G-A-Y venue to close
March 12th, 2008
London music venue The Astoria is to be demolished as part of a redevelopment of the Tottenham Court Road area. The 2,000 capacity venue is home to legendary club night G-A-Y.
More than 35,000 people signed a petition to save the Astoria, but today London Mayor Ken Livingston announced that the venue must make way for a new underground rail line.
“The construction of Crossrail means that the Astoria can’t be saved,” said Livingston. “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 [the Astoria] with a larger live music venue.” He added “I understand the historics [sic] but it wasn’t at the cutting edge of modern comfort.”
G-A-Y is one of the premiere gay club nights in the UK and a popular venue for pop stars - Madonna, Kylie, Girls Aloud and the Spice Girls have all played there. The last performer to play G-A-Y will be Janet Jackson.
It is not yet known whether the new live music venue that replaces the Astoria will also feature a gay night.
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