It’s a real shame that so many small to medium venues have now gone in London. Over the years I went to the Marquee, 100 club, Astoria, The Nashville, The Half Moon, The Electric Ballroom, The Tufnell Park Tavern, The Ruskin Arms, The Cart and Horses and the Royal Standard, plus a few others who’s names escape me at the moment. I saw plenty of bands, some poor, some ok, a few that I will always remember. As was said in the film, you cannot beat going to a live gig. As seasoned gig goers know, It’s not just about the music, it’s the dressing up/down before hand, the anticipation, meeting up with friends and fans, sometimes meeting your heroes (not always good) missing the bus home, ears ringing, the lights, smell etc.... LOVE IT!

I saw Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Ten Years After and several other bands (who did not become so famous) play at the Marquee (Wardour Street) in the late 1960s. The Marquee had a special atmosphere - wherever you stood you were near the stage, and felt part of the music. I left London in 1970, but remember returning to the old Marquee site about 25 years later. It seemed sad standing there, as though something had been lost.

I remember late 60,s double diamond was the beer ,couple of Purple Hearts ,saw the tamler Motown tour stevie wonder ,supremes plus (can’t remember) great nights and the scene 😀

It's so emotional seeing this place again. The wardour street Marquee was so special. It's so hard to recreate that kind of magic. DJ Jerry Floyd playing the Avengers theme at the start of the night in the mid 80's, beer on the floor, slam-dancing to the Messiahs and hitting the floor only to be picked up by the person who'd just knocked me over. I bootlegged several gigs there. i would just stick my recorder on the stage or under the mixing desk and get back in amongst it. The low ceiling, the perpetually dark interior, the friendly staff, the feeling of belonging and having my membership card which ive still got. There was no snootiness or pretention there unlike some other venues like the camden palace. Nobody hassled me or sneered at me. I always got treated well and felt like i belonged there. The Marquee was beautiful. I used to go to see the screaming blue messiahs there in 85 and new model army, the icicle works, Time UK which had the Jam drummer in after Weller had split the Jam, and the fuzztones played there. So many bands who never really broke through to a big audience, but it was still an achievement to play the marquee. It could be hard rockers one night, pot-smoking hippies the next, new wave bands the next and then a punk band with a rough slam-dancing crowd the next. Nobody got ostracised. I used to get a thrill just walking past the place. I used to run the length of wardour street and oxford street after the gigs to get to tottenham court road underground to get back to liverpool street station to catch the last train home. I would hurtle onto the tube train and lie on the floor of it exhausted and still soaking wet from the gig. It kind of put me in an altered state and even on the train i felt like i was still in the gig. It kept me going for days. The marquee was the only place in the world where i felt accepted. Nothing bad ever happened to me there. When they closed it i knew it was all over in London for me so i moved north. I never went in the charing cross one. I knew it could never recreate the magic. It should've been preserved as a museum. Thanks Jo

I remember being stuck to that floor, Dumpy's Rusty Nuts...Brilliant!

Met the late, great Long John Baldry at the Marquee in 1964. Always remember his bass player had a cigarette 'stuck' on the machine head of his guitar. I did a stint there the same year when in one of the very early all girl bands 'Viki & Her Ladybirds'! Great times!

Went every Wednesday or Friday through '67 -70. Supported The Nice , Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years after, Spooky Tooth, Arthur Brown, Joe Cocker, Jethro Tull, Emerson lake and Palmer, John Mayall and many more. Great intimate venue, great playing really close up. Had to have a hankercheif when Joe Cocker sang! That close.

I remember seeing Dumpy's Rusty Nuts at the Wardour street Marquee in 1987. I was standing at the door waiting to get in & Dumpy came outside, looked at me & said " No fat Khunts with leather jackets allowed in" 😀

Saw Johnny Thunders in '84 and many gigs after. Saw the Guns n Roses gigs which were excellent. Got to play the Charing cross Venue a few times. Saw The Quireboys, Dogs D'amour, ah, good times.

