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.
About the Author :
Robert Sellers was born in Leeds in 1965. He is the author of numerous books on entertainment and popular culture. Nick Pendleton is the only child of Marquee founders Harold and Barbara Pendleton. School holidays were spent in the offices above the club and in a field in Reading. Today, he runs a boutique strategy and growth consultancy, Forge Strategy Associates, is the chairman of design and event production company Chameleon Live, and chairs Entec Sound & Light, the music production company developed by his parents.
Review :
Shindig! magazine: The book "not only delivers a tome worthy of the legendary venue, but also a broader account of popular music in postwar 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."
