In its 1960s heyday, the Marquee was described by Melody Maker (then the UK's most influential rock music periodical) as "the most important venue in the history of pop music". Bands and artistes listed by Wikipedia as having had residencies include Alexis Korner, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Who, King Crimson, Yes, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. In the late 1970s the club "embraced the burgeoning punk rock movement", when acts such as the Sex Pistols, Eddie and the Hot Rods, The Stranglers, The Police, XTC, Buzzcocks, Adam & the Ants, The Jam, Joy Division and The Cure all performed there. "Mainstream rock acts" such as Genesis, Dire Straits and Rory Gallagher also appeared.
In the 1980s, the Marquee "became an important venue to the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM)", hosting bands such as Def Leppard, The Quireboys, Iron Maiden and Metallica. Also in the 1980s it was "the central venue of the progressive rock revival", and the venue where Marillion first began to gain a following.
The Wardour Street premises were sold for redevelopment in 1988, and the club moved to a former cinema on Cambridge Circus (Charing Cross Road). This closed in 1996, and became a Wetherspoons pub named the Montagu Pyke. The Marquee reopened in 2001 in a purpose–built space at Angel, Islington, but this closed in 2003 (according to Wikipedia) and is now the O2 Academy, Islington.
© Haydn Thompson 2022