Goodbye Astoria

It's sad to see the disapearance of another live music venue, more so when it's The Astoria on Charing Cross Road. Not only is it a building that's aesthetically pleasing, but it had such a characteristic vibe to it. Vibes come from an interesting history and in this case, The Astoria was host to many a great gig.

We've all heard how it's been the venue to see The Rolling Stones as well as being the place where Richey Edwards did his last UK gig with The Manic Street Preachers, but for a London venue it was ideally placed in a central position within the capital with adequate transport links - which is fine if you happen to live in or around London itself - though not much of a great venue if you happen to live the wrong side of the home counties. Oh yes, I've seen all the greats at this place. Focus, The Damned, Sham 69, Slayer, Mr. Bungle - you name 'em.

Focus was one of the best gigs. They supported Camel or Caravan (I can't remember which, but whoever they were, they were crap), but Thjis Van Leer's Hammond B3 was a sound so joyful to behold that night that no other organ has come close to delivering such a sonic delight at any other gig I've been to. Leer's quite accomplished on the flute too.

Seeing The Damned here wasn't that great. It was during what I call their 'pub rock' period, a line up featuring Vanian, Scabies, Chris Dollimore (of The Godfathers), Allan Lee Shaw (who he?) and Moose (New Model Army). They played well and with confidence (Rat was exceptional on drums that night) but it lacked the chaos that comes with a Sensible line-up. Best to put that one down to experience then.

Sham 69, who played as part of a punk all-dayer, was entertaining and Jimmy Pursey was every inch the stage clown as he belted out Hurry Up 'Arry. It was the first and last time I ever saw them, and it was just enough.

Slayer at The Astoria was something else. More punters were let in than Health and Safety regulations would've legally allowed and the sweat from the mob was literally dripping from the ceiling, the venue clearly wasn't built to cope with such condensation. This was also the gig which heralded the return of Dave Lombardo to Slayer's drumstool, another skinsman that I regard very highly. Caught in a mosh and nearly crushed to death, gigs like these rarely get any better.

Except of course when it came to seeing Mr Bungle, who stopped off at The Astoria as part of their "California" tour. "California" was their third, last and most succesful album, both the recording and live gig was so overwhelming that I was buzzing for weeks after hearing them. There must've been at least nine people on stage, each member doubling up with other instruments when needed - the high level of talent that trod the boards that night was amazing. It was their second night in a row there and I believe it was on their first night that The Astoria managed to sell the most amount of beer, ever. Well, that's what Mike Patton told us anyway.

I've seen numerous other bands at that place but these were highlights for me and it'll be a shame to see the old place go, especially if it's going to be replaced by yet another faceless office block.