London Astoria

The London Astoria was a music venue, located at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. It was closed on 15 January 2009 and has since been demolished. The venue is still seen today as an iconic music establishment, as it helped to launch the careers of many British rock bands and also played a part in the UK success of many international acts. There were too many live recordings done at the venue to mention! Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in the 1970s. After further conversion, the building re-opened in the mid-1980s, as a night club and live music venue for well-known musical acts. There are half a dozen smaller music and gay clubs in the adjacent buildings within the neighbourhood. In 2009 the venue closed, and was demolished as part of the development plans of the Crossrail project.