What sad news, and i agree with you that there is nothing like going to a venue that is smelly and those smells tell many tails in your mind.
Being from Portsmouth, and even more so just down the road from my parents house is a well known venue called The Wedgewood Rooms, I first saw I Oasis here before they hit the big, Liam was worse then than later years. Probably the Northern Southern hatred thing. Famous bands have made their names here from indie to rock.
I find music (Not Rap and R&B) is interesting and to think that music is part of our lives, some may say it makes us who we are, some say with out music we would not have many values???
I do know that Ken Livingstone has no values.Is trying to get himself a knighthood, Nobel Peace Prize or become a historic icon for our future seeds to look up to. He is just a greedy, self centered old git that is going to ruin many more of Londons history before he himself pops his clogs.
The London Astoria is a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road in London, England. It has been leased and run by Mean Fiddler Music Group since 2000.
Built on the site of a former pickle factory, it opened in 1927 as a cinema. However, it was converted for theatrical use in 1976 and is now exclusively a music venue with a capacity of 2,000. The Astoria is connected to Astoria 2 such that the two venues can function as a single venue where needed. By far its busiest nights are the G-A-Y promotions.
It has played host to many up-and-coming bands, such as Radiohead’s performance for MTV in 1994 (released on VHS/DVD as Live at the Astoria), and Nirvana in 1989, as well as world famous bands wishing to play low-profile shows, including U2 in 2001, The Rolling Stones in 2003, Pearl Jam in 2006 and Oasis’s first performance of their 2005 tour. Blur also played a five-night residency in 2003. The venue plays host to the popular nightclub G-A-Y, which sees many celebrities visit and perform music for the assembled crowd.
Mean Fiddler acquired the lease for the London Astoria in May 2000, ‘securing the future of live music at one of London’s most famous rock ‘n’ roll venues.’ It has since been the primary choice for well-established bands’ intimate club gigs in London. Big names to have played the Astoria include Artic Monkeys, Muse, Blur, Biffy Clyro, Radiohead, Chris Cornell, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Hard-Fii, HIM, InMe, Kaiser Chiefs, Killing Joke, The Libertines, Maximo Park, Megadeth, Jarvis Cocker, Martin Gore, PorcupineTree, Amy Winehouse, Green Day, Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. The Astoria also hosted the final gig by Manic Street Preachers, before Richey Edwards disappearance.
The Eels recorded their album “EELS Live and in person!” at the Astoria in 2006. Also InMe did the recording of their live album Caught: White Butterfly at the Astoria.
Only two unsigned bands have managed to sell out the Astoria, the first being The Darkness , second being Enter Shikari.
However, the Freehold was sold in June 2006 by Compco Holdings property group Derwent Valley Central for £23.75m, who were rumoured to be planning to convert the site into to a combination of shops, flats and offices to take advantage of an increase in property prices for the 2012 olympics.
On the 13th of August 2007, Mean Fiddler completed its merger with the MAMA Group and no longer operates the Astoria or the Mean Fiddler venues. These have now been incorporated into the group’s “Festival Republic” brand. The Mean Fiddler venue changed its name to Astoria 2 shortly after this announcement.
The Astoria will be demolished to make way for Crossrail. London Mayor Ken Livingstone has confirmed that the venue "can’t be saved. " A “Save the Astoria” campaign was created and run by two English students, in partnership with the Save the London Astoria campaign run by musician 50ft woman, but was unable to change the outcome.
A replacement for the Astoria would then be developed by the council and leaseholders, with work due to start in late 2008, depending on Government funding.
Personally i think that the square area from Marble Arch/ Oxford Street down Park Lane and all the way through to Tottenham Court Road and down to Shaftsbury Avenue and back along Piccadilly to Park Lane should be a pedestrianized area, Deliveries can be done before shop opening times from 04:00. This would get rid of the clutter of buses and taxis (an improvement on peoples health and a considerable reduction in pollution, those can be replaced with those (Rickshaws (or rickshas), reduced rate of hire too), taking shoppers and tourists to the edges of that square area to get a bus or taxi and to cart shoppers and tourists around that cannot walk or are too lazy or bothered to walk. Obviously the Tube stations would still be there, better idea than a rail link from Paddington to Liverpool Street Station. Get lost Livingstone!