Rainbow Theatre

Rainbow Theatre (originally Astoria Theatre) is a Grade II*-listed building located in Finsbury Park, London, England. Built as a cinema in 1930, it later became well known as a music venue and is now a Pentecostal church.

History

Former Stage Manager, Rick Burton has published a website with a detailed history of who has performed at the theatre and when.

Cinema

When it opened in 1930, the Astoria Cinema was one of the largest in the world. Standing at the junction of Isledon Road and Seven Sisters Road on an island site, it was the fourth of the famous London suburban Astoria Theatres built by film exhibitor Arthur Segal. It was opened on 29 September 1930: there were three other Astorias, Streatham, Old Kent Road and Brixton. It was in use as a cinema until September 1971 when it was permanently given over to live music - although rock concerts had been a feature throughout the 1960s.

The plain faience exterior, designed by Edward A. Stone, acted as a foil to a lavish 'atmospheric interior' by Somerford & Barr, with decoration carried out by Marc-Henri and G. Laverdet. A Moorish foyer with a goldfish-filled fountain (which survives today) led to an auditorium recalling an Andalucian village at night, with seating for 3,040. The stage, 35 feet (11 m) deep and spanned by a 64-foot-wide (20 m) proscenium arch, was equipped with a twin-console Compton 3-manual/13-rank theatre organ (opened by G. T. Pattman). Backstage, there were 12 dressing rooms. The opening night, 29 September 1930, featured Ronald Colman in Condemned and a Gala Stage Spectacle, with artists from the other Astoria Theatres making a special engagement on the stage.

Pink Floyd bootleg recordings

Pink Floyd bootleg recordings are the collections of audio and video recordings of musical performances by the British rock band Pink Floyd, which were never officially released by the band. The recordings consist of both live performances and outtakes from studio sessions unavailable in official releases. In some cases, certain bootleg recordings may be highly prized among collectors, as at least 40 songs composed by Pink Floyd have never been officially released.

During the 1970s, bands such as Pink Floyd created a lucrative market for the mass production of unofficial recordings with large followings of fans willing to purchase them. In addition, the huge crowds that turned up to these concerts made the effective policing of the audience for the presence of recording equipment virtually impossible. Vast numbers of recordings were issued for profit by bootleg labels.

Some Pink Floyd bootlegs exist in several variations with differing sound quality and length because sometimes listeners have recorded different versions of the same performance at the same time. Pink Floyd was a group that protected its sonic performance, making recording with amateur recording devices difficult. In their career, Pink Floyd played over 1,300 concerts, of which more than 350 were released as bootlegged recordings (sometimes in various versions). Few concerts have ever been broadcast (or repeated once they were broadcast on television), especially during 'the golden age' of the group from 1966 to 1981.

The Byrds

The Byrds /ˈbɜːrdz/ were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole consistent member, until the group disbanded in 1973. Although they only managed to attain the huge commercial success of contemporaries like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones for a short period (1965–66), the Byrds are today considered by critics to be one of the most influential bands of the 1960s. Initially, they pioneered the musical genre of folk rock, melding the influence of the Beatles and other British Invasion bands with contemporary and traditional folk music. As the 1960s progressed, the band was also influential in originating psychedelic rock, raga rock, and country rock.

The band's signature blend of clear harmony singing and McGuinn's jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar has continued to be influential on popular music up to the present day. Among the band's most enduring songs are their cover versions of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and Pete Seeger's "Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)", along with the self-penned originals, "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", "Eight Miles High", "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star", "Ballad of Easy Rider" and "Chestnut Mare".

The Byrds (box set)

The Byrds is a four-CD box set by the American rock band The Byrds that was released on October 19, 1990 by Columbia/Legacy. The compilation comprises 90 tracks and covers the band's career from 1965 to 1971 (a period when they were signed to Columbia Records) in roughly chronological order, but excludes material from their 1973 reunion album Byrds, which was released on Asylum Records. The box set also includes six songs performed by a reunited line-up of The Byrds, featuring original members Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman. Of these six songs, two were recorded live at the Roy Orbison Tribute Concert on February 24, 1990 and four are new studio recordings dating from August 1990. The two other original members of The Byrds, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke, who were both still living in 1990, did not participate in the reunion.

At the time of its release, The Byrds was the first box set by a defunct rock act to be issued by Columbia Records. The compilation includes a number of rare and previously unreleased songs, many of which were later included as bonus tracks on the remastered editions of the band's individual albums. Of special interest to fans of both The Byrds and country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, was the inclusion of six previously unreleased tracks from the recording sessions of The Byrds' 1968 album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Of these unreleased tracks, the versions of "The Christian Life", "You Don't Miss Your Water", and "One Hundred Years from Now" featured their original Parsons' lead vocals, which had been removed and replaced by McGuinn and Hillman prior to the release of the album. In the years since Sweetheart of the Rodeo was issued, these "lost" Parsons' vocals had become near-legendary among fans of the band and their inclusion on The Byrds provided a major selling point for the box set.

The Byrds (disambiguation)

The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The term was also the name of several eponymous albums:

See also