11 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE ROUNDHOUSE
From notorious LSD parties to the birth of punk, here are 11 absolutely amazing things you probably didn’t know about one of the world’s most iconic music venues.
Edwyn Collins performs at In The Round, January 2016
Credit: John Williams, available under the Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
1. In 1964, the building was transformed into an arts venue by playwright Arnold Wesker, the father of Centre 42.
2. Pink Floyd was one of the first acts to grace the stage during the opening night in 1966.
3. It’s hosted music royalty from Pink Floyd to Patti Smith, Jimi Hendrix to David Bowie and Led Zeppelin to the Rolling Stones.
4. It was one of the original London venues that spawned the birth of punk in the UK.
5. It was used to house crazy raves that lasted for days back in the 90s.
6. Speaking of parties, the Roundhouse was also notorious for its Red wine and LSD parties in the late 1970s.
7. The conical slate roof has a groovy glazed central smoke louvre that’s supported by 24 colossal cast iron Doric columns.
8. It’s one of the UK’s leading creative innovators for young people running numerous youth programmes and workshops for under 25s.
9. The Roundhouse is 170 years old, making it one of the oldest music venues in London.
10. It’s a Grade II*-listed National Heritage Site.
11. Loads of music videos have been filmed there, including the Manic Street Preachers’ Design for Life, Stereophonics’ Handbags and Gladrags and Victoria Beckham and Dane Bowers’ Out Of Your Mind.
