This Day in Music – The Marquee

On this day, 9th March 1967, Pink Floyd and The Thoughts appeared at the Marquee, London, England. The Marquee club has often been defined as ‘the most important venue in the history of pop music’, not only for having been the scene of the development of modern music culture in London, but also for having been an essential meeting point for some of the most important artists in rock music.
Anyone who’s anyone has played at – or wanted to play at The Marquee. It’s the equivalent of wanting to appear on Top Of The Pops. One could argue that this sweaty little soho club is the most important venue in the world. More so than The Cavern and CBGB’S and The Troubadour. The Marquee Club has the edge – it is the most important venue in the history of European pop music.
The Marquee club first opened on April 19th 1958 in 165 Oxford Street, London. During the following years the Marquee became the most important place for the jazz and rhythm & blues scenes in London, where legends like Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, and harmonica player Cyril Davies played regularly.
During the 60’s a new generation of British rhythm and blues bands such as the Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Manfred Mann (who hold the record for the most appearances 102!), and John Mayall forged the coming of a new era in pop music at the Marquee.
On March 13th 1964 the venue was relocated to it’s most famous location in London’s Soho, at 90 Wardour Street. The Marquee became the most important venue for the emerging British scene and witnessed the birth and rise of some of the most important artists in the 60’s and 70’s such as David Bowie, (who would play lunch time shows, Jimi Hendrix, (who appeared 4 times) Pink Floyd, Cream, Led zeppelin, Free, Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, The Who, Rod Stewart, and many others.
The club was also witness of the birth of all the different music genres born during the last decades of the 20th century, including acid rock, progressive rock, hard rock, and folk rock.
During the late 70’s and early 80’s the Marquee saw the development of British punk and new wave, The Clash, The Cure, Joy Division, The Damned, Generation X, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Sex Pistols all appeared.
The 80’s saw synth pop, heavy rock, and just plain pop/rock, with band’s such as U2, Ultravox, The Pretenders, The Police, Dire Straits, Stone Roses, Iron Maiden, The Bangles, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Motley Crue – I could go on, but I won’t. Just imagine the sights those sweaty dressing room walls have witnessed!
The club also became famous for its ‘secret’ gigs and one-off ‘fan thank you’s, and warm up shows. The Jam, Iron Maiden, Prince, Metallica all played them.
The club is unique in that its remained ‘the place to play’ for so many years, and kept its cool, from the early blues, rock, new wave, punk, metal – The Marquee has always help develop new scenes.
Writing this and looking at the lists of famous acts who played at the club, made me look a little harder at all those acts who also appeared – but never hit the dizzy heights of show biz.
Bearded Lady, The Fabulous Poodles, Skip Bifferty, Dead Fingers Talk, The Sharrons, Octopus, Hard Meat, Clayson and the Argonauts, Radiators From Space…they all achieved something special – they all played at The Marquee.