Episode 8 Oxford Street Revealed

The most famous shopping street in the world

in the heart of Britain's capital city.

A mile and a half long with 30 million visitors each year.

With some of the world's most famous shops...

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING ..biggest stars...

Kate Moss.

..and busiest stations.

Sorry, guys, stand back for me.

What does it take to keep it running 24 hours a day...

Busiest street in the world so it needs constant attention.

-..seven days a week?

-Oi! Clear off!

You're going to be arrested on suspicion of attempted theft.

Are you ready, London?

A street that never sleeps.

This sort of thing wouldn't happen anywhere else.

-Coming up... CHANTING:

-Save the 12 Bar!

..squatters take over a building in protest

of an Oxford Street development.

Don't let the music die!

-The developers want them out...

-What the heck?

..but the squatters aren't going quietly.

A celebrity chef's cooking up a storm in a department store,

but there's a problem with the oven.

Good news? Not quite.

And things are hanging by a thread at a local gallery

that's trying to bring in its biggest ever work of art.

Oh, mate. My heart's going boom, boom, boom, boom.

In the shadow of Centre Point tower at the east end of Oxford Street

is Denmark Street.

This little stretch of Victorian shops and offices

is a world away from the bright lights

and big brands of its neighbour.

But, as the heart of the British music industry for over 80 years,

it's made a name for itself, literally.

Welcome to Tin Pan Alley.

It's the only street of music of its kind in the world.

It is exclusively dedicated to music retail and music business.

Henry Scott-Irvine is a music historian and writer.

Number six just on the right there

was the Sex Pistols' first rehearsal space.

The Rolling Stones recorded at Regent Sounds

at the end of the street.

Central Sound Studios, David Bowie did his very first records

for Deram there.

But this end of Oxford Street is changing dramatically.

In 2018, to coincide with the opening of a new railway station here,

instead of ending in a traffic junction,

Oxford Street will open out into a massive new public piazza,

one that will back on to Denmark Street.

Many fear the rapid redevelopment of the area

will commercialise the unique shops and businesses

on Tin Pan Alley and surrounding Soho.

Developers, the Consolidated Group, overseeing the work dispute this,

saying they plan to keep Denmark Street's unique identity.

The shops, we will keep trading during the whole of the development.

In fact, we've actually got a long-term plan with the traders

to make sure that they can all keep trading

during the whole of the three years while the development happens.

But something's rotten in the street of Denmark.

A month ago, the street's famous live music venue, the 12 Bar,

was closed by the developers.

-CHANTING:

-Save Soho! Save Soho!

And a week ago, a group calling itself Bohemians 4 Soho

moved in to squat in the 12 Bar.

Don't let the music die!

They say they're determined to fight the creeping commercialisation

of one of the city's bohemian quarters

-by the Oxford Street development.

-Save the 12 Bar!

Acting as a spokesman for the squatters is Phoenix.

-CHANTING:

-Save the 12 Bar! Save the 12 Bar!

There should be a blue plaque outside saying Jimi Hendrix

and the Rolling Stones and David Bowie and The Who played here.

And it should be kept as a grassroots venue.

The developers have been granted an interim possession order

to evict the squatters, which they served this morning -

but the squatters have refused to budge.

-CHANTING:

-Save the 12 Bar!

They've been watching the bailiffs circling,

and fear they're going to try and evict them any moment, with police help.

-CHANTING:

-Save the 12 Bar!

Don't let the music die!

Don't let the music die!

After several hours of concerted demonstrations,

the squatters think the threat is receding.

They're waiting for the police to see

whether they will back them up and enforce them

but it doesn't look like they're going to do it.

-One, two, three.

-ALL CHEER

Although the bailiffs call it a day, the risk of eviction remains.

People power!

Direct action wins the day!

Although the developer's possession order still stands,

the squatters have arranged for an emergency court hearing

to challenge it.

Save Soho!

See you in court Friday, February...

Good. Friday, February 2nd. Hey!

If they can overturn the order, they hope to remain in the building.

Until the hearing in five days' time,

they plan to stay barricaded in the venue in force.

Later, while the squatters pin their hopes

on their court hearing...

-CHANTING:

-Don't let the music die!

