Don’t Mess with Brixton Academy
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
London Venue Guide visited the O2 Brixton Academy for the first time in a few months last week to see The Specials’ triumphant 30th anniversary gigs. We noticed one or two small changes since O2 took over sponsorship of the venue. Most noticeably, TV screens have been introduced throughout the bar areas. Rather than posters of forthcoming bands, we now have TV screens showing us who is coming up.
We’re all for innovation but found this slightly disturbing. Brixton Academy has a unique atmosphere, so we are pleading with O2 not to ruin it with too many innovations - no VIP rooms or downloading posts for O2 customers or anything like that please. We may sound weirdly protective here, but after losing the Hammersmith Palais and the Astoria recently, the last thing London’s gig-goers need is a revamped Brixton Academy. If it ain’t broke…
