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London Astoria

 

RETROSPECTIVE EDITIONS

January 2023 marked fourteen years since the infamous LONDON ASTORIA closed its doors on Charing Cross Road. The night before its closure, it was given a proper send off with a Demolition Ball, showcasing some of the venues most well-loved artists. 45 Original are proud to honour this monumental venue with the release of a run of two strictly limited edition artworks celebrating the unique venue’s heritage.

Designed in collaboration with leading artist and designer Steve Mitchell of 57 Design, these two bespoke illustrations – one in RED and one in GOLD – brings together in one place over four hundred and fifty of the London Astoria’s most recognisable acts, while paying homage to the architectural beauty of this Art Deco building.

Available as a limited edition run of fifty signed, stamped and numbered 50x70cm giclée colour prints in either red or gold.

These reimagined designs endeavour to immortalise the iconic artists to have performed at the London Astoria and to celebrate a prestigious building that stood for over eighty years, from 1927 to 2009.

LONDON ASTORIA, CHARING CROSS ROAD

The LONDON ASTORIA once sat on the fringes of Soho. A venue with sticky floors, crowded bars and dressing rooms that perhaps were not fit for the legendary artists that played there, but was once London’s musical centre of gravity.

1989 saw a little-known Seattle band called NIRVANA support MUDHONEY – a gig that would enter grunge folklore. In 1994OASIS graced the stage on the eve of their debut album, marking the beginning of the bands trailblazing career. The same year saw Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edward’s play his last UK gig before his disappearance. Just seven years later, U2 played its smallest gig in ten years on the London Astoria’s hallowed grounds. In 2003, Britpop legends BLUR played a record six-night residency. And just three years before this beloved venues closure, St Albans’ teens ENTER SHIKARI sold out the London Astoria without even having a record deal.

Legendary bands and artists and those on their journeys to stardom walked these hallowed halls. It may not have been the likes of the stellar stadiums they were used to playing or would go on to play, but this venue held and continues to hold a special place in many of these music stars and their fans hearts.

The London Astoria was the first of series of iconic buildings architect Edward A. Stone designed. From the London Astoria in 1927, to the now Brixton Academy in 1929 to Streatham’s Astoria Theatre in the summer of 1930.

The London Astoria on Charing Cross Road was built on the site of a former Crosse & Blackwell warehouse, opening in 1927 as a cinema. When first constructed the building was four storeys tall with a decorative edging embellishing the exterior walls. Inside was a sight to behold, with large columns, a viewing balcony and large organ pipes. The venue’s interior went through three separate conversions before opening as a nightclub and music venue in 1985 with a capacity of 2,000 people. The venue went on to host over 2,000 club nights and gigs in the twenty-four years it was open. 1988 saw THE MISSION play seven straight nights between 21st March and 27th March. It witnessed the creations of one of the most famous club nights THE TRIP at the height of the acid house scene in 1988. It was home to infamous nightclub G-A-Y. And in 2000MEAN FIDDLER acquired the lease of the beloved venue in hopes of “securing the future of live music at one of London’s most famous rock ‘n’ roll venues”. But sadly in 2009 its doors were forced to close to accommodate the Crossrail development but oh boy did they go out in style.

On January 14th, the night before its closure, a DEMOLITION BALL was held, co-organised by GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY. aka Sam Duckworth, in aid of BILLY BRAGG’S JAIL GUITAR DOORS charity and LOVE MUSIC HATE RACISM. This line-up saw the likes of THE AUTOMATIC, FRANK TURNER and of course Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Just ten months later the building was demolished. Adding to the list another LOST VENUE of great memories.

