Aloha! UK Tiki Revival

Tiki aficionado Jamie Wilson settles in, mixes himself a Mai Tai and takes a look at the UK's burgeoning Tiki scene.

It seems that the gods are once again looking down on us with approval as the spirit of 'aloha' has been born again to a new generation of Tiki enthusiasts. Currently experiencing an ongoing resurgence of interest in the States, Tiki is also making something of a comeback over here, some forty years on since its heyday.

The golden era of British Tiki was undoubtedly, the early Sixties; an era which saw the opening of numerous Polynesian-themed bars and restaurants. The Beachcomber bar underneath the Mayfair Hotel in London was one of the originals. Owned by the Danzig family who were popular Hollywood film producers, the Beachcomber was one of the most popular and exclusive London nightspots of the time, attracting numerous A-list celebs, such as Sammy Davis Jr, Marlon Brando, Bob Hope, Henry Mancini, Cary Grant, Steve McQueen, to name but a few.

The Beachcomber occupied a couple of floors of the hotel, and featured a cave-like interior complete with sunken galley bar, parrots in cages and live crocodiles swimming around the pool. One parrot called Peter was particularly notorious on account of his filthy language. Other entertainment was provided by the in house band, Bosko Holder and his Hawaiians accompanied by hula dancers and the occasional in-house tropical storm, created using projections and sound affects.

Another bar which opened around the same time, is the world famous Trader Vic's. Originating in Oakland, California, way back in the 1930s, Trader Vic's has grown down the years into a worldwide chain of bar bar/ restaurants offering 'nouveau Polynesian' fare. The London branch opened in the basement of the Park Lane Hilton in the Sixties where it exists today as the only remaining Tiki bar from this era. It's decorated in a 'House of Bamboo' style with nautical details such as puffer fish and canoes hanging from the ceiling, whilst Tapa cloth and hand-carved wooden Tikis adorn the walls. Trader Vic's is a classic Tiki bar which has by-and-large remained true to the   vision of its founder, Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic himself). Bergeron, incidentally, is credited as having invented in 1944, that intoxicating nectar of the Gods known as the Mai Tai cocktail, though this is a contentious issue which remains hotly disputed by many Tiki and cocktail aficionados.

Successfully capitalising upon the proven popularity of bars such as the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's, Butlin's decided it was time to bring Tiki to the masses. And so, Billy Butlin copied the Beachcomber concept and style, even down to the tropical storm effects and torrential downpours, and opened his own Beachcomber bars at Butlin's holiday camps in Bognor Regis, Ayr, Skegness, Filey and Minehead. And for entertainment, there were Hula competitions aplenty! Another notable bar which opened up around the same time, was the   Kon Tiki at the Sheraton Skyline, Heathrow. Sadly, this closed in the 90's, but it was a hotel bar very much in the style of Trader Vic's, serving what is now known as Pacific Rim food, as well as cocktails in their own signature porcelain Tiki mugs. Such mugs have become highly collectible items for fans of Tiki, with some bars such as Trader Vic's having a different design of mug for each cocktail they serve.

Traditionally, Tiki mug designs were based around stock Polynesian imagery; Gods, volcanoes, pineapples and coconuts; but they were also produced in many other guises, from those of influential people of the time. Now, modern versions depict elements of Kustom Kulture and classic monsters, and new designs are still being produced; many of them as limited editions created by well known American Lowbrow artists -- such as Von Franco, The Pizz and most notably Shag -- whose incorporation of Tiki imagery into their work has done much to rekindle interest in Polynesian Pop style. Shag recalls,'When I was in my early-20s, a group of friends and I had a hobby of seeking out the remaining Tiki bars in Southern California, and drinking heavily. Many of them would let you keep the mug that your drink came in, if you paid an extra $5, so you ended up with a nice souvenir of your evening. The faux-Polynesian decor and sweet, powerful tropical drinks came to symbolise the hedonistic consumption which is the central theme of my artwork. I'm not that interested in real Polynesian culture or mythology. Instead, I love the pseudo-tropical decor and fake South Seas beverages, which were designed to make the average working man think he had stepped onto Bora Bora.' Likewise Britain's very own king of Lowbrow, Vince Ray...'the main reason Tiki imagery is so popular right now is because of nostalgia rather than a genuine interest in Polynesian ethnic art. I remember the bar in Butlin's, Skegness, which was designed by my uncle and must have been very hip back then, in the mid-Sixties. You'd enter over a bamboo bridge

with fibreglass alligators floating beneath, and every hour we'd be treated to a tropical rainstorm which was cleverly conceived to avoid soaking the people sitting at their tables. I always remember the Tikis and just thought they were big bogey men. I loved that place and am glad to be part of a revival of that style.'  

And it's a revival which continues to grow. The Intoxica record shop on Portobello Road, London, recently received a Tiki-inspired facelift, and just over two years ago,  

South London Pacific -- the first of a new wave of Tiki bars -- opened its doors. Meanwhile, other Tiki bars have sprung up in cities across the land.

Music has also played a large part in the Tiki revival, with 'exotica; classics by the likes of Martin Denny and Les Baxter now reissued on CD. Then there's the emergence of exotic acts such as King Kukulele from California, as well as home grown combos such as the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, the Bikini Beach Band and the Hula Honeys, the latter of which perform their own brand of Hawaiian Hula Burlesque.

So what now for Tiki? Well as they say, what happens in the States will happen here which means the rise of Polynesian Pop in the UK is only just beginning. I predict that we will be seeing more and more Tiki style, and if the Gods are indeed looking down favourably on us, we will get a good enough summer next year that we can all enjoy our own Hawaiian styled Garden Luaus. But if the weather doesn't quite happen or you just can't wait that long, there's no reason not to start now, because what better way to relax on a cold winters evening than escaping in to an exotic world where all your dreams can be realized.

The writer of this piece, Jamie Wilson, runs Cheeky Tiki an online Tiki store specialising in all manner of exotic hand-crafted south-seas inspired art and decor

© 2004 Jamie Wilson. Extracted from a longer illustrated article which appeared in issue 5 of Nude
(Dec 2004/ Jan 2005).
Lead picture reproduced with kind permission of Shag. (www.shag.com)