New - Sellers, Robert & Nick Pendleton - Marquee: The Story Of The World's Greatest Music Venue - Book

London’s Marquee was the most famous and iconic music club in the world. Melody Maker went so far as to dub it “the most important venue in the history of pop music.” And, really, what rock fan doesn't know the Who's iconic "Maximum R&B: Tuesdays at the Marquee" poster?

Starting out 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 before transitioning to hard rock with the Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. Then 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 continued on to house new wavers like Adam and the Ants, the Jam and the Police as well as the New Wave of Heavy Metal (Iron Maiden, Def Leppard). Other superstars who played the Marquee include AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Faith No More, Guns n’ Roses, INXS, Metallica, R.E.M. and ZZ Top..

Marquee: The Story of the World’s Greatest Music Venue tells the club’s 30-year story in fascinating detail. Co-written by the son of the founders, the book 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.

Reviews ofMarquee: The Story of the World’s Greatest Music Venue:

• Shindig! magazine: The book is “not only a tome worthy of the legendary venue but also delivers a broader account of popular music in post-war Britain and beyond.”
• Veteran British music journalist Chris Charlesworth: “a fine tale, well told, with just the right amount of entertaining, often enlightening, anecdotes to moderate what is essentially a chronological name drop.”
• Chris Welch: “It eagerly captures the excitement, allure and pleasures of the London club where so many of us spent our youth discovering an amazing array of bands, groups and musicians — not to mention mega stars of the future.”
• Louder Than War: “The history of one of London’s most famous venues is laid bare, featuring the luminaries of rock, jazz and clubland turned riotously up to eleven.”
• Author and journalist Richard Williams: “The club’s story is well told, with plenty of detail and a cast of characters that changes constantly as the decades whizz by.”