Rainbow Theater

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Rainbow Theater

The Rainbow Theater , originally known as Finsbury Park Astoria , is a Grade II listed building in the Finsbury Park borough of London . Built in 1930, it was initially used as a cinema and later as a concert hall. Today it is a church of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God .

history

When Finsbury Park Astoria opened on September 29, 1930, it was considered one of the largest cinemas in the world. The building on Seven Sisters Road in north London was the fourth Astoria theater in the city. The building was used as a cinema until September 1971, after which it was used for rock concerts , although the cinema had occasionally served as a concert stage as early as the 1960s.

After a brief interlude as the Odeon Theater (November 17, 1970 to September 25, 1971), it reopened as the Rainbow Theater on November 4, 1971. The opening concert was played by The Who , who later sang the theater in their song Long Live Rock , albeit under the name Astoria Theater.

On December 24, 1981, the Rainbow Theater was closed. The building was added to the list of listed buildings (Grade II), but remained empty for 14 years. Occasionally it was used for bare knuckle boxing matches.

In 1995, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God took over the building to use it as a church.

Rock concerts (selection)

Former Stage Manager Rick Burton has put together an extensive history of the Rainbow Theater. The following list represents a selection.

1960s: Finsbury Park Astoria

  • From December 24, 1963 to January 11, 1964, the Beatles performed their Christmas show 16 times at Finsbury Park Astoria.
  • Jimi Hendrix lit one of his guitars for the first time here on March 31, 1967.
  • The album Live in London of the Beach Boys was recorded in Finsbury Park Astoria on December 8 1968th

1970s to 1981: Rainbow Theater

  • Frank Zappa suffered serious injuries on December 10, 1971, when a spectator pushed him off the stage; Zappa broke his leg and injured his head - he was hospitalized for six weeks.
  • Pink Floyd played at Rainbow four evenings from February 17-20, 1972 at the start of their Eclipsed Tour; the last evening was partially broadcast on BBC radio. The band gave two benefit concerts on November 4, 1973 for Robert Wyatt , who was paralyzed after a fall.
  • David Bowie gave two concerts at Rainbow on August 19 and 20, 1972 during his Ziggy Stardust tour.
  • Yes had their appearances recorded at Rainbow on December 15 and 16, 1972 for their album Yessongs and the film of the same name.
  • Eric Clapton performed with Pete Townshend , Stevie Winwood , Ron Wood, and others on January 13, 1973, published as Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert .
  • Genesis gave numerous concerts in the Rainbow. The album Live at the Rainbow Theater was made on October 20, 1973.
  • The Sweet performed at Rainbow on December 21, 1973 and subsequently released the album Live At The Rainbow in 1973 .
  • Gary Glitter gave a concert on Christmas Day 1973 that was used for his live album Remember Me This Way and the film of the same name.
  • On March 31, 1974, Queen appeared as a headliner for the first time as part of their Queen II Tour . Her concert Live at the Rainbow '74 was recorded on November 19-20, 1974 .
  • Tangerine Dream played at the beginning of their First British Tour on October 26, 1974 at Rainbow; the concert was moderated by John Peel . A release took place in 2019 in the box set In Search Of Hades - The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979 .
  • Kool & the Gang recorded three tracks for their album Love & Understanding at Rainbow.
  • Deep Purple entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1975 as the loudest band in the world for a 1972 concert at the Rainbow Theater.
  • On March 18, 1977 Marc Bolan & T. Rex played at Rainbow, with The Damned as opening act. The Dandy in the Underworld Tour should be their last tour. The concert can be heard on the T. Rex album "Live 1977 And In Conversation".
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers played at Rainbow on their Exodus Tour on June 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 1977. The last concert was called Bob Marley and the Wailers Live! at the Rainbow released. Five songs appeared on the 2001 album Exodus (Deluxe Edition) .
  • From August 1 to August 4, 1977, Little Feat performed four nights. Recordings from the concerts were later released on the album Waiting for Columbus .
  • The Ramones played two concerts at Rainbow on December 31, 1977 and January 1, 1978. The former was released as It's Alive .
  • Thin Lizzy recorded the video for Live and Dangerous at Rainbow in March 1978 .
  • Queen performed a fourth and final time at the Rainbow Theater on December 14, 1979 as part of the Crazy Tour .
  • Parts of the album Hanx! by Stiff Little Fingers were recorded in Rainbow in 1980.
  • Iron Maiden made multiple appearances at Rainbow in 1980 and 1981, as seen on the 1981 Video Live at Rainbow Theater . The band also recorded their first music video for "Women in Uniform" in 1980 at Rainbow.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rick Burton: A history of The Rainbow / Astoria Finsbury Park, London (English)

Coordinates: 51 ° 33 ′ 44.3 "  N , 0 ° 6 ′ 30"  W.