Studio 51

Behind this unassuming door at 10 Great Newport Street, once was the glorious Studio 51, famous for its Ken Colyer Club. It’s here where, when Rhythm and Blues took over in the ‘60s, Eric Clapton played his first gig with The Yardbirds and where The Beatles gifted The Rolling Stones with their first big hit, I Wanna Be Your Man.

Kilburn National Ballroom

Many famous musicians including Killing Joke, New Order, Echo and The Bunnymen, Johnny Cash, David Bowie (with Tin Machine), The Smiths (the live album Rank was recorded here on the 23rd of October 1986), Cocteau Twins, The Pogues, Jesus and Mary Chain, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (on July 14th, 1988), the Sonic Youth (on March 23, 1989, with Mudhoney as support act), Pixies (on July 5th, 1989), Primal Scream, The Fall, Fugazi (September 19th, 1990), Blur and even Nirvana (on December 5th, 1991) played the legendary Kilburn National!

The Roxy

The Roxy was started by Andrew Czezowski, Susan Carrington and Barry Jones in December 1976. The first show, on the 14th of December, was Generation X, a band Czezowski managed. The second on the following night was The Heartbreakers. The third, on 21 December, featured Siouxsie and the Banshees and Generation X. However, it was The Clash and The Heartbreakers that headlined the official gala opening on the 1st of January 1977 – which was filmed by Julien Temple and finally screened on BBC Four on 1 January 2015 as The Clash: New Year’s Day ’77.

The 100 Club

In September 1976, the 100 Club (which had operated since 1942 as Feldman Swing Club) played host to the first international punk festival, which helped push the new punk movement into the mainstream. The Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Stranglers, and The Damned all played at this event.

The Cart and Horses

Maiden fans travel far and wide to visit The Cart and Horses, the ‘Birthplace of Iron Maiden’.

Paintings of Iron Maiden’s mascot Eddie are all over the woodwork, plenty of memorabilia and pictures hang on the walls, the iconic little stage is still there and often used by new bands, Robinsons Brewery beer The Trooper is readily available, what’s not to like here?

The Borderline

The Borderline was an intimate Soho basement venue that, since 1985, has hosted the likes of Debbie Harry, Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam (4th of February 1992), Blur (8th of January 1990), PJ Harvey (22nd of October 1991), R.E.M. (two days after the release of Out Of Time), The Verve (30th of January 1992), Jeff Buckley (15th of March 1994), Muse, Ben Harper, Amy Winehouse, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Mick Jagger, Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton.

Blitz Club

Before the New Romantics of the 1980s, there were the so-called Blitz kids (the first mention of this term is in the Daily Mirror of the 3rd of March 1980), a bunch of post-punk youngsters with outrageous styles of clothes and make-up who hung out at the Blitz Club on Great Queen Street.

In 2014 Spandau Ballet earned their PRS first-gig plaque, for their 1979 debut.

Ealing Jazz Club

The Ealing Jazz Club was a music venue on The Broadway, Ealing, in the west of London. The club is noteworthy as the place where on 24 March 1962 Charlie Watts first met Brian Jones and then, on 7 April 1962, Alexis Korner introduced Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to Brian Jones.

2i’s Coffee Bar

The 2i’s Coffee Bar is the birthplace of Rock and Roll…in England! In July 1956, the first real group that began to play there were The Vipers.

Later on Tommy Steele was discovered here, Cliff Richard had a residency, and even the likes of Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee Lewis had the chance to grace its stage!

The Windmill

Built in 1971 for the adjacent Blenheim Gardens housing estate and named after the neighbouring Ashby’s Mill, The Windmill went through various phases of being a bar that attracted locals, bikers, the Irish community and, by the end of the 90’s, started hosting DJs, poetry sessions and, occasionally, live bands. Around 2002 its focus stably shifted onto live music.