The Marquee Club used to have Latin American music on Sunday evenings when I used to go in the late 50s.

Came down from Scotland to see Slade,hard to describe just how loud,hard n heavy they were,my ears are still ringing to this day,thanks Nod!

Props to that Chester venue to provide a space for young bands to play live and not to rip them off and treat them well. So many great live venues I grew up going to in the 1980s in London are now gone. Hammersmith Palais, Red Cow, Clarenden Hotel, George Robey in Finsbury Park, Marquee ,Astoria and Borderline in Soho, The Greyhound in Fulham, I could go on!

I saw AC/DC when they first came to England at the Marquee, also saw Queen on of there first gigs, and many, many more famous bands there. Loved the atmosphere there, very sweaty and sticky.

J'ai joué au Marquee Club avec le NAC (Nouvel Asile Culturel) dans les années 70, un des rare groupe français je pense. Inoubliable. Jean Augeron.

I spent a large part of my late teens at the Marquee, it was and still is my favourite venue. It was the late 70s when punk was in full swing. I feel very lucky to have been around in those days , since the 12 bar club closed there are no decent venues in the west end anymore .

Ive still got some of the monthly programmes from the Marquee for 1964 to 1968. Great club. Small but big enough for great sound

I miss these times so much

I was lucky enough to play there in the early 80s half a dozen times as a support band great experience and going down the st moritz club all night afterwards so pissed use to go straight to work next day rock n roll

I never got the chance to go to the Marquee, wished I had. Great documentary

When US band TROUBLE played at the Charing Cross Marquee in 1990, James Hetfield of Metallica was at the bar & they had made a special "V.I.P." area around him with ropes, so no one would bother him. Yet, Lemmy would be playing the fruit machines at the Wardour street venue as a normal punter :) & was completely approachable.

There was a time between 1978 and 1979 when I felt like I lived at the Marquee. I must have gone about three times a week in that period. My first ever gig (aged 16 I think) was Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias. Saw The Human League, Skids, The Rezillos, The Ruts, The Fall, Thomas Dolby (hidden behind a bank of keyboards), Undertones, Wire, The Boys and loads more. Great film Jo.

Walking past the Marquee Club on my way home from work in Wardour street in the 'Rush hour' it was amazing so much life could be instilled in such a modest building . Thank you for sharing your Video.

I was 15 1964 , I went to the marquee saw Manfred mann. Was stood behind Paul Jones intermission. Also saw John Mayal , Prince Buster later visits

Just spotted myself (3rd from left) on the stage (1:04) standing next to Steve Rothery and Pete from Marillion plus the 1988 Jadis line up. It was a fan club convention and I volunteered to sing Market Square Heroes. I was awful and they muted the mic (thank God)

In the mid to late 70's I saw The Cure, The UK Subs, The Leighton Buzzards, The Lurkers and many others. An amazing place that can never be equalled.

This was my Temple. I was going there regularly as a teenager in the 70's. You often found Aldenham school escapees that had managed to get through the wire of an evening. I was lucky as a day boarder I got to go home at 5.00pm of a Saturday, back in for Chapel on a Sunday and then off to the pub again till Monday.

Excellent insight into the the Marquee. Fiver to see Motörhead at The Marquee. Bar Reading and Donington, that was probably the most I ever paid for a gig at the Marquee. Don’t laugh 😂😂😂. Memories for thousands of punters and bands alike. Husker Du were a blast. Who would have thought you would ever see Metallica twice in a month and at the Lyceum at the end of the year. Why did punters keep on spitting at GnR? Dumpy was a great entertainer. Funny and serious in equal measure. Exciter, Chelsea, Girlschool, Rock Goddess, Anvil, Spider, Torme, Doro, Warlock, Budgie, Slayer, don’t spit at Tom and so many others. Then Charing Cross Road. Sacred Reich Surfin their way through the show. Oh well. Only the memories remain.

