My 57th gig at The Marquee. My last ever gig at The Marquee. An end of an era.

My first gig at The Marquee had been to see King Swamp back in 1989 (GIG 009) and I’d seen dozen of bands over the subsequent years. Some great (Ugly As Sin, Claytown Troupe, Creaming Jesus, Judda, King Swamp and Dare being among the best) and some not so great. Some legendary artists (such as Doro Pesch of Warlock, and what I think was the first UK gig for the Black Crowes) and lot of unknown artists that would largely remain that way. It was a place I loved, even the sticky carpets at the front of the stage held nostalgia – even if they’d be responsible for the destruction of many a shoe’s sole if you stood still too long.

The Marquee club was first opened on April 19th 1958 in 165 Oxford Street, London and relocated to 90 Wardour Street on 13th March 1964, where it’s stage saw the likes of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Jimi Hendirx, The Who, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, The Moody Blues and so many other bands which became household names play. The venue moved with the times over the years, breaking in new scenes and bands such as The Cure, Sex Pistols, The Damned, Ultravox, Joy Division, The Clash and The Police. It moved to 105-107 Charing Cross Road, the venue I went to, and opened it’s doors with Kiss performing a special show on 16th of August 1988… so quite how the carpet got so bad from being a ‘new’ venue in August 1988 to when I first attended in March 1989 I have no idea.

Anyway, The Marquee Club on Charing Cross Road closed later in 1996 but this was to be my last time through the doors under it’s name. I did go back to the Weatherspoon’s pub that replaced it a few years later, but it just reinforced what a shame it was that a fantastic music venue in the heart of London had been replaced with a soulless corporate branded chain pub.

So I said good bye to The Marquee by seeing Vendemmian, Into The Abyss and Everythings Rosy. I’d never seen Everythings Rosy befoe but they were very good, and the best band of the evening for me. I’d not enjoyed Into The Abyss when I saw them a year earlier, supporting tonights headliners at The Marquee again, but they were better this evening. Not a band I’d go out of my way to see, but worth watching.

I’d seen Vendemmian a half dozen times before and generally liked them. For whatever reason tonight though they felt a bit flat, which was a shame as I knew they could be good and it also meant that my last night at The Marquee signed off with a bit of a whimper as opposed to a bang.