroller, when Nell was in the show
Heard as “Linus”
Rocky Horror's costume designer, given £200-250 for every costume; people say she fed into punk
FashionRocky Horror costumes
Heard as “Sue Blaine”
Down the King's Road at World's End with Malcolm McLaren; Nell saved up from £18 a week to buy her clothes at their shop, from Let It Rock to SEX and Seditionaries
FashionLet It Rock, SEX, Seditionaries
Heard as “Vivian Westwood / Vivian Westfoot”
Where James saw Rocky Horror at midnight
Heard as “Saginaw”
James went at 15 or 16 in Saginaw; the midnight shows with dressing up and shadow casts were where many fans first met gay people
Heard as “midnight movie / at midnight”
His 40th birthday party after his Hollywood Bowl show, with Nell jumping out of the cake
Heard as “Sting / sting”
The old Hollywood costumier who fitted Nell for Sting's cake; and the world Andy mixed with Broadway and downtown, as James says
Heard as “ancient Hollywood / Hollywood”
Keith's brother - James first mixes the two up
Heard as “Brian. McNally / Brian was his brother”
Shabby English country-house grandeur: overstuffed furniture, everything having seen better days
FashionInteriors
Heard as “dilapidated grandeur / gentleman's club”
Much bigger than Nell's, so it needed a door policy too, as Nell says
Heard as “[b area / area in Palladium”
Much bigger than Nell's, Nell says
Little House on the Prairie star; James recalls she left the benefit night with Rob Lowe
Heard as “Melissa Gilbert / one of the guilds”
Star of The Brutalist and The Pianist; Nell says she isn't a fan
Heard as “the pianist / Brody”
One of Nell's films, with Anne Bancroft, Gwyneth Paltrow and Francesco Clemente's paintings
Heard as “Great Expectations”
What he wore at his Kensington Market stall, as Nell remembers
FashionTight bright trousers
Heard as “tight trousers”
Rosie Nice's new dresses made from old fabric, sold at Kensington Market
Fashion1940s-style frocks
Heard as “1940s dresses”
Australian designer Nell sold frocks for at Kensington Market: new 1940s-style dresses made from old crepe (name as heard)
Fashion1940s dresses from old fabric
The London charity Nell worked for, helping people with drug, legal and landlord problems
Heard as “Release”
The outfit Nell made to tap on the cafe tables in Knightsbridge
FashionHome-made 1930s tap outfit
Heard as “tap shoes”
On the cafe sound system Nell took over, with Ginger Rogers
On the cafe sound system with Fred Astaire
Nell played them in the Knightsbridge cafe and tap-danced on the tables
Heard as “Boswell”
Her Frankenstein has only one servant - so Rocky Horror added two
Heard as “Mary Wolstenkraub”
Linus O'Brien's documentary about Rocky Horror, with World of Wonder as executive producers
Heard as “Strange Journey”
Brian Thomson's production on the harbour that Nell is going to see
The one maybe-dud song in Rocky Horror, Nell jokes
Heard as “Eddy's Teddy”
Homosexuality was legalised in England in 1967, six years before Rocky Horror, as Jim Sharman pointed out to Nell
Heard as “legalised in England in 1967”
Jim Sharman's example of the sad, ashamed gay stories before Rocky Horror
Nell compares Rocky Horror's first night to it: a celebration to be proud of
At World's End on the King's Road with Vivienne Westwood
Heard as “McLaren”
Janet's first husband, an architectural photographer; Nell had dinner with him the week before
Heard as “Tim Streetporter”
Nell's shocking-pink dyed hair in 1975, before punk made it common
FashionShocking-pink hair
Heard as “chaparelli pink”
With Janet and Nell, one of the only three people in London with bright dyed hair
FashionDesigner with bright dyed hair
Heard as “Zandra”
After his Hollywood Bowl show; Nell jumped out of the cake
Heard as “40th birthday”
Fitted by an old Hollywood costumier who told Nell her unusual shape is why she pops out of everything
FashionCorseted cake costume
Heard as “which I jumped out of”
The Hollywood costumier who fitted Nell had made her corsets for Gone with the Wind
Heard as “Vivian, Lee”
Its corsets came from the costumier who fitted Nell for Sting's cake
The round keys mailed out before Nell's opened, as James remembers
FashionClub key
Heard as “black keys”
How James and the Club Kids turned up at Nell's door - and didn't get in
FashionClub Kid looks
Heard as “clown outfits”
Another restaurant Keith and Lynn did together
Heard as “Lucky Strike”
The King's Road cinema Rocky Horror moved to for three months before demolition
Heard as “Chelsea classic”
James says Nell's was the last place Andy went before he died
Heard as “This was the last place that Andy went before he died”
Nell says Andy Warhol's last public appearance was a fashion show at the Tunnel - but the last place he partied was Nell's
Heard as “tunnel fashion show”
A regular at Nell's, as James says; he performed there once and would pick Nell up in his limo to play his newest cassette
One of the first big AIDS benefits, with Robert Mapplethorpe and Susan Sarandon, as James recalls
Heard as “AIDS benefit”
At one of the first big AIDS benefits at Nell's, as James recalls
Heard as “Maplethorpe”
Nell thinks she was at the AIDS benefit night
Melissa Gilbert's show, as James explains
Heard as “house on the prairie”
Studio 54's owner, named when Nell talks about running a club
Nell says he was very good at it - someone money runs toward
Heard as “Rudolph”
English designer and decorator (Terence Conran's son) who told Nell she needed a gown allowance for Nell's
FashionDesigner who set Nell's gown allowance
Heard as “English fashion designer”
Nell's pal, the punk icon from the King's Road shop; they were in Jubilee together
FashionPunk icon
Heard as “Jordan”
Nell offers 'queer joy' to RuPaul as a book title
A grey sofa with pale cushions against a pale green wall
FashionTurquoise square glasses, dark auburn bob with a fringe, red lipstick, black polka-dot scarf over a black-and-white striped top, gold rings
His home library of packed bookshelves, a black mic and the Buster Crabbe poster
FashionSilver-grey floral satin blouse with a tie neck and clear tortoiseshell glasses
A white room with a warm lamp, an orange sofa and a black-and-white geometric cushion
FashionNavy zip jacket with a striped trim over a blue striped tee, thin wire glasses
Red-wood shelves of books, a brass pig, prayer candles and two lamps
FashionMaroon Carhartt cap, black round glasses, grey-and-white plaid shirt over a pale yellow tee
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