..the developers concentrate theirs on the morning before.

LOUD BANGING

What the heck?

It's Thursday afternoon at Debenhams Oxford Street, and in the bistro,

manager James is getting ready for the afternoon sitting.

Wonderful. Canapes are ready, Prosecco's good to go.

Except this afternoon, things are about to go distinctly cordon bleu.

That's because on his way to the store

for a special live cooking experience is a true gastronomic star.

Two Michelin stars, to be precise.

Michel Roux Jr's coming over.

He'll be doing a live demonstration of two of his signature dishes.

We're going to be sort of announcing that to our customers soon

to get everybody down.

Treat them to a free glass of Prosecco

and some freshly made canapes, as well.

The bistro was redeveloped recently

as part of a £25 million overhaul of the shop.

The store is hoping events like today will help to showcase it,

as well as providing entertainment for customers.

And, at five o'clock on the dot,

Michel and assistant chef Angus arrive at the store's back door.

Thank you so much, lovely to see you.

Thank you.

Michel's restaurant, Le Gavroche, is one of only a handful

with two Michelin stars in the UK.

So where am I?

But today, he'll be contending

with very different cooking conditions.

Is that just a regular oven?

For his demonstration,

Michel will be pan-frying duck breasts on a hob live in the store.

His second dish, a tarte tatin is being prepared

by assistant Angus using Debenhams' own oven.

While they check it out,

James concentrates on looking after the customers.

We were VIP a minute ago.

Very exciting - as you can see

we're sort of filling up quite quickly.

Loads of people have turned up, which is fantastic.

But, while the canapes are arriving on time,

other things aren't going so well.

It literally just says, "Enter password."

-And it says...

-James is called back to the kitchen.

Debenhams' ovens are set to specific temperatures

to ensure consistency throughout their stores.

But assistant chef Angus needs a higher temperature

for the complex dishes he's preparing.

To change it, they need a special code.

'He wants to change a few of the settings on the oven to his personal taste.'

So I'm just going to find out how we actually do that,

which won't be a second on.

James gets to work trying to get hold of his tech team.

Would help if I could get hold of somebody.

Well, I do like that.

While James tries to crack the oven code,

out front, Michel is getting on with the demonstration.

Lauren, it's James, hello.

On the Merrychef ovens,

do you know what the passcode is to unlock them?

Michel Roux's cooking and needs the passcode to unlock the oven.

Good news?

-Not quite.

-HE LAUGHS

But we will be in a second. We'll get it sorted.

The success of the demonstration now rests on James' shoulders.

..Just a quick one -

a little bit of an oversight on the planning part...

We'll see how he gets on later.

Down an alley just off Oxford Street, there's one institution

that wants the area to become famous for something other than shopping.

This is The Photographers' Gallery.

It relocated here four years ago,

hoping to bring a little bit of culture

to the heart of UK retail.

It's Jason Welling's job to supervise the biggest event

in the gallery's calendar -

the annual exhibition of work from the Deutsche Borse photography prize.

It's one of the largest art competitions in the UK,

with a prize of £30,000 for the winner,

chosen from four finalists.

But there's a problem with some of the finalists' photos.

The works are so large that we can't actually get them through the building.

While most of the exhibits can be brought in the front door,

one of the finalists has recreated a South African skyscraper,

with photographs laid on giant light boxes.

And three of these are just too big to get in.

The roof hatch opens up.

The work isn't terribly heavy,

but the height of the building warrants a large crane.

But the roof hatch is six stories up and no-one has ever risked

winching an irreplaceable piece of art through it...

..until tomorrow, that is.

And, as dawn breaks over Oxford Street,

Jason's plan goes into action.

The gallery have arranged to have the street closed,

so the cranes can operate safely.

And to do that, they need a lot of space.

The cavalry has arrived.

And Jason has brought in a team of specialists,

who will all have to be on their game to get the job done.

-This is going up there, isn't it?

-It is,

the hatch is to the right-hand corner...

If they can't get the work into the building,

there won't be an exhibition.

Once we get the hatch open I'd like to actually take the lifting crew up there...

-Yeah.

-..so they actually get a mental picture

of what they're dealing with.

The responsibility for the lift falls to James.

