Farewell Astoria, one of the best London venues of all time

22/01/2009

One of London’s music lovers’ favourite venues, the Astoria, is closing, and one last special live music event marked its passing.

After 30 years of loyal service to London’s live music scene, the London Astoria is closing to make way for the Crossrail development, which will speed up travel between West and East London in advance of the 2012 Olympics.

An event, organised by solo musician, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly (also known as Sam Duckworth), mourned the closure. Duckworth and several of his muso friends, including My Vitriol, the Mystery Jets, Helsinki and Brigade, celebrated the venue’s history.

The Astoria was often appreciated for supporting smaller bands on their way up, as well as attracting those at the top of the ladder, such as the Rolling Stones and Nirvana in its late 90s and early 2000s hay day.

The owners of the Astoria, Festival Republic, claim they plan to build a new London venue within 10 years, with an aim to provide a more contemporary setting for new music. However, Astoria fans will be sad to see the classic venue close, as it succeeded in evolving with the times, never afraid to move out the old to make way for the new.