The relationship between performers and venues played is vital in establishing
reputation or, indeed, credibility of a given group or musician. Think of The Cotton Club and Jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong that consolidated their legendary status here. The mystique of a club, vibe of an underground venue (at cutting edge of music fashion) roughness of a dive, opulence of a casino, smokiness of a Jazz joint can all add to mythology of those who?ve played there. The destination of choice for up and coming musicians in London, with an eye for big time and rock immortality, has since late fifties always been iconic Marquee Club.
The club came into being in 1958; birthplace: 165 Oxford Street. This was dawning of ?Swinging Sixties?, when post-war austerity was morphing into something much brighter, with an emerging and dynamic youth culture - which was more hedonistic, less repressed and more fashion-conscious than previous generations had known. Changing economic patterns also meant that young had opportunities, like never before, and a disposable income, which fuelled a consumer boom and an explosion in music and fashion. At epicentre was Marquee, banging out a combustible mix of Jazz, Rhythm and Blues.
The Rolling Stones, very incarnation of loved-up, psychedelic sixties, launched their assault on world by playing one of their earliest gigs at The Marquee in July 1962. Names such as Clapton, The Yardbirds and The Animals became regulars here, cementing both their fame and fortune and status of club as a key landmark of ?Swinging? London.
The roll call of artists that rocked Marquee throughout 60s and 70s reads like a Who?s Who of most dazzling stars in rock?s bright firmament. These include: Hendrix, Bowie, The Who, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Genesis, to name but a few.