His company, Jayhawk, specialise in installing works of art

across the country...

But lifting three giant sculptures through a roof by Oxford Street

is unusual even for him.

Everyone is here now that needs to be here.

We'll just get one of the vehicles in place and, yeah,

I'm pretty confident that we're going to get the job done

and it's going to be very smooth. Famous last words.

Shall we start bringing them in now?

-Yeah, as soon as you're ready we'll sling one up.

-Perfect. Thank you.

I think we'll start with the largest one first

seeing as it is going to be the most trickiest one.

The wooden box is 12ft long and five feet high.

The works inside were six years in the making,

so James knows his team simply can't make any mistakes whilst moving them.

Keep going...

Nice and slow.

When it comes to artwork, nothing can be replaced.

Possibly it can be restored but, you know, it's irreplaceable.

'So, you know, we have to take a lot of care

'in getting this job done right.'

Nice and slowly.

There we go.

Cheers.

Getting the boxes up and in

is the job of crane operator John and his banksman Ray.

They'll work closely together via walkie-talkies to guide the works in.

How much are these units that we're lifting then, we know? Not in weight, in value.

Is it?

-Oh, right.

-Well, so Ray says.

That's going to have to come up a bit, I think.

We're just slinging the load so it's nice and safe.

And then we'll pick it up, make sure it's level

and go from there.

Could take ten minutes, could take half an hour.

Hopefully ten minutes.

Don't let the slings drag. That's lovely.

When the wire's straight I'll take you back on your head, John.

So far, so good.

The piece now hoisted is an integral part of the exhibition.

To get it in safely,

John will lift while Ray guides it in from up on the roof.

And that's when the fun begins.

Later, it's high suspense at The Photographers' Gallery.

Oh, mate, my heart's going boom, boom, boom, boom.

-CHANTING:

-Save the 12 Bar!

At the east end of Oxford Street,

a group of squatters have barricaded themselves in

to the 12 Bar on Denmark Street,

to protest at the rapid redevelopment of the area.

Direct action wins the day!

They're waiting for a court hearing in five days' time

to try and overturn an eviction order.

But, unfortunately for them,

the developers aren't prepared to wait.

They say their court order still holds.

They want the squatters out.

The police are quickly through the front door,

and remove the group's home-made barricades.

What the heck?

We get woken up by people, you know, battering the door down.

INDISTINCT SHOUTING

The police came round and took quite a while

to smash in through the barricades.

INDISTINCT SHOUTING

Eventually they got in...

and pulled everyone out. I think one person was arrested.

-Just stand still, everything will be explained.

-I am standing still.

Thank you very much, sir.

The aftermath of the eviction

leaves the bailiffs in control of the building,

with the squatters looking for a new home.

The old eviction caravan moved on.

Most of the squatters move off.

Some, however, move into another squat

just a few yards down the road.

This too is the subject of an eviction order

by the developers.

A few days later, Richard Metcalfe and Laurence Kirschel

from the developers have come to inspect the site.

This has all been boarded up purely for the squatters.

The second squat, just a few doors down, is still in place.

The possession order has been served, and the squatters

have been given until 3.30 today to move out.

So it's this building over here, 59 St Giles High Street,

which they're occupying.

The legal action surrounding the eviction

has already cost them £50,000.

They believe the whole battle has been totally unnecessary.

There should have been a dialogue between ourselves

and the squatters beforehand.

We then could have answered those questions.

We are preserving the music industry

and they're demonstrating to preserve the music in the street,

so it seems ridiculous on all fronts.

But, just as we're being shown around, from an upstairs window

someone from the new squat wants to talk.

We're from the owners.

If you'd like to.

By the front of the street.

OK.

The squatters have asked to meet.

And we will erm... have a conversation.

Seconds later, two squatters emerge.

-Hi, sir, how are you?

-Hi.

-How are you?

-Very well.

-Good.

Thank you very much for...

No, thank you. If you leave at 3.30, that's great.

No problem. We don't want any trouble.

-3.30, guys. See you later.

-Great.

You can have your property back - it's all good from now on.

-Thank you, Richard.

-Thanks a lot. Thanks for the chat.

-Thank you very much.

-God bless. Cheers.

