London borough of Camden was founded in 1965. It replaced the metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St Pancras. Prior to 1965 these boroughs comprised the historic county of London.

London Astoria, originally built as a warehouse in the 1920’s, was converted into a musical venue theater in the 1970’s. After temporary closing in 1984, the venue would open its doors to different nightclubs. It later became an important part of queer London, as a gay nightclub was founded under a Monday night event called Bang! in 1976. The nightclub, rebranded to G-A-Y, was acquired by DJ and promoter Jeremy Joseph in 1990. Joseph still runs the club today, but it left Astoria in 2008, just before the venue itself closed. 

At the time of it’s permanent closing in 2009 the venue had sold out shows from Amy Winehouse, Metallica, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones and many more. Metallica was well known for their limited CD release of a live recording done at Astoria 2, its sister venue which had a 1,000 seating capacity. 

The location seemed to serve as the appeal for the venue. Situated on the corner of Oxford street, Astoria crammed 2,000 people into its walls for countless shows, many of which were always sold out. 

Astoria would close in 2009 with a final benefit gig featuring artists like Get Cape. Astoria 2 closed shortly after with one final nightclub night. The venue closed in 2009 after being purchased by Crossrail and converted into a transport system. Many criticized this decision as a loss of a historic dive bar, as Astoria had become known as one of the most iconic music venues across the globe. It was projected that the global music economy would take a grave hit after Astoria’s closing, reflected in the loss of ticket sales. 

Works Cited

“Festival Republic Archive.” Festival Republic, 2007, https://web.archive.org/web/20071220070927/http://www.festivalrepublic.c.... Accessed 18 Feb. 2023. 

Gibson, Owen. “The Astoria Will Be Knocked down to Accommodate Crossrail Station.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 14 Jan. 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jan/15/astoria-final-gigs. Accessed 18 Feb. 2023. 

“London Astoria.” 17 Mar. 2004. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LondonAstoria.jpg. Accessed 18 Feb. 2023.

Winwood, Ian. “The Astoria: Share Your Beer-Stained Memories.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 13 Jan. 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/jan/13/astoria-share-yo... Accessed 18 Feb. 2023.