Brixton Academy Re-opening, site of The Smiths' last show & much more; Evening Standard, 20 Sept. 2023

[goinghome]

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After closing down earlier in the year following a crowd crush and two deaths, the Academy will soon be allowed to reopen. At a hearing last week Lambeth council agreed that the Brixton Academy could have its licence reinstated if it met 77 “extensive and robust” conditions, to promote public safety, which means it will soon return to normal service, curating memories for yet another generation of concert goers.

The writer of the article, Dylan Jones shares how he "attended more gigs there than I care to remember, although the memorable ones I’ll never forget. There was Hollywood Beyond in 1987, Public Enemy in 1992, and a Madonna gig in 2000, which was watched online by an audience of nine million. Wham! even rehearsed their final gig at Wembley there in the summer of 1986 (as we snaked around the building, waiting to get in, my companion said, to the obvious amusement of those in earshot, “Ah, a different corner”)."

The Smiths final show in 1986 was the stand out.

Morrissey of The Smiths on stage at Brixton Academy on October 24th, 1986/Redferns
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One of the most fetishised gigs was the one I went to a few months later, in December that year, which was the last gig by the Smiths. Having seen them four years earlier I was amazed at how much their fan base had changed in that time, moving from the doe-eyed and the bookish to the rabid and the fierce. As the crowd poured out onto Brixton Road that night, it was almost as though the Stretford End had suddenly migrated south for the night, bringing their gladioli with them.

Now, following the decision, the venue is set to relaunch with a series of “test events” and a timeline for the reopening will be announced shortly.

Dylan Jones: Welcome back, Brixton Academy – how we’ve missed you

Form an orderly queue: Brixton Academy is set to reopen after Lambeth council agrees it can have its licence back

www.standard.co.uk

 

[Malarkey]

The writer of the article, Dylan Jones shares how he "attended more gigs there than I care to remember, although the memorable ones I’ll never forget. There was Hollywood Beyond in 1987, Public Enemy in 1992, and a Madonna gig in 2000, which was watched online by an audience of nine million. Wham! even rehearsed their final gig at Wembley there in the summer of 1986 (as we snaked around the building, waiting to get in, my companion said, to the obvious amusement of those in earshot, “Ah, a different corner”)."

The Smiths final show in 1986 was the stand out.

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Morrissey of The Smiths on stage at Brixton Academy on October 24th, 1986/Redferns
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Dylan Jones: Welcome back, Brixton Academy – how we’ve missed you

Form an orderly queue: Brixton Academy is set to reopen after Lambeth council agrees it can have its licence back

www.standard.co.uk

That isn't AS MEAN as I thought it might have been. The person who posted it on Facebook didn't take a proper photo of the words (Moz's picture being the important thing) I'm not in London rn - so I couldn't go get a copy.