But Richard and Laurence aren't entirely convinced

the squatters will be as good as their word.

I don't want to be, but I'm sceptical.

They promised to go out before, so we'll see at 3.30 today if they do move out.

Later, 3.30pm comes round.

-SHOUTING AND SCREAMING

-Right, guys. Run out of time now.

-It's

-BLEEP

-wrong. I'm going in.

On the Merrychef ovens, do you know what the passcode is to unlock them?

At Debenhams, bistro manager James is trying to get hold of a code

to help out one of the country's best-known chefs.

Michel Roux's cooking and needs the passcode to unlock the oven.

At stake is Michel's impending live cooking demonstration.

And, after several nervous minutes of trying,

he gets through to his tech team.

All right, wonderful. Thank you, bye.

We have the password, which is good. I'll just go and give it a go.

But, even WITH the code, the oven doesn't want to play ball.

No. Just leave it on that setting.

-Is it possible on that setting?

-No, no, no, that's OK.

You can make anything work, I'm sure.

Assistant chef Angus is going to have to modify his cooking times

in order to make the all-important tarte tatin.

Out front, meanwhile, Michel is busy whipping up a storm.

So, any questions?

Go on. You wanted to ask it, I know you did.

Don't be shy.

Yes, I am married.

AUDIENCE LAUGHS

Michel's demonstrating two dishes tonight.

The first is a duck breast, cooked on a hob live in front of the crowd.

Smells fantastic. If only I could pop over and try a little bit,

it would be fantastic.

Buy the best you can get.

The more butter puff pastry has in it, the better it is.

And Michel's popularity has outstripped Debenhams' expectations.

We've ended up making another 150 canapes,

because we had way more people than we anticipated come along.

Backstage, Angus is finally able to work on the infamous tarte tatin.

I've cooked in a few places but not in a department store before.

So this is a first.

Now, that's literally just come out of the oven.

The moment of truth for James.

How has the tarte tatin fared?

-Oooh!

-AUDIENCE LAUGHS

-There we go.

-APPLAUSE

That's the vegetable tarte tatin.

Despite the issues with the oven, the demonstration's a success

and there's just a chance for a photo op for the fans.

This is a great opportunity to actually come and meet a,

you know, two Michelin-starred chef in real life.

Loved the demonstration, it was really, really good.

It tastes yummy and it also looks yummy.

For Michel, more used to the kitchens of his restaurant,

it's been a new experience.

Got a lovely crowd, people have been very responsive.

Little bit difficult with only one little hotplate

and I'm actually cooking in the restaurant

and not in the kitchen, but it's worked out well.

And James can breathe a sigh of relief at a job well done.

Brilliant turnout. Couple of hiccups,

oven didn't work exactly how we expected it to...

But great night, really good turnout.

And with that, Michel can head back to Le Gavroche

and the familiarity of his own ovens.

At The Photographers' Gallery, crane operator John

and his banksman Ray are getting ready

to winch three irreplaceable artworks

into the building through a hatch on the roof.

Ray is up at the top to guide them in,

and the two will communicate by walkie-talkie.

-WALKIE-TALKIE:

-'Whenever you're ready, brother.'

-All right, mate.

Coming up.

Further up, gallery manager Jason is hoping for a straightforward lift.

No-one has ever tried hoisting artworks in before.

Here it comes...

Dropping it would be unthinkable.

-There's no rush.

-Take it nice and slow.

-Nice and easy.

The issue for John

is once the crate's over the roof, he can't see it.

-WALKIE-TALKIE:

-'Nice and easy.' That's lovely, Johnny boy.

Keep coming round.

'He's communicating to a blind man

'cos that's basically what I am at the moment.'

So I'm relying on him to give me clear instructions for me to follow.

Strap in a minute.

Yeah, baby. Yeah, that's beautiful.

Hold your jib and just slew to your right.

Couple more foot on the hoist there, Johnny boy. That's lovely.

Lovely there, brother, you can start your slew now.

There's a tiny little bit of wind but no drama up here. It's all good.

With expert guidance by a radio from banksman Ray...

-Beautiful.

-..crane operator John

is edging the irreplaceable art into the building.

Lovely brother, lovely motion, keep going.

You're just entering the hole now.

