Big pimpin' | Adaweya in London (1976)
While in England's capital, Ahmed experiences one of the biggest highs and bitter lows of his early career. Ahmed's 1976 opens with a residency at the Omar Khayyam in London. London may seem like an odd choice for him to have visited that year, but according to this 1976 Guardian article by David Hirst , the city was teeming with Arab visitors and immigrants hungry for entertainment. ( A post by Asmahan of London about her 1977 visit echoes this .) The Omar Khayyam in it original building on Cannon Street. It later moved to Regent. "The Arab visitors," Hirst writes, "now almost exclusively male and wearing Western dress, are likely to head for a nightclub or a casino. If it is Crockford's to which they may have been drawn by sumptuous advertisements in Arabic magazines, they can retire to an 'Arab room' with Egyptian hostesses in attendance. If it is to the Omar Khayyam nightclub, they will find an ambience, decor, floorshow, staff, and clientele so