 

 

FEATURED ARTISTS

999, A Certain Ratio, Adam and the Ants, Age of Chance, Alabama 3, Alice Cooper, Alice In Chains, Alien Sex Fiend, All About Eve, All Time Low, Alter Bridge, Amy Winehouse, Anti-Nowhere League, Aphex Twin, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Arthur Brown, Ash, Asia, Asian Dub Foundation, Audio Bullys, August Burns Red, Augusto Pablo, Avenged Sevenfold, Avril Lavigne, Babyshambles, Bad Religion, Barenaked Ladies, Beastie Boys, Beck, Belle and Sebastian, Beth Orton, Biffy Clyro, Big Audio Dynamite, Big Country, Billy Idol, Black Eyed Peas, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Black Sabbath, Black Uhuru, Blink-182, Bloc Party, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Blue Öyster Cult, Blur, Bomb the Bass, Bon Jovi, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Bowling for Soup, Boys Like Girls, Bring Me The Horizon, Bruce Dickinson, Bullet for My Valentine, Burning Spear, Bush, Busted, Buzzcocks, Cage The Elephant, Calvin Harris, Caravan, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Cast, Catatonia, Cheap Trick, Chelsea, Chemical Brothers, Christian Death, Chumbawumba, Coldcut, Coldplay, Cookie Crew, Cornershop, Cypress Hill, Daft Punk, Danielle Dax, Darren Emerson, David Bowie, David Gray, De La Soul, Deacon Blue, Dead Kennedys, Death Cab for Cutie, Deep Purple, Deftones, Del Amitri, Des’ree, Dinosaur Jr., Dirty Pretty Things, Discharge, Dizzee Rascal, DJ Shadow, Doctor and the Medics, Dody, Doug E. Fresh, Doves, Eagles of Death Metal, Echo & the Bunnymen, Ed Harcourt, Editors, Edwyn Collins, Eels, Einstürzende Neubauten, Elastica, Elbow, Electric Six, Elvis Costello, Embrace, EMF, Eminem, Engelbert Humperdinck, Enrique Iglesias, Enter Shikari, Erasure, Evanescence, Faith No More, Faithless, Fall Out Boy, Fields of the Nephilim, Flesh for Lulu, Florence + the Machine, Flowered Up, Foals, Foo Fighters, Frank Turner, Franz Ferdinand, Front 242, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Funeral for a Friend, Galliano, Garbage, Gary Numan, Gaye Bykers on Acid, Gene Loves Jezebel, Generation X, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., Girlschool, Glitter Band, Gloria Gaynor, Gogol Bordello, Goldblade, Goldfrapp, Gong, Good Charlotte, Green Day, Green on Red, Guillemots, Gym Class Heroes, Hanoi Rocks, Happy Mondays, Hard-Fi, Hawkwind, Henry Rollins, Hole, Hot Chip, Humble Pie, Ian Hunter, Incognito, Incubus, Inspiral Carpets, Interpol, INXS, Ja Rule, Jack Savoretti, Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart, James, Jamie T, Jamiroquai, Jane’s Addiction, Jarvis Cocker, Jello Biafra, Jesus Jones, Jet, Jimmy Eat World, Joe Strummer, John Cooper Clarke, John Martyn, John Otway, John’s Children, Johnny Winter, Jonas Brothers, Judas Priest, Julian Cope, Jungle Brothers, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Kate Nash, Keane, Kelis, Kevin Ayers, Killing Joke, King Kurt, Kings of Leon, Korn, LCD Soundsystem, Lene Lovich Band, Lenny Kravitz, Lethal Bizzle, Levellers, Lightning Seeds, Lily Allen, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Little Feat, Longpigs, Loop, Los Lobos, Lostprophets, Love and Rockets, Machine Head, Madness, Madonna, Manic Street Preachers, Mantronix, Marc Almond, Maria Mckee, Marillion, Mark Lanegan, Maroon 5, Masters of Reality, Maximo Park, MC5, McFly, Megadeth, Melanie C, Mercury Rev, Metronomy, MGMT, Michelle Shocked, Midnight Oil, Mighty Diamonds, Moby, Mogwai, Monster Magnet, Morrissey, Motörhead, Mudhoney, Muse, My Bloody Valentine, My Chemical Romance, My Morning Jacket, Mystery Jets, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, New Found Glory, New Model Army, Nickelback, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Nitzer Ebb, No Doubt, Noah and the Whale, Noel Gallagher, Northern