Inside the gallery, the team are hoping the wind doesn't pick up

as they wait to land the work.

That's lovely, Johnny boy.

They've nearly got their hands on it.

They've got hands on it now.

-You all right?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-WALKIE-TALKIE:

-'Excellent. Ten out of ten.'

The first artwork can now be taken into the gallery space.

All right, that's lovely, that's fine.

One down. You know, don't count your chickens yet but...

you'll see us all punching the air when the last one's in.

Down on the street, the team are getting into their stride.

And the next light box is ready to be hoisted through the roof.

If it goes as easy as the last one, I'll be happy. It's all going according to plan.

And soon enough,

the second fragile South African skyscraper artwork is up in the air.

-WALKIE-TALKIE:

-'I've got hold of that string.'

Beautiful, 15ft to go.

Entering the hole in about five seconds.

Lovely job, lovely job.

Two down, one very expensive work of art to go.

But with the team working swiftly,

the third and final piece of artwork is up...

..and now in.

And the team can start to relax.

-Yeah, I'm up.

-OK.

I'm really pleased. So that's all of the artworks in.

So...very good. Good job.

Finally, Jason can install the work

and the exhibition gets its three giant light boxes.

And six weeks later at a gala reception

the artists themselves,

Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse,

are about to find out if all the hard work's been worth it.

The Photographer's Gallery is about to announce the winner

of the £30,000 Deutsche Borse prize.

..Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse.

APPLAUSE

The Photographer's Gallery did an amazing job.

They just, you know, they curated the show so well.

There's so many people involved in the whole process,

which are often invisible.

And they're actually really what makes it happen.

In the shadow of a major new Oxford Street development,

a group of squatters are still holed up in a derelict property.

Can I come and talk to you, sir?

They've told the developers they'll be gone by 3.30pm,

as per the terms of a court order.

3.30, guys. See you later.

And, at just after 3pm,

the developers' team of bailiffs are on site to oversee the handover.

Knock on the door, make sure that they vacate the site.

They vacate the site, we gain entry,

start boarding up and securing the property.

All right, guys, have you got everything out?

So what are you looking to do?

They're not going to leave.

So, as of now they should have

handed back possession back over to us.

So it's now an arrestable offence for them remaining in occupation.

One of the squatters the developers met previously is back.

His entry is the chink in the armour the bailiffs were hoping for.

I'm now currently inside the property.

Thank you.

All what we want is we take... Thank you.

While some of the squatters are happy to leave

and take their stuff out with them,

there's another group on the first floor

who have barricaded themselves in

and are prepared to put up a fight.

Save the street of Soho.

Black and orange would've been a good idea.

Don't let the music die! Don't let the music die!

Don't let the music die!

Don't let the music die!

Meant to be done amicably

and they were meant to be leaving peacefully

but unfortunately we've just had a few stragglers and they're digging their heels in.

Don't let the music die! Don't let the music die!

The bailiffs have had enough.

With the squatters refusing to leave quietly,

they take the decision to force their way onto the first floor.

-OK, let's go.

-We can do it anyway so...

-Yeah.

TRILLING AND SHOUTING

All right, guys, well out of time. Out.

It's now an arrestable offence for you to remain here.

The bailiffs feel they have no other option

but to physically remove the squatters themselves.

One of the removed squatters decides he wants back in.

But the climb's a bit too ambitious even for him.

Come down, come down.

Another squatter is clearly concerned

at what he believes are strong-arm tactics by the bailiffs

on the first floor.

Who do they think they are?

-It's

-BLEEP

-wrong. I'm going in, bro.

Excuse me, who are you?

With things getting heated, finally, the police arrive on the scene.

SIRENS WAIL

Move on the pavement cos we need to clear the road, all right?

As far as the bailiffs and developers are concerned, it's job done.

They now have both buildings back under their own control,

and can proceed with their plans.

We're not here to cause a breach of the peace,

we're just here to get back the property.

You can see the resistance we've had from the squatters and occupiers,

and unfortunately the side of what they can get like.

We'll have the full possession hearing soon,

and then that'll seal everything off.

For the squatters, it's another battle lost.

What happens to Tin Pan Alley

when the Oxford Street piazza is complete is anyone's guess.