The Astoria, Soho, London

Great while it lasted but unfortunately the Astoria has now closed down. While it was around it was a fantastic venue hosting all the big acts coming through town.

We’ll miss you Astoria!

Great venue. Go while you still can,

I’m so sad its closed :(

You could not beat the Astoria for scummy appeal.

Dark and dingy, with alcohol-sticky floors and only reasonable acoustics, nevertheless it was one of the nicest medium sized gig venues in London.

The ground floor offered plenty of enthusiastic bouncing opportunities, whilst the seating upstairs had good views of the stage for those who preferred things a bit more sedate.

The drinks were a bit watery and the cola expensive, and the toilets a bit on the shabby side, but a good experience nonetheless and one which will be missed.

It’s one of the best music venues of all time in world.
And it has hosted great names like TINA TURNER and other greats.

Astoria has had some of the best and well known artist play between its four walls, such as; blur, rollingstones, radiohead, black keys and oasis. It has a good range from well known to up and coming bands of there time. Like many of its sort it has expensive bars and grotty toilets. But leaving this to the side, the sound quality and experience is everything. the venue is small and a level of intimacy is shared from the audience with the acts. If wanting to see your favourite act perform at this location I would get your tickets early as it will always attract past visitors

I haven’t been here in a few years, and now I never will again.

We had some good times.

RIP

I blogged about the final few days of The Astoria on the Qype London blog here recently, but it’s still hard to believe it’s really gone. I haven’t been in the area since the big demolition is supposed to have happened - it’s going to be a shock to see a big hole where all that wonderful music was made.

My own favourite gigs at The Astoria include Elastica, Le Tigre and (early) Muse, plus The Breeders and Queen Adreena at next door’s LA2 - presumably that venue’s also gone?

We’re in sad and scary times for live music at the moment, let’s hope this isn’t the first of many important venues to close.

R.I.P The Astoria. This place was an amazing venue and I’ve seen so many bands there for the past 15 years, ever since I was 13. What’s more I used to go to Club X at the LA2 in my teens and it was brilliant. It was a proper venue where your feet got stuck to the floor cause of all the spilt beer and I’ll miss it.

I found this place really easy to get to with it being just across from the tube station and think it’s a really good place to see a band. It is quite a small venue so you can get close to the band. They have a cloakroom and you pay per item you leave. When you want to buy merchandise there are always long queues because there is only one person selling from a small area.

Sadly the Astoria is due to be demolished but if you get a chance to go there for a live gig it is an amazing atmosphere esp for rock gigs -and very intimate so if you manage to get near the front you get a fabulous view and the people seated get a good view too.
Quite dingy and dark but that’s part of it’s appeal - the drinks are as to be expected quite expensive.

It’s certainly not pretty and it could do with a lick of paint but this is one of London’s best live venues and a great place to see a band on form. One of the big selling points here is the general admission policy which means you can either mosh downstairs or head upstairs for a great view, depending on your mood. The lighting and sound at the Astoria are amongst the best in London and the crowd downstairs always seem up for it. Perhaps it is because it is so close to Oxford Street but it usually seems a different more up-for-it crowd to some of the other venues which can be full of jaded seen-it-all-before types.

The Astoria has plenty of gigs by bands on the cusp of greatness, so check their listings regularly. Ticket prices are reasonable too - I paid £12.50 to see the Arctic Monkeys, whom I watched from upstairs, which was fine as there are barriers to lean on, people still dance at the bigger gigs, you get an excellent view and you can easily head back and forth to the bar at the top of the upstairs area.

I’ve seen some of my favourite bands play in the this venue.

The Astoria is one of London’s classic places to see live music. Large enough to house the more successful bands it still remains small enough to maintain some basic levels of closeness with the band. Venues such as Wembley or even Brixton Academy can overwhelm the music with their largeness at times.

The Astoria has played host to almost an almost infinite number of great performances from many many bands over the years. There was some talk of this place being destroyed in order to make way for a train line extension. It would be a great shame and tragedy if this were to happen….

Come visit this place whilst it’s still here and sample a great piece of what makes London’s music scene so great.

Classic great music venue
Good views from wherever you are standing.
Smelly but that is to be expected ad is part of the atmosphere!

The London Astoria is a lovely, intimate venue that will be sadly missed when it is eventually demolished by Crossrail.

All of the events I’ve seen here have been very high quality, with an amazingly intimate atmosphere. The capacity of the venue is low, which means that you do feel very close to the artists performing.

The bar service is quite expensive, but it’s worth it for the experience. A personal favourite music venue.

I have been to the Astoria many times in the past years for concerts and club nights, and it is easily my favourite venue in London. It is easily accessed from a tube station, and there are many shops around (perfect if you’re queueing to see your favourite band all day!) with there is a park just behind the building which is perfect for chilling out before a gig. The venue itself is in a well set out 2000 capacity building with multiple bars, spacious toilets and plenty of seating. The main room where the concerts take place is also well set out, with raised floors around the side so you can see well regardless of your height. (I have to use them a lot, i’m 5ft.) The drinks are fairly expensive, as with most venues, but as I said before there are plenty of shops to buy drinks beforehand if you want to get merry without burning a hole in your pocket. The security are strict but friendly, as are the bar staff. I wholeheartedly recommend the Astoria, it’s such a shame it’s going to be knocked down. It has been a cultural hotspot for London for many years, and will live on in the hearts of every person who’s had the night of their life there.

