London Free School
The London Free School was founded on 8 March 1966, principally by John "Hoppy" Hopkins and Rhaune Laslett.Description
The London Free School was a community action adult education project inspired by American free universities. The organisers have been described as an "anarchic temporary coalition" of the old guard New Left and CND housing activists from the Rachman days and the new beatnik/hippy generation. The former included George Clark of the Notting Hill Community Workshop, Richard Hauser, Rhaune and Jim Laslett-O’Brien, Bill Richardson of the Powis and Colville Residents Association, Andre and Barbara Shervington.
To varying degrees of involvement, the hippy contingent numbered John Hopkins, Michael X, Courtney Tulloch, Lloyd Hunter, Peter Jenner, Joe Boyd of Elektra Records and UFO, Andrew King, Michael Horovitz, John Michell, Julie Felix, Jeff Nuttall, Mike McInnerney, Graham Keen, Neil Oram, Dave Tomlin, Felix de Mendelssohn, Nigel Waymouth of Granny Takes a Trip, John Esam, Alexander Trocchi, the jazz writer Ron Atkins, the Warhol star Kate Heliczer, Harvey Matusow, R. D. Laing and "the Belsize Park shrinks", Emily Young, Anjelica Huston and Pink Floyd.
According to Jeff Nuttall, "Ultimately the Free School did nothing but put out a local underground newsletter and organise the 2 Notting Hill Gate Festivals, which were, admittedly, models of exactly how the arts should operate – festive, friendly, audacious, a little mad and all taking place on demolition sites, in the streets, and in a magnificently institutional church hall." Despite this opinion, the formation of "The Notting Hill Neighbourhood Service",the Notting Hill Carnival, the International Times and the UFO Club all emerged from the brief life of the LFS.
Also significant was the early development of Pink Floyd, who played at All Saints Church Hall, initially as part of The Notting Hill Fayre, and then a series of fund-raising concerts for the LFS. These were among the earliest gigs by the band, coming between their Spontaneous Underground period at The Marquee and the start of the UFO club.
