Closed 15th January 2009. Demolition was completed by October 2009. The building made way for Crossrail/Elizabeth Line.

by Reasonable-Try2033

24 comments

  2. Hands-down, the best music venue in London. The sound quality was unparalleled. Ticked a lot of boxes.

  3. I saw Einstürzende Neubaten there in Sept 1989, just before my 18th birthday. To this day it’s one of my favourite gigs ever.

  4. I miss gigs in central London – remember seeing blur there in Feb 1997

  5. Fear factory 98 and System of a Down 99 my first ever shows. Classic spot and a sad loss

  7. The only place that’s come anywhere close since IMO is the Koko when that first reopened, when you could still explore around all the nooks and crannies

  9. I remember when it was a cavernous, dated club with stairs and dark corners everywhere. Unfortunately this kind of chaotic, albeit soulful place, is the first to go in a gentrified city.

  10. RIP. Live music was intimate back in the day for only £10. Sure large venues can get more fans in. But it’s not the same.

  13. Many good memories of punk/hardcore gigs there as well as the Mean Fiddler opposite

    And fuck me those floors were sticky.

  14. The Astoria’s absence gets all the headlines but to make way for crossrail they also knocked down possibly the single best kebab shop in Westminster; very definitely the only one that didn’t taste of dirt and shite.

  15. RIP! Too many happy memories at the dear old Arsetoria as we used to call it. Replaced with a soulless hedge-fund investment.

  16. Saw Paramore here when I was like 15/16 with my mum cuz I didn’t have any friends who wanted the other ticket, my mum being the legend she is sweet talked the bouncers into letting me into GAY afterwards.

    Hands down the best music venue I’ve been to and will always rmember that night out with my mum as one of the best I’ve even had

  17. I sat beside Robert Smith at the Astoria in 1999 or something but I cannot remember what band we saw. The memory is all consumed by my awe of Smith (who wasn’t wearing any makeup).

  18. Who remembers “Sin” at the weekend? Went with my mate in the late 80’s early 90’s. Cali-Yellows and Micro-Dots all over the floor. Last track at 2am when the lights came up was Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil. Everyone went mad gurn. Then back up the Lea Bridge Road in a VW beetle for a kebab. No sleep till midday. Good times ✌️

  19. I remember queuing for hours outside the Astoria for the first ever Rammstein UK show. The show got cancelled as Rammstein weren’t allowed to use their giant pyrotechnic penis canons. We were gutted.

  20. I had some great times in there. 😢 met David Bowie by the stage door once, out of this world thinking about that now. And last time I saw Iron Maiden in something not the size of a football stadium was also the Astoria and that feels a lifetime ago.

  21. I’ve always wondered where the historic sign ended up, surely it would’ve been saved or even recovered if they put it in a skip during demolition.

  22. From about 2000 to 2004, the Astoria was the scene of my personal most iconic gigs as a teenager. These are still pretty much my favourite bands!

    Less than Jake
    Goldfinger
    Reel Big Fish
    Lightyear
    Disturbed
    Raging Speedhorn
    Mad Caddies
    Rise Against
    Bad Religion
    Dropkick Murphys

    Shout out to this website:

    https://www.concertarchives.org/

  23. I used to work at Virgin megastore on Oxford Street I used to go out from work to gigs there with half the people from store it was a great time (2000-2003ish)

    Heart broken when they demolished it.

  24. Soulfly the night before my mock maths GCSE. Got knocked spark out in the mosh pit, woke up in the bar, failed my mock 11/10 no regrets

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