[no subject]

Famous London music venue for sale
Thursday, January 23, 2003 Posted: 12:33 PM EST (1733 GMT)

 
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- One of London's most famous music venues,
which in its heyday in the Sixties played host to The Who, David Bowie
and the Rolling Stones, has gone up for sale, its administrators said
on Thursday. 

The Marquee Club, which in the '70s was the epicentre of the punk
explosion, ran into financial difficulties after its high-profile
relaunch last autumn, said a spokeswoman for administrator BDO Stoy
Hayward. 

"We're looking for someone in the music business who can capitalise on
the Marquee brand and keep running it as a live venue," she said. The
price tag is at least #125 million. 

The club opened in London's Soho district in 1958 and was so cramped
and sweaty that, according to legend, Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats
blacked out on stage. 

The Sex Pistols were also guests in an era when audiences showed their
appreciation by throwing bottles and spitting on the stage. 

In 1988, it moved to a new location in nearby Charing Cross, but within
eight years it had closed down. 

A high-profile relaunch at a new venue in Islington, north London last
September was headlined by the controversial electro-rockers Primal
Scream, but according to the club's administrators, huge start-up costs
quickly led to its downfall.