Grandfather of Soho venue's owner wrote The Sound Of Music
The nightclub's owner Simon Hammerstein, 34, is dubbed the "Impresario of Smut" - but he has a proud artistic heritage.
His great-great-grandfather built Manhattan Opera House and his grandfather Oscar Hammerstein II wrote hit shows The Sound of Music and Oklahoma.
Simon quit his English boarding school at 16 to work as a stage hand in New York, working his way up to direct several off-Broadway shows.
English-born Hammerstein found real success in 2007 when he spent almost £1million opening The Box on New York's trendy Lower East Side.
He was backed by UK film stars Jude Law and Rachel Weisz. The "fetish-burlesque" club featured outrageous stage shows involving sex toys, acrobats and dancing dwarves and became a magnet for celebrities including Lindsay Lohan and Moby.
But it was hit by scandal in 2008 when twin sisters Amber and Heather Langley, who performed on stage as The Porcelain Twinz, posted a 5,000-word internet diatribe against Hammerstein.
