The front of the Astoria prior to demolition |
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| Location | Soho, London |
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| Opened | 1976 |
| Closed | 15 January 2009 |
| Owner | Festival Republic |
| Capacity | 1,600 – 2,000 |
| Website | festivalrepublic.com |
The London Astoria was a music venue, located at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. It was closed on 15 January 2009 and has since been demolished. The venue is still seen today as an iconic music establishment, due to launching the careers of many British rock bands and the UK success of many international acts.
Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. The building was converted for use as a theatre in the 1970s. After further conversion, the building re-opened in the mid 1980s, as a night club and live music venue for well known musical acts.
In 2009, the venue closed for the last time to make way for development of the Crossrail project.
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The Astoria was built on the site of a former Crosse & Blackwell warehouse[1] and opened in 1927 as a cinema. It was designed by Edward A. Stone, who also designed subsequent Astoria venues at Brixton (now the Brixton Academy), Old Kent Road, Finsbury Park and Streatham. When first constructed, the building was four storeys tall with a decorative frieze cornice surrounding its exterior. The original interior was styled as a square Proscenium theatre consisting of a panelled barrel-vault ceiling supported by large columns, a viewing balcony and had false viewing boxes, which actually contained the organ pipes. From 1928, the basement was used as a ballroom dancing salon.[2]
The venue's interior was re-designed with a plainer, modern style in 1968. In 1977 it was converted for theatrical use. The venue went through another period of conversion when the theatre closed in 1984. It reopened in 1985 as a nightclub and live music venue with a capacity for 2,000 people. 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 was also connected to Astoria 2 so that the two venues could function as a single venue when needed. The Astoria continued to operate in this format until its ultimate closure in 2009.
The Astoria was sold in June 2006 by Compco Holdings to property group Derwent Valley Central for £23.75m, who were rumoured to be planning to convert the site into a combination of shops, flats and offices to take advantage of an increase in property prices for the 2012 Olympics.[3]
On 13 August 2007, Festival Republic sold most of its venues and the rights to the name Mean Fiddler to the MAMA group, however it retained The Astoria and Mean Fiddler, which reverted back to its old name of The Astoria 2, generally known as the LA2 (London Astoria 2).
In January 2009 the property was compulsorily purchased to make way for Crossrail, despite public opposition and an online petition. Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone confirmed that the venue "can't be saved".[4]
The nightclub G-A-Y left the Astoria in July 2008 and moved to the Heaven nightclub. The Astoria hosted its final night on 14 January 2009, co-organised by Get Cape Wear Cape Fly's Sam Duckworth in aid of Billy Bragg's Jail Guitar Doors charity and Love Music Hate Racism. Acts included The Automatic, My Vitriol and ex-Mansun singer Paul Draper. London Astoria 2 also had a closing party, headlined by rock band Open The Skies, with support from Outcry Fire, F.A.T.E and Orakai.
As of October 2009, the venue has now been demolished in its entirety.
A replacement for the Astoria is being developed by the council and leaseholders, with work due to start in late 2009, depending on Government funding. Festival Republic (the owners of the Astoria) have confirmed that a replacement will be built in the near future but no further information is currently available.
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