I was there only once in the 80s for Rory Gallagher, just in front of them.

too many great gigs starting from around 1966 to remember at the marquee perhaps the sunday residency of klng crimson in 1968 took the first prize for me followed by savoy brown blues band the support was the first gig of a band called jethro tull both bands were hot as hell trying to outdo one another 2x45 minute sets each i think it was about seven shillings on the door to get in oh happy days

Great doc,I remember a gig by Y&T in 1982 one of the best gig i’ve been to

Very nice documentary indeed; during my teenage pilgrimages to London, I had the luck to attend a couple of gigs in Wardour Street back in 86 and few more later on when it moved to Charing X, still good but obviously not the same; even to this date I think the Marquee remains the very best venue I've ever been to; as far as I'm concerned London is not the same without such an iconic landmark.

Great job, Jo! Brought back a lot of memories (I played there 37 times from '68 to '71 and watched bands there many, many more times). Great to see my old mate Bazz. Hope this gets you to graduate with flying colours! 🤙👌✌️

I spotted a pic of me on stage with Stampede in ‘82. I played there several times. I can remember looking (that night) at my left forearm, the sweat was pouring down, off my elbow and splashing all over my Moog Taurus pedals. My boots were full and I was stood in a puddle......I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Super cool documentary!The stuff of legend.To be a fly on the wall back in the day...would have loved to stand on that sticky floor,between the sweaty walls...all the legendary bands, the vibe,the people,the pints,the shitty bathrooms...Ozzy & Noddy...what a scene...the closest I ever came to the Marquee was when Hanoi Rocks took me there via "All Those Wasted Years"...gentrification be damned..Cheers from the U.S.🍻

I was a member at the 90, Wardour Street venue between 1969 - 1980. Great memories of seeing Taste play there on my first visit - New Years Eve 1968, supported by Peter Bardens Village. After that I was hooked on the place and saw many different bands - great memories. Thanks for putting this up and hope this film you put together helped with your Master's ?!

The best groups I saw there were Taste and Jethro Tull when they still had Mick Abrahams. It was 1968, I think, when there was sort of an underground blues scene. The club probably lost its importance by ‘70 or ‘ 71 when the groups were being offered more money for larger venues. The Marquee on Wardour Street was a really great place in a special location.

This feels like a Quireboys promo film. The Marquee was so so much more...

Never knew who was next to you was right, I was in there one night in Wardour Street and had ny Arn grabbed by this very young dark haired chick in leather trying to read my watch on my wrist, her blond haired female friend was also in black and just stood there snapping gum... did nt dawn on me until they started talking they were yanks, slightly drunk and obnoxious ones.. Turned out it was Joan Jett and Cherie Curry of the Runaways, who were in the UK touring... I don't think they were old enough to get into the place but there you go... Strangely a couple of weeks later I met another guy at the bar, bought him a pint, it was Pat Travers...

The sort of bogs where you'd never sit on the pan. Doe anyone know what they did with the fixtures and fittings from Wardour Street?

That brought back a few memories! Cheers Jo! ... Damn, I miss that place

A blast from the past! 👀 Bush Telfer! 😎🎤🎙️🎶🎸🎹

Thank you. So glad I went to the Marquee before they shut down. It's not the same anymore, 1 zillion followers on KZfaq, does not mean that you have got the goods. It means you have a camera and a microphone. And that someone with a computer is watching it. Doesn't´t mean that you are a great performer or anything. You could be an "influencer" or whatever, making cash. But that does NOT make a great artist or anything. By the way: I LOVE Motorhead, Stones, the Faces...... I hate influencers who believe they have something "important" to say... most of them don't... I´d rather listen to "You can't always get what you want... But if you try sometimes Well, you might find, You get what you need"... Always! Cheers, and thank you for the music, the good times and good memories.🍻❤

Thank you for posting Jo, I have many dear memories of in my opinion the golden years of the Marquee in the sixties.

Gone but not forgotten, enjoyable documentary that brought some happy memories back.

