The Marquee is the most famous and iconic music club in the world. Melody Maker called it "The most important venue in the history of pop music."
The story of the Marquee is the story of popular music in Britain: the hot, sweaty and sticky life and times of the club through the words of the musicians, management, staff and fans who were there to witness music history being made.
Starting out as a jazz club on Oxford Street before relocating to Soho's Wardour Street, the Marquee moved through the trends of the times, embracing R&B with Alexis Korner, the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, transitioning to rock with the Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.The club became a spiritual home to progressive rock, nurturing Jethro Tull, Yes and Genesis before giving the stage to the bands that trashed them: the Sex Pistols, Stranglers, Damned, Sham 69 and Generation X. The Marquee was also home to the new waver (Adam and the Ants, the Jam, Ultravox!, the Police) and to the New Wave of Heavy Metal (Iron Maiden, Def Leppard). A worldwide reputation made it the must-play club for such international artists as AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Faith No More, Guns n' Roses, INXS, Metallica, R.E.M. and ZZ Top.
The Marquee's in-house recording studio was used by the Beatles, Elton John and Monty Python. The Stock -Aitken - Waterman pop empire began there.
The Marquee's annual open-air festival, first held in 1961, settled in Reading in 1971, where it remains as the world's longest running popular music festival.
Marquee: The Story of the World's Greatest Music Venue tells the 30-year story of both the club and the festival, from their founding (in 1958 and 1961, respectively) through their sale by original owners Harold and Barbara Pendleton.
Illustrated and indexed.