Uproar, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, Outkast, Panic! At The Disco, Paolo Nutini, Papa Roach, Paramore, Paul Weller, Peaches, Pearl Jam, Pendragon, Pere Ubu, Pet Shop Boys, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Phoenix, Placebo, Poison, Primal Scream, Prince, Propellerheads, Psychic TV, Public Image Ltd, Pulp, Queens of the Stone Age, Radio Stars, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Rancid, Razorlight, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Reef, Renegade Soundwave, Richard Ashcroft, Richard Hawley, Rise Against, Robert Plant, Robyn, Rocket from the Crypt, Royksopp, Ryan Adams, Salt-N-Pepa, Santana, Saxon, Scissor Sisters, Scorpions, Screaming Trees, Seasick Steve, Shed Seven, Sheep on Drugs, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Simple Minds, Simple Plan, Skunk Anansie, Slaughter & the Dogs, Slayer, Slipknot, Snow Patrol, Social Distortion, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Southside Johnny, Sparks, Spiritualized, Squeeze, Starsailor, Stereo MCs, Stereolab, Stiff Little Fingers, Stereophonics, Suede, Suicidal Tendencies, Sum 41, Supergrass, Swans, System of a Down, Taking Back Sunday, Tangerine Dream, Ted Nugent, Teenage Fanclub, Tenacious D, Texas, That Petrol Emotion, The All-American Rejects, The Automatic, The Black Crowes, The Black Keys, The Blasters, The Bluetones, The Bodines, The Brand New Heavies, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Charlatans, The Chesterfields, The Coral, The Courteeners, The Cramps, The Cranberries, The Cult, The Cure, The Damned, The Dandy Warhols, The Dap-Kings, The Darkness, The Dickies, The Divine Comedy, The Duke Spirit, The Durutti Column, The Dust Brothers, The Enemy, The Enid, The Fall, The Flaming Lips, The Fratellis, The Futureheads, The Go-Betweens, The Godfathers, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Hives, The Hold Steady, The Horrors, The House of Love, The Human League, The Icicle Works, The Jazz Butcher, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Killers, The Kills, The Kooks, The Lemonheads, The Libertines, The Lords of the New Church, The Lurkers, The Maccabees, The Magic Numbers, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, The Mission, The Mock Turtles, The Moonflowers, The National, The Offspring, The Orb, The Pogues, The Primitives, The Quireboys,  The Raconteurs, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, The Rubettes, The Saw Doctors, The Shamen, The Sisters of Mercy, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Stranglers, The Streets, The Strokes, The Sugarcubes, The Ting Tings, The Triffids, The Tubes, The Undertones, The Verve, The Vibrators, The Waterboys, The White Stripes, The Wombats, The Wonder Stuff, The xx, Theatre of Hate, Thin Lizzy, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Throbbing Gristle, Tinchy Stryder, Toto, Toy Dolls, Transglobal Underground, Travis, Tricky, Twisted Sister, UFO, U2, UK Subs, Underworld, Unkle, Uriah Heep, Van Morrison, Violent Femmes, Voice of the Beehive, W.A.S.P., Wedding Present, Ween, Weezer, Westlife, Westworld, Wheatus, Wilco, Wiko Johnson, Will Young, Wire, Wishbone Ash, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yoko Ono, You Me At Six, Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction
 
In view of COVID’s decimation of the live entertainment sector, 10% of 45 Original’s The London Astoria Retrospective Editions sales profits will be donated to the MUSIC VENUE’S TRUST ‘Save Our Venues’ Campaign.
 
45 Original is a creative platform celebrating UK live music culture through bespoke limited edition designs and offers a long-awaited window for designers who talents so often go under the radar.
 
Previous collections and designs include:
THE RAINBOW THEATRE
THE ROXY CLUB
NORTHERN SOUL 
 
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