Where in London is this?
And why does it sadden me so?
Well this is the former site of the London Astoria, which stood on this site until earlier this year. I had heard that it was demolished while I was in Toronto. But I still can’t quite believe that it’s not here anymore.
It was demolished to make way for a new rail link station.
Was it the grandest music venue of all time? No.
Was it the place where I saw the following bands? Yes.
Ash
Ben Folds Five
Bis
The Black Keys
The Bluetones
Blur
Boss Hog
Cake
80’s Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Florence And The Machine
Foo Fighters
Frank Black
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Justice
Late Of The Pier
MGMT
Presidents Of The United States Of America
Rocket From The Crypt
Supergrass
Tenacious D
They Might Be Giants
Teenage Fanclub
There’s probably a whole bunch more acts I’ve seen in that club.
The London Astoria is truly missed.
As is the LA2, the nearby Ghetto club and the much beloved Metro club, where I DJ’d many times at Mark Morris’ Rabbit Hole club. These were also demolished along with the main theatre.
Hell, I even miss ‘Piss Alley’, the street around the back by the stage door.
Apologies that it has taken so long to comment on it closure and demolition.
It better be one hell of a train station…
NB. Bizarrely it’s still on Street View…