Time Out at 40

See all Time Out's 40th birthday London heroes

London heros past and present?
‘Vidal Sassoon, because I can’t live withoit Vidal Sassoon. I still get my hair cut there. Very often. David Bailey and all London photographers, Terence Conran, Zandra Rhodes, Joseph Ettedgui.’

What’s the biggest thing that’s happened in fashion in the last 40 years?
‘Well, surely we have to get Margaret Thatcher in there. London has set the pace for the last however long you like. And all those Italian restaurants that have sprung up since the 1960s were fantastic. I love Cecconi’s.’

Personal favourite moment in London?
‘The whole 1960s thing was a ten-year running party, which was lovely. It started at the end of the 1950s and sort of faded a bit when it became muddled with flower power. It was marvellous.’
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What does Time Out mean to you?
‘A vital part of life. You gave us the most terrific write up for our restaurant, Alexander’s, which absolutely set us going, and for several years it was the most fashionable restaurant in London. Everybody used to go there: Brigitte Bardot, Grace Kelly… It was wildly successful. It was around the beginning of Time Out. Time Out was also a terrific place to get a tip-off about which jazz musicians would be playing at Ronnie Scott’s.’

How do you feel about being one of our heros?
'Thrilled – I love Time Out because it was so supportive of me.'

London is…
'…the city that sets the pace.'

See all Time Out's 40th birthday London heroes