"Astoria can't be saved"

Bands react to closure plan

12 Mar 08 - Bands have been giving us their reaction to the news that London's Astoria venue is set to close to make way for the Crossrail development.

Jack Penate said: "It's an absolute disgusting travesty. I don't understand how they can justify bringing down something that has hugely influenced all the youth - I would go constantly and all my friends did. When you're growing up, that is the place." 

Hard-Fi's Richard Archer added: "It's really disappointing - we seem to be losing all the decent venues in London. What are they being replaced with? Nothing that I can see really.

"A lot of these older venues, they have something about them as well. It's just one more gone, it's a real shame. I'm gutted - some of our favourite ever gigs we played at the Astoria."

London's Mayor Ken Livingstone said the most important thing in London is to try and sustain the city's live music venues. It comes after The Spitz and Hammersmith Palais both closed, and he's now developing a live music strategy to protect venues in the capital.

Details of his plans were published in a report that examined the future of small and medium sized venues, but he the mayor said it's too late for the Astoria:

"There are some instances where that just physically isn't possible," he said. "The construction of Crossrail means that the Astoria can't be saved."

This won't be welcome news for the 35,000 names on a petition to save the London gig arena, but the venue will be replaced.

"Where you're demolishing one, you've got to replace it with something better."
London Mayor Ken Livingstone on The Astoria

"We're basically putting in a vast train station but the developers that have actually drawn up the scheme for the area are replacing it with a larger live music venue," said Livingstone. 

The mayor added that he's not totally insensitive to people's protests, however.

He said: "I understand the historics behind it, but it wasn't at the cutting edge of modern comfort and so, my broad view is where you're demolishing one, you've got to replace it with something better."
 

Jo Youle