The London Astoria was a cinema during the 1920s before becoming a music venue. The outside still does look very much like an old cinema.
The capacity is half the size of Brixton Academy’s with room for around 1,600 - 2,000 people.
This venue is not as famous as the academy but a lot of big acts have played here such as Nirvana, Radiohead and Oasis. Typically though, this seems to be the venue that bands play before they reach 'Brixton Academy status’. It is the stepping stone, so to speak.
It’s still a brilliant venue however in one of the best parts of London.

Legendary venue, sadly to be demolished to make way for Crossrail. Reasonably-priced tickets and the box office sells tickets with no booking fee if you pay cash.

The actual venue is one of the sweatiest places on earth, even up on the balcony. Don’t wear too much clothing or you’ll get heat exhaustion.

I went to see Type O Negative here and the gig was amazing. The drinks were a little expensive but the staff were friendly and the security fun.

A great venue for live music and club nights. It has great sound and lighting and is of a pretty decent size. The atmosphere is always fun and upbeat and everyone is usually genuinely up for a good night. The bar can be a bit more pricey than some of London’s other pubs and bars, and there isn’t a huge range of drinks but it can still make a great night out. The look of the place is a bit dark and not the most asthetically pleasing, but the raw energy and atmosphere definately makes up for that.

I’ve been here twice to see two bands. The place is small and close to the tube station. It has an amazing atmosphere. Would definitely recommend you visit. The place attracts great bands gigs.

grand music ballerina, a most visit for tourist, there’s another astoria i heard about in my history lesson days, this 'The Astoria’ houseboat was built for Fred Karno.

This venue is dark and smelly. But I LOVE it!

Me and my partner used to go to G-A-Y nights and the atmosphere is fantastic. The sound is fantastic, and the acts G-A-Y had were fantastic.

Drinks were cheap on a Monday and Thursday (£2 per drink) and the drinks on other club nights were the usual expensive London price.

Needs a lot of work done to the venue, but who knows if this will be done as rumours of the venue being knocked down are surfacing.

I hate the Astoria. It is hot and dirty. Smells of armpits!
I always get claustrophobic and have been here when I have been pushed and shoved so much I had bruises.
It has been closing down for a long time..may be a con..get em in.
I only go if I really want to see a band…can’t close soon enough for me. (and I like most places ) :0))

In my opinion this is hands-down the best non-stadium venue in London! Its abit smaller than Brixton academy making shows a little more intimate as you don’t have to push or struggle to get right up close to the acts. Out of all the gigs I’ve been to the sound is always best at the Astoria although I would recommend standing over sitting to get the maximum sonic experience! Great acts play here on a weekly basis so keep a look out for your favourites. Bathrooms facilities are reasonably clean as far as live venues go and the bars are well staffed meaning wait time for drinks is generally very short.

the soon to be closing venue and some would say not before time,as its very run down and dirty.mainly this is a rock venue but on a saturday is home to the famous g-a-y nightclub, check out www.g-a-y.co.uk

This place is an institution, and is right up at the top of my favourite places to see a band (along with the Brixton Academy). It’s dead easy to get to, being right downtown where Tottenham Court Road crosses Oxford Street (so on the Central and Northern tube lines).

It’s dark and dingy, the layout can be a little confusing, there’s not much seating, but it’s what rock ‘n’ roll is all about. It’s just the right size (about 2000 people, I think, max) to get hot bands but be close enough to see. You can stand downstairs, or lean on tiered rails upstairs, (or even get a table and seat if you’re there early enough: there are some along the front and up both sides of the balcony).

There are two bars downstairs, one up at the top of the balcony (when it’s open), and a big bar area in an upstairs back room. The beer is Carling, and it’s not cheap, but it’s always cold. Toilets can be a bit grimy. But you’re not here for cocktails and ambience. You’re here for sweat and loudness and cheesy lights reflecting off the cheesy mirrored lightning bolts on the black, stained walls.

The sound is good, you’re never far from the action, you can mosh or stand quietly, you can lounge in the back bar, you can wait in the alley outside to try to catch your hero leaving.

Who have I seen play here? Who haven’t I seen! I’ve seen Nine Inch Nails, the Dead 60s, Gogol Bordello, Elbow, the Arcade Fire, the Datsuns, Our Lady Peace, Ministry, Teenage Fanclub, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Eels, the Duke Spirit, the Cooper Temple Clause, the Coral, Monster Magnet, Our Lady Peace, South, the Mooney Suzuki, Violent Femmes, an Oxfam gig with Chris Martin and Noel Gallagher, Amy Winehouse, Explosions in the Sky, Johnny Winter and Skinny Puppy.

The Astoria is at risk of being torn down for new developments. That would be a crime against rock, in my opinion.

UPDATE 2008-03-13: the lingering rumours are confirmed: the Astoria will be taken sometime in the next several years to make way for Crossrail. Shame.

This is a great venue to see bands both well established and up-and-coming. It has many bars, including an aptly named Keith Moon bar if you do like your drink, and the facilities are numerous. Seating area is minimal on the upper tier, but i doubt you want to sit anyway if you see a good band