THE MARQUEE in LONDON has gone into administration after running into “cash flow” difficulties just four months after it opened.
Resurrecting the name of the legendary central London rock and punk club in a new shopping centre complex in Islington, north London, The Marquee opened in September. It was the brainchild of Eurythmics founder Dave Stewart and entrepreneur Mark Fuller.
The 1,200-capacity venue, which was reincarnated as a concert hall with bar and grill, had hosted shows by Primal Scream, Prince, [/a] and Badly Drawn Boy in its four months in business.
A spokesperson for administrators BDO Stoy Hayward issued a statement last week saying that the club will continue to run “for the forseeable future,” and acts have been booked until the end of March. Forty staff are employed at the venue, which is part of the flagship N1 shopping centre.
The Marquee Club was a London landmark during the ’60s and ’70s, and the name was a legend in itself. The Wardour Street venue closed in 1996, having hosted some of the biggest names and most exciting bands of the last three decades. The Rolling Stones legendarily played their first gig there, and U2 and [a] were among the acts who have graced its stage. The Who trashed their gear there, and later Sex Pistols were banned for doing the same after their first proper London gig.