View First Gigs in London in a larger map
There aren't many artists who haven't played a gig in London. Whether they are homegrown acts or touring stars, most of them have performed somewhere in the capital. That's why we decided to start a map showing the locations of London debuts by major artists.
Unsurprisingly, famous arenas and Soho clubs dominate our interactive map; singers and bands from abroad, are normally pretty big names before they get here. However, several more-suburban locations have their claims-to-fame too (Coldplay in what's now Brewdog Camden, for example).
Sometimes, one venue has hosted the first performance of more than one artist; Wembley Arena is perhaps an obvious example. But here's a challenge — have a look around to see if you can find the place when this happened in the same month and the same year.
We've also chronologically colour-coded our pins by decade. Dark blue pins represent first London gigs after 2000, red for the 90s, green for the 80s, light blue for the 70s, yellow for the 60s and everything before that is pinned in pink. This system hasn't really revealed any groundbreaking patterns to us, but it does make it easier to browse the artists you are interested in.
Further to that, where there was a story to tell, we've added a little anecdote onto the pin. So do make sure you check them all out, or you may never discover who tore down promotional posters in a fit of rage prior to their debut show.
The map above is intended as a starting point only. We welcome suggestions for additions in the comments below, and will add to the map as we go along.
By Emily Groves
