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Favourite London music venue

Used to love The Marquee when it was on Wardour Street and The Bridge House in Canning Town. Saw loads of bands starting out and it was great to see them in such small venues.

Of the bigger venues the Hammersmith Odeon has always been good for music and has an amazing history of who has performed there. Capacity just about perfect...


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Comments

  • Henry Irving
    Henry Irving Posts: 85,224
    The Hope and Anchor
  • Goonerhater
    Goonerhater Posts: 12,677
    the valley
  • HardyAddick
    HardyAddick Posts: 1,637
    The Bridge house was a good venue. Was a regular but never checked who was on before going.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE5_gahmeLE
  • ricky_otto
    ricky_otto Posts: 22,600
    Crossbars - when Lady T is is doing a set.
  • Loved the Marquee - was good on a Sunday night if we couldn't get in to the Lyceum to see 5 punk bands for £1.50.

    100 Club is crap as regards view and acoustics but very representative of the punk era and I still love it.
  • IT_Andy
    IT_Andy Posts: 477
    Always liked the Hammersmith Odeon. More recently The Pelton Arms or Sommerset House.
  • CAFCTrev
    CAFCTrev Posts: 5,978
    edited October 2017
    This one....

  • agim
    agim Posts: 1,135
    Brixton academy
  • I do enjoy going to the reopened Roundhouse

    The Brixton Academy is good too, while for more cerebral acts, the RFH is excellent
  • The Roundhouse... but in the early 70's
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  • kimbo
    kimbo Posts: 2,996
    Union Chapel
  • Covered End
    Covered End Posts: 52,008
    Brixton Academy is my current favourite. Just the right size and with a sloping floor so nearly everyone gets a good view.
    Easy to get to and from as well for me.

    Back in the day my favourite was The Lyceum followed by Hammersmith Palais and Camden Palace.
  • cabbles
    cabbles Posts: 15,255
    I'll never forget selhurst working men's club New Year's Eve in like 96 or something. Cabbles Snr's band 5 wheel drive were playing there and as we arrived and he was getting his drums out some bloke was lying stabbed in the alleyway

    It's what you want from a night out seeing in the new year. Made it very difficult for my father to get his drums in, but he managed to step over the victim okay
  • colthe3rd
    colthe3rd Posts: 8,486
    Never understand the love for Brixton. The sound is terrible in there.
  • Brixton Academy.

    100 club is good as well.
  • Covered End
    Covered End Posts: 52,008
    colthe3rd said:

    Never understand the love for Brixton. The sound is terrible in there.

    I've been there around 20 times in the last 5 years and the sound has been fine every time.
  • Stig
    Stig Posts: 29,026
    Charlton Life.
  • Danepak
    Danepak Posts: 1,629
    Egg London
  • I quite like The Troxy on commercial road. Good with or without seats. Carpets nice.


  • The_President
    The_President Posts: 14,280
    Roundhouse - has a special atmosphere.
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  • RaplhMilne
    RaplhMilne Posts: 4,601
    Larger 02 Indigo is great venue, small Bush Hall Shepherds Bush.
  • Monto Water Rats near Kings Cross is good too for really small gigs - a version of The Chords are playing there next year. Fiddlers Elbow in Camden is also good for small gigs and they have a really good selection of bands for old gits like me. Beer in both venues is shite though
  • Missed It
    Missed It Posts: 2,734
    Koko in Camden, a vast improvement on the grotty old Camden Palace
  • Covered End
    Covered End Posts: 52,008
    Missed It said:

    Koko in Camden, a vast improvement on the grotty old Camden Palace

    Good. I'm seeing The Undertones there next month.
  • It was always the Wardour Street Marquee in the 70s, with an honourable mention to The Rainbow and The Roundhouse.

    Latterly, Shepherd's Bush O2 isn't bad as a medium-sized venue; you get a decent view of the band even up in the gods and it has a reasonably intimate feel. Acoustics are excellent at Cadogan Hall and I quite liked the Borderline when I paid a visit last year.
  • Marquee and the two Roundhouses in Chalk Farm and Dagenham were favourites in my younger days. I still like the Chalk Farm Roundhouse - it's got a good atmosphere. I don't like the O2 at Brixton - horrible bars and grimy although viewing is good. The Electric at Brixton is a good medium size venue. Cadogan Hall at Sloane Square is decent and I like a couple of the small venues in Hackney. O2 Islington is good.
  • colthe3rd
    colthe3rd Posts: 8,486

    colthe3rd said:

    Never understand the love for Brixton. The sound is terrible in there.

    I've been there around 20 times in the last 5 years and the sound has been fine every time.
    Oh well in that case it must be fine.
  • Pedro45
    Pedro45 Posts: 5,823
    Loved the Lyceum back in the 80's - my regular Sunday night haunt for many years. Hammersmith Palais was my overall fave, with The Rainbow, and Hammersmith Odeon next up. Marquee was very intimate but a devil to get the support acts drums out of! Liked Dingwalls, and the old Roundhouse (the new version is OK too), but always found the sound poor at Electric Ballroom, and Festival Hall. RAH can be good these days (I might be a bit deafer!). For all those mentioning Camden Palace (which I went to the opening of...), it was called Music Machine prior to that, and very similar.
  • Stefco
    Stefco Posts: 848
    Brixton Academy.

    Many a visit there. Sound did vary from gig to gig, but that can vary depending on the P.A. brought in by bands, & the sound engineer.

    I saw 3 gigs in a week there back in '97:

    Foo's - which sounded terrible on the Colour & The Shape tour (& Grohls kit mic'd way louder than Taylor's - which was pointless as Dave used it twice in the whole show)

    Faith No More - Very good sound

    Portishead - Feck me! Best live sound I've ever heard. Every note & nuance rang through perfectly.

    The Borderline as my small venue. Super intimate & cosy, & many a night spent there at Rokit (Rock/Metal club). I saw Incubus there in '97 on their 1st headline tour, totally rammed, queues around the block. Awesome sound!

    Always liked the Garage (always a good sound), & an honourable mention for the Underworld too.
  • PopIcon
    PopIcon Posts: 5,970
    LA2.