The Marquee – London

The Marquee was located at 90 Wardour Street in London. Opening in 1958 it was a modern jazz club where two jazz bands would play a night. In the gap between bands, young hopefuls would play and the whole the rest of the audience would often adjourn across the road for a beer. Eventually the interval bands became more popular playing the more rock’n’roll mod sounds. In 1970 the venue got its drinks license.

Punk wise, The Marquee banned the Sex Pistols and Punk following the Pistols supporting the Hot Rods there and Johnny Rotten pushing pencils through the Rods PA but that didn’t last long and just about every punk and new wave band played there.

How many of us of have fond memories of the old place? Without doubt a health and safety hazard. People crammed in to crush point so much, they would open the doors at the back to let in air. No wonder it earned its nickname of ‘soho sauna’

Rancid toilets and rancid beer. But hell the Ship pub was next door and the place dripped atmosphere (literally) as everyone from the Who (check their iconic Marquee poster offering ‘Maximum r&b) and Stones to the Sex Pistols and Spizz to Soundgarden and Guns & Roses played there.

Justin Colman: The dark, the sticky floors, the terrible fake copper, sharp and dangerous bar-top, the completely unreliable coke-dispensing guns with a tendency to explode mid-poor! Tomato Sauce flavour crisps, the dilapidated ‘bomb-blast’ decor and the unmistakable dirty smell of Rock ‘N’ Roll! MarqueeClub.net

In March 1977 Jim Evans in Record Mirror said this

Today the Marquee is much as it was 10 years ago. Black paint, peeling walls and audiences standing round listening to bands that may be next years super-groups. It’s open seven nights a week from seven to eleven. Rock groups and rock fans, come and go, but the Marquee, it seems, goes on forever.

Sadly not; it moved to Charing Cross Road in the eighties. Visiting Yanks like Motley Crue and Kiss would play it as a tick box exercise, thinking it was the hallowed venue of old.

Now a sandwich bar or restaurant. This deserves a blue plaque for the sheer weight of history and memories.

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