Interesting Documentary Jo , well done 👏....

Great memories playing or socialising. The best times.

Back in the day a little man from kings lynn Norfolk became one of the managers in the late 60/70 his name, Jack, Barry, what a character

This brings back some great memories. So many great gigs I saw there

Nice work Jo - like the others I was a frequent visitor to the Wardour Street venue in the 80's and it was just unique. The walls sweating was a good observation - boy, it did get very hot if there was a full house!

We played Wardour Street in 1986, our drummer got us a gig supporting No Sweat, happy days. Wish we had taken some photos of the dressing room, amazing vibe there. Wonderful venue.

Oh yeah! A filthy cold smoke filled venue with flooded bogs ! 1997/8 My then Boyfriend played there with a band called Panama. I remember an audition at the Great Frog on Carnaby Street. Sweet Jesus, so much bloody fun back then!!! P.S Yes I did sign the dressing room wall 😜

Lovely to be featured in this great film!

THE SWEET!

I had some great times here playing with DRN and others

Only went there once and saw Living Colour, great band and gig . Remember talking to Gail Anne Dorsey in the bar . Used to see her around in the west End

Lovely little film and I enjoyed spotting one or two pals in the old photos.

Good work Jo.. Definitely the potential for a much longer doc on both the Marquee and independent venues if budget/time was feasible.

Excellent, thank you!

I remember what was supposed to be Motörhead's last gig - really loud and Ted Carroll offered them recording time as a result, the rest is history. We took loads of blues (speed) and the Hells Angels threw my buddy out of the back door for rowdiness. it was a great venue.

Nice video and I appreciate it, but I was looking for a more historical view rather than who has played there. We all now everyone but the Beatles. ;-)

The Jam

I saw a Spanish metal band called Baron Rojo at the Marquee Club in 1982 or thereabouts. I don’t recall much about the show or venue except we were very close to the stage, it was much smaller than the Hammersmith Odeon, and it was loud.

Memories!!!!!! Thank you Jo 😎😉😂🤣

Wild Strawberries (Divlje Jagode) played here

Thank you great documentary happy new year

Fantastic... good memories.

1980 "Simple Minds"!

Lemmy bought me and my brother a pint in The Ship.

Excellent

NYC had CBGB's, The Electric Circus and assorted small clubs in the West Village...

I never jumped a high wall to get in the back door!!

Nice film. Hopefully live music will find its way back into central London.

Great documentary, we even got a passing mention on a flyer! xxx

Really cool👍🏼😁

if i may add afew to sids excellent choice of london club venues may i offer klooks kleek hampstead lycyum in the strand also the lse saw the amazing captain beefheart there hammersmith odeon saville theatre shaftsbury ave station tavern w10 town and country club kentish town and probably my alltime favourite the rainbow finsbury park the performance by the return to forever band still gves me the shivers today

Duff and Slash were at the Tigertailz gig but walked out complaining about 'Poison lookalikes'. I spent a couple of hours with them in the St Moritz over the road. At the time, when I told people, they said 'who?' Later they said... 'Sure thing mate'.

ACDC Sold That Club Out So Many Times In Summer of 76 but All In All The History of That Club From Oxford St To Wardor St Nothing That You Will Ever See Again

12.37 Egypt supporting Samson

Sorry, nice try, but why is there so much footage in the video, that has nothing to do with the Marquee? Why are you see The Quireboys many times, playing in a club, that has nothing to do with the Marquee at all?! I wish there would be more footage from the Marquee inside.

Charing Cross was nowhere near as good - Wardour St. wasn't beyond repair or condemned it was coveted as a prime site for flats ( by Billy Gaff) and restaurant (by Conran). The back door was not over a wall it was in the mews and you could just walk up to it.

28:12 thats MOURNBLADE, the photo is from their LP sleeve

Led zeppelin would have been a great show.

British CBGB

A film about Wardour Street and no one interviewed ZaZa ?????????