The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962.

The 1960s: Rock roots

The club moved to its best known venue in 1964 at 90 Wardour Street where all the great and good sweated on the tiny stage and almost every major rock band played over the next 25 years. Residencies during the late 1960s alone included Pink Floyd, The Who, Yes, Jethro Tull, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience who played on Sunday afternoons as part of the 'spontaneous underground'. To find out who was playing on any given night, you could just call in at the 'Ship' pub a few doors away. In 1964 Moody Blues manager/producer Alex Murray used a homemade studio in the garage at the back of the club to produce the classic 'Go Now' single which shot to #1 at Christmas 1964 and film the first ever UK pop video promo. The development of Marquee Studios was largely financed by profits from this record.

The Rolling Stones returned to the club 26 March 1971 after an eight year hiatus to film a television special.

Club owner Harold Pendleton launched the National Jazz Festival in 1961 in Richmond. This was the precursor to the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

The 1970s: The new Punk order

Although never a seminal punk venue, the Marquee embraced the burgeoning punk rock movement of the late 1970s regularly promoting punk and new wave nights into the 1980s. Bands such as The Boys, Eddie and the Hot Rods, The Stranglers, Generation X, London, The Police, The Sinceros, Buzzcocks, The Jam, (as well as other bands of the mod revival movement, including The fixations), Joy Division and The Cure all trod the famous Wardour Street stage. More mainstream acts like Dire Straits, Alexis Korner, Steve Hillage, Rory Gallagher. Racing Cars, The Enid and The Tyla Gang also appeared regularly at the venue.

The 1980s: New wave of British heavy metal and prog revival

During the early to mid 1980s the Marquee became an important venue to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). NWOBHM bands such as Angelwitch, Diamond Head, Witchfynde and Praying Mantis were regulars and Iron Maiden were filmed playing there for LWT documentary "20th Century Box" (introduced by a very young Danny Baker).

The Marquee was also the central venue of the progressive rock revival of the early 1980s. It was here that the then unsigned Marillion began to gain a wider fan base and press interest playing frequent 2 night residencies to a sold out crowd. Other progressive rock acts of the time regularly playing the club included Pendragon, Solstice, Twelfth Night, IQ, Quasar, Haze, Cardiacs and Liaison (who were not strictly prog but seemed to become linked to the movement).New wave and indie bands also appeared icluding "2 pints of larger and a packet of crisps please" one hit wornders Spodgeness Abounds and the almost cult band The Hummers.During this period The Club held heats and the final of Melody Makers 'band contests'

'Secret' gigs

The historical importance of the club led to a number of bigger, established artists playing 'secret' gigs at the venue often as one off 'fan thank yous', warm up shows or just because they liked the intimate atmosphere. These 'secret' shows were often promoted under an assumed name designed to be recognised only by hardcore fans. These included appearances by The Jam under the name John's Boys, Marillion (under such names as Skyline Drifters and Lufthanser Air Terminal), Prince, Genesis, Iron Maiden (appearing as guests on a bill headed "A Fun Night With The Entire Population of Hackney"), Squeeze and Mötley Crüe (In the Charing Cross Road venue as The Four Skins- seen in the video of their cover version of "Anarchy in the UK", and to the derision of those who arrived at the venue expecting the skinhead band of the same name). The venue also prominently featured in the 1985 video for the Wham! single "I'm Your Man". Metallica played a secret gig 1990 supporting Metal Church on their Blessing in Disguise Tour. They performed as Vertigo and Mike Howe (Metal Church vocalist) introduced them as a new band that had only played a couple of shows.

Current developments

In 1988, the Wardour Street site was sold for redevelopment (it is now Meza and Floridita with a cigar retail shop Spanish restaurant and Cuban restaurant and some flats) and the Marquee Club moved again to a larger venue at 105 Charing Cross Road. During this period, American progressive metal band Dream Theater recorded their first live album, Live at the Marquee, at the venue. It was bought for redevelopment and the club closed in 1996. A pub now occupies the building.

In 2001, the Marquee name was bought by entrepreneurs (including Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics who owned the brand rights) and affixed to a new club, located in a purpose-built space in Islington, now the Islington Academy. It hit financial difficulties and closed in 2003, less than a year after it opened.

The name was then used for a new venue at 1 Leicester Square in the heart of London's tourist district, opening in 2004. But that venture also folded after less than 18 months.

In August 2007, the Marquee re-opened yet again, this time on Upper Saint Martins Lane in Covent Garden. However, it closed its doors for the last time on 10 February 2008, with Colchester based rock act Torn Asunder being the last ever band to headline at The Marquee.

External links

• TheMarqueeClub.net — Historical Tribute Site of the Old Marquee Club