Forbidden Fruit

Mentioned as one of Gilberto Gil's favourite shops in “London, London”: Brazil’s Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil in exile – Part 3 on The World Elsewhere blog

Caetano Veloso’s and Gilberto Gil’s "Towards the northern
end of Portobello Road there were shops selling records of
West Indian, and Caribbean-style, music.
(Then, as now, the Portobello Road had markedly different
characters. The southern end largely consisted of antique shops
and stalls; the northern end was “the sleaziest, most druggy”
section, according to Howard Marks, the celebratory hash
smuggler and dealer who at this time was living in
Lansdowne Crescent.) Gil enjoyed browsing for records, with one
of his favourite shops being the incense-infused “Forbidden Fruit”
(at 295, between Oxford and Cambridge Gardens, just north of the
Westway), a place commonly known as “the Afghan shop” because,
in addition to music, it sold clothes and hippyish bric-a-brac."

Comments

Dave Harwood

05 Dec 2024 at 02:52

I found this piece in the 'Chelsea News & General Advertiser' dated 26th June 1970: “TALKING about trendy dress designers and boutique owners, brothers Bob and Duncan Laurie, owners of 'Forbidden Fruit' in Portobello Road and Kensington Market, have just opened in King's Road. Michele Ashburton-Dunning has transformed the drab, long-empty premises of Timothy White's, on the corner of Beaufort Street, with exotic window paintings and the exterior has been sprayed violet-blue. Bob, aged 22, and Duncan, aged 25, opened the first 'Forbidden Fruit' in Portobello Road four years ago, after a trip to Afghanistan. Indian embroidered clothes, for male and female, will be a speciality. Jewellery, bags, scarves and underground magazines are also on sale.”
... and this piece from an Etsy page, selling a vintage 1960's 'Forbidden Fruit' Medieval Maxi Dress:
HISTORY: Robert Laurie took over the 'Lord Kitcheners Valet' premises in Portobello Road, London, in 1967 and opened and ran a progressive business calling it 'Forbidden Fruit'. Laurie possessed a progressive vision which was dedicated to change and revolution, so much that he saw fit to turn the 'Forbidden Fruit' shop into the first and only 'free shop' in the UK (influenced by the 'Diggers' of California). Laurie's motto was 'Give what you want, take what you need'. Laurie and his brother Duncan were voted the 'Observer Newspaper' businessmen of the year 1968 for their enterprise.
Credit: detailed information from Erich von Dalenberg. www.wowvondahlenberg.com