London Legendary Venues: the Rainbow Theatre

The Rainbow Theatre

Formerly the Finsbury Park Astoria, the Rainbow Theatre was a major venue in London during the Sixties and Seventies. The building (now the UCKG UK headquarters) still stands out from it's surroundings as you leave Finsbury Park tube station. Jimi Hendrix played here in 1967, where fans memorably watched him set fire to his guitar on stage for the first time. As the Astoria, it also played host to the very first Beatles Christmas Show in 1963. Later, in 1973, The Rainbow was the venue chosen by The Who's Pete Townsend, for Eric Clapton's comeback concert.
Location:
232 Seven Sisters Road Finsbury Park
London
N4 3NX
map / directions


Iron Maiden - Live at Rainbow 1980
- Vintage OOP video rip -
www.megaupload.com/?d=3YDT3MH9

This is Iron Maiden's earliest video and some of the earliest live footage of the band. It was entitled quite simply Iron Maiden and was recorded at London's Rainbow Theatre on 21st December 1980 – this is why it is also known as Live At The Rainbow. There is an interesting anecdote about this video: they experienced technical difficulties; one of the sound lines went down about halfway through the show; and half of the set had therefore to be played a second time. This is documented on the Before The Exile bootleg. The highlight of this video is certainly 'Phantom Of The Opera', which is one of of Maiden's very best songs. Other interesting features are a completely alternate set of lyrics for 'Killers' and the three spotlight-waving Eddies on stage during 'Iron Maiden'. This is 30 minutes of Iron Maiden's live raw power from the beginnings of the band.

7 classic early Maiden tracks