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The Lexington, Islington

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Coordinates: 51°31′54″N 0°06′41″W / 51.531719°N 0.111381°W / 51.531719; -0.111381
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The Lexington
The Lexington in 2009
Map
Location96-98 Pentonville Rd
Islington
London
N1 9JB
Coordinates51°31′54″N 0°06′41″W / 51.531719°N 0.111381°W / 51.531719; -0.111381
Capacity200
Opened2008
Website
www.thelexington.co.uk

The Lexington is a pub and music venue on Pentonville Road in Islington, London that opened in 2008. The bar specialises in bourbon, as well as American craft beer.[1][2] The building it is in was built over 1875 to 1876 and was originally known as The Belvidere Tavern.[3]

History

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18th and 19th centuries

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The building now housing The Lexington was erected in 1875–6. It was then known as The Belvidere, and was a new construction for the earlier tavern of that name on the same site, which had been there since about 1780.[4] It was designed by the architect W. E. Williams and built by Robert Marr.[3] Writing about the older tavern in 1882 in Notes and Queries, Edward Spencer refers to a discussion society "held there weekly, and some of our greatest ornaments of the bar and legal profession have there tested their oratorical skill" and that "in the parlour of an evening were once seen many of the authors, painters, artists, and literary men of the period."[5]

20th century

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In the 1940s the pub, now called The Belvedere, was used as a venue for auctions by Henry Butcher & Co.[6][7]

In the 1990s it was a tapas bar called La Finca which held salsa classes and nights upstairs.[8][9]

21st century

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In the mid-2000s it was a bar called Clockwork that hosted drum and bass DJ nights, and the occasional rock gig.[10][11]

The Lexington opened as a pub and music venue in 2008. The bar specialises in bourbon, as well as American craft beer.[1][2] The venue area is upstairs, with a raised back section by the bar. The front of this has bench seating, but facing away from the stage.[1]

On Monday evenings the pub has a music quiz, previously sponsored by Rough Trade, that is usually hosted by Paul Guided Missile.[12]

The Lexington was particularly badly hit by a reform of London business rates in 2017, with a proposed increase of more than 200 percent (the average for London music venues being about 38 per cent). The venue challenged this and managed to get somewhat of a reduction to an increase of 118 percent.[13][14]

The venue's existence has been threatened further by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lexington were among the beneficiaries of the Cultural Recovery Fund administered by Arts Council England, announced on October 12, 2020. The venue stated that those funds “will go some way in mitigating the financial damage and debt accumulated over the last seven months of closure” but that they are “still in serious peril” as they were only awarded 40% of the funding they applied for.[15] In November the Music Venue Trust announced a campaign which highlighted the 30 UK music venues deemed still in crisis, one of which is The Lexington. The venue had a crowdfunder to raise what was still needed.[16]

The current manager is Delia Sparrow of Mambo Taxi, Ye Nuns and Phantom Pregnancies.[17]

Notable performers

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Recordings

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  • In 2011 British soul singer-songwriter Jodie Marie released an EP of songs recorded during her gig at The Lexington in 2011 titled Live At The Lexington E.P which comprised three songs from her then upcoming debut studio album “Mountain Echo”: “Single Blank Canvas”, “Greeney-Blue” and “Dandelion Wishes”. The EP was a digital only release.[19]
  • In 2012 British-Irish soul musician Maverick Sabre released an EP of songs recorded during his gig at The Lexington in November 2011 titled Live At The Lexington which comprised three songs from his then upcoming debut studio album “Lonely Are the Brave”: “I Used To Have It All”, “I Need” and “Let Me Go”. The EP was a digital only release.[20]
  • In 2014 British alternative rock band The House of Love released an LP of songs recorded during their gig at The Lexington in November 2013 titled Live at the Lexington 13:11:13 which comprised 14 songs: “Destroy the Heart”, “Hope”, “Christine”, “Se Dest”, “Road”, “The Beatles and the Stones”, “Purple Killer Rose”, “Phone”, “She Paints Words in Red”, “Shine On”, “Lost in the Blues”, “A Baby Got Back on Its Feet”, “I Don’t Know Why I Love You” and ”Touch Me”.[21]
  • In 2021 British indie rock band Doe released an album of songs recorded during their final gig as a band, which was at The Lexington in 2019, titled Sincerely, Doe: Live at The Lexington. It comprised the full sixteen song set performed that night. A live video of it can be watched on YouTube.[22][23]
  • In 2021 Owen, the indie rock project of American musician Mike Kinsella, released an album of songs recorded at The Lexington in 2019 titled Live at The Lexington - The Complete Collection. A limited run 7" single of select songs was also released.[24][25]
  • In 2024 British and Danish rock and roll duo His Lordship released a limited run LP record of songs recorded at The Lexington in 2022 titled Live At The Lexington.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hann, Michael (11 February 2014). "The gig venue guide: The Lexington, London". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b "The Lexington, Islington, London". Kerrang!. London: Wasted Talent Ltd. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b Temple, Philip (ed.). "Pentonville Road". Survey of London: Volume 47, Northern Clerkenwell and Pentonville. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300139372.
  4. ^ Wroth, Warwick William; Wroth, Arthur Edgar (1896). "The Belvidere Tea Gardens, Pentonville Road". The London Pleasure Gardens of the Eighteenth Century. New York: Macmillan. p. 146.
  5. ^ Spencer, Edward (6 September 1882). "Memorable Residents at Islington, Barnsbury, and Pentonville". Notes and Queries. 6: 181.
  6. ^ "Henry Butcher & Co announce... the following Auction Sale". Machinery Market. 1945.
  7. ^ "Henry Butcher & Co announce... the following Auction Sale". The Accountant. Vol. 109. 1943.
  8. ^ Santiago, William (12 October 1997). "London with a Latin Beat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  9. ^ Bain, Charlie (24 August 1994). "After hours: Night and play". The Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Clockwork Music Venue 2007 November - Drum & Bass flyers". Phatmedia. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  11. ^ "FEATURED VENUE ARCHIVE - Club Fandango @ Clockwork". Club Fandango. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  12. ^ "The Lexington: Time Out Says". Time Out London. Time Out. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  13. ^ White, Megan (9 January 2019). "Treasury accused of discriminating over business rates for live music venues". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  14. ^ Hann, Michael (10 November 2017). "The fight to save London's live music scene". Financial Times. Nikkei Inc. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  15. ^ Moore, Sam (13 October 2020). "London's Lexington "still in serious peril" after receiving only 40% of the funding they applied for". NME.
  16. ^ Trendell, Andrew (11 November 2020). "Here are the 30 UK music venues still in real danger of closing forever – and what you can do to help". NME.
  17. ^ Music Venue Trust. "Understanding small music venues" (PDF). p. 62.
  18. ^ "The Lexington Past concerts". Songkick. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Live At The Lexington - Jodie Marie". Spotify.
  20. ^ "Live At The Lexington - Maverick Sabre". Spotify.
  21. ^ "The House Of Love: Live At The Lexington 13.11.13, CD/DVD". Cherry Red Records.
  22. ^ "Sincerely, Doe: Live at The Lexington - Doe". Bandcamp.
  23. ^ "Sincerely, Doe: Live at The Lexington (Farewell Show)". YouTube.
  24. ^ "Live at The Lexington - The Complete Collection - Owen". Bandcamp.
  25. ^ "Owen – Live at The Lexington 7"". Big Scary Monsters.
  26. ^ "His Lordship 'Live At The Lexington' Vinyl LP". His Lordship Official Merchandise Store.
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