Book overview
Arguably the most fabled rock venue in the world, Marquee details the London club's 30-year story, as well as the national music festival that grew out of it.
Go behind the scenes with every band imaginable who played there, many of whom share amazing anecdotes about the experience. For instance, the Who began their career with the "Maximum R&B" residency at the Marquee. Co-written by the son of the club's founders.
The Melody Maker went so far as to dub the Marquee "the most important venue in the history of pop music."
Beginning as a jazz club on Oxford Street before relocating to Soho's Wardour Street, the Marquee moved with the times, presenting R&B with Alexis Korner, the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, transitioning to hard rock with the Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. The club nurtured progressive rock with Jethro Tull, Yes and Genesis before giving its stage over to the bands that trashed them: the Sex Pistols, Stranglers, Damned, Sham 69 and Generation X. The Marquee became home to the new wave (Adam and the Ants, the Jam, the Police) and to the New Wave of Heavy Metal (Iron Maiden, Def Leppard).
International superstars including AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Faith No More, Guns n' Roses, INXS, Metallica, R.E.M. and ZZ Top all played there.
Marquee: The Story of the World's Greatest Music Venue is packed with dates, memories, wild stories, musical milestones and behind-the-scenes drama, as told by the musicians, management, staff and fans who were there.
