Hey Beat Fans! SirLou here with another episode of Gig Spotlight!
As you know, from time to time we like to spotlight a gig and give you a little more information and background on the venue, since we play so many truly historic and significant rock palaces. We think knowing the history these great venues only adds to the experience!
Today we’ll be talking about an upcoming gig we’re really excited about:
What a pleasure it is to be playing such a magical rock hall this early in the year, it’s a great omen for this year’s tour! For those of you not familiar with the club, The Roxy Theatre (usually just “The Roxy”) is quite a famous nightclub located on the iconic Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood, California. For decades it’s been a gig stop and hangout for a veritable who’s-who of not just rock & roll, but all types of creative expression.
“The Roxy was opened on September 23, 1973, by Elmer Valentine and Lou Adler, along with original partners David Geffen, Elliot Roberts and Peter Asher. They took over the building previously occupied by a strip club owned by Chuck Landis called the Largo. (Adler was also responsible for bringing the stage play The Rocky Horror Show to the United States, and it opened its first American run at The Roxy Theatre in 1974, before it was made into the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show the next year.)
Neil Young and his band The Santa Monica Flyers played the Roxy for the first week it was open. Only three months later, the original Genesis lineup with Peter Gabriel played several consecutive days at the Roxy, a run that some band members and many fans consider to be amongst their finest performances (due partially to the intimate atmosphere and good acoustics of the venue, as well as the legendary reputation of “Hollywood” amongst performers around the world).
Paul Reubens, then a struggling comedian, introduced his Pee-wee Herman character in a raunchy revue here in 1981 that included other aspiring comics including Phil Hartman and Elayne Boosler.
The small On The Rox bar above the club has hosted a wide variety of debauchery in its history. The bar was a regular hangout for John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Alice Cooper and Keith Moon during Lennon’s “lost weekend” in 1973-74 and hosted parties arranged by Heidi Fleiss in the 1980s.”
Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood), In Wikipedia. Retrieved 07 Jan 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxy_Theatre_West_Hollywood
Some of the recordings and notable performances at The Roxy that may be of particular interest to Beat fans include, among many others: Bob Marley & The Wailers recording “Live at the Roxy” on May 26, 1976; the concert scene for the 1979 movie “Rock N Roll High School“, featuring a performance by The Ramones, was filmed at the Roxy in December 1978, and in late 1982, The Clash blew away the Roxy in a classic performance in April 1980 at the height of their punk power; and fellow 80’s ska band extraordinaire, Fishbone, actually did a stint as the house band at the theatre, and last but not least the prior performances of The English Beat!
Gig Info:
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
The Roxy Theatre
9009 West Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
roxy@goldenvoice.com
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Saturday 17 January 2015
The English Beat
With The Interrupters, Chris Murray
This event is all ages
$30.00
Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 9:00 pm
Hope to see you there, skankin’ to The Beat!
cheers,
sirlou
The Beat
