Лондонның KOKO сахнасы: Тарихы мен өрті

Music venue and former theatre in London, England

Koko (stylised as KOKO, previously called The Music Machine and Camden Palace) is a concert venue and former theatre in Camden Town, London. The building was known as Camden Palace from 1982 until its 2004 purchase and extensive restoration, led by Oliver Bengough and Mint Entertainment. Following the restoration, the venue was renamed as Koko, and is one of the premier live music venues in London. On the evening of 6 January 2020, a large fire broke out in the building.

In 1977 it re opened as a live music venue named The Music Machine. The venue was the central location for the 1979 Disco Dance film, The Music Machine. After the early 1980s New Romantic scene, for which both the club and Steve Strange and Rusty Egan became world famous, the Camden Palace featured as a home for early 1980s dance and new wave club music imported from NYC, as well as pioneering early house music night "Delerium," which was run by Robin King in 1987 and featured resident DJs Colin Faver of Kiss FM and Eddie Richards. Famously Prince performed at the Camden Palace in 1988 on his Lovesexy Tour with Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones as guest guitarist, he later that evening held an invite only after party in the club and performed a couple of further impromptu numbers that night. Prince appeared and performed further full concerts at the club in later decades. Hüsker Dü played their first show outside of the US at the venue in 1985. The early 1990s saw "Delerium" leave the Camden Palace club, and as rave music took hold Camden Palace became a mecca for the burgeoning rave music scene from 1989 to 1992. The DJs during this period were DMC DJ John Saunderson and Chris Paul. Early PA performances included both The Prodigy and N Joi. Appearances from live bands continued, however, including Blur and Cardiacs. Later in the 1990s, the venue was famous for holding weekly rave events and was illuminated with UV lights, state of the art sound system, and décor of the rave scene. During this time the legendary weekly house/acid house event, "Clockwork Orange" was held on a Saturday with Andy Manston and Danny Gould running until 2001, "Frantic" (hard house/trance) and the iconic house/trance event "Peach" with Graham Gold, Pele, Darren Pearce and Dave Lambert running until the Camden Palace closed in 2004.

By 2004, the Camden Palace was run down and in disuse. That year, the theatre was purchased by Oliver Bengough and his company Mint Entertainment. The Daily Telegraph described the modern interior amenities and the building's historic facade as "lend[ing] a sense of grandeur to any gig". In the 2010s, some events held at the Camden Palace returned to the venue, including reunions of "Peach" and "Clockwork Orange".

A large fire at the building during renovation work was reported at 8:56pm on 6 January 2020; eight fire engines and about 60 firefighters tended to it, and the blaze was declared under control at 2:37am. The cause of the fire is not known as of 2020, but the damage appears to have been contained to the roof of the building. Following a multimillion pound refurbishment, Koko reopened in April 2022. The inaugural concert featured Arcade Fire, marking the release of their sixth studio album We.

On 19 March 1964, The Rolling Stones performed at the venue. On 10 March 1970, The Faces performed there. On 30 April 1972, the theatre was the venue for The Goon Show's reunion episode, The Last Goon Show of All; several senior members of the royal family attended this episode, which was filmed and recorded. On 2 March 1978, The Jam performed, with the concert recorded and released as part of the 2015 box set Fire and Skill – The Jam Live, then subsequently given a limited standalone vinyl release. On 24 26 July 1978, The Clash performed, with the concerts recorded and released as part of the 1978 movie Rude Boy (film). On 10 September 1979, heavy metal band Iron Maiden performed a gig at The Music Machine. The band, at the time, consisted of Steve Harris (bass), Dave Murray (lead guitar), Paul Di'Anno (vocals), Tony Parsons (lead guitar) and Doug Sampson (drums). On 14 November 1980, The Music Machine hosted an infamous gig by London mod revival band the Chords, where onstage interactions between the band members ranged from frosty to outright hostile and following the gig, the Chords' frontman Billy Hassett left the band acrimoniously and was later replaced by Kip Herring. In 1985, Steve Marriott performed with his band Packet Of Three. The cult London electronic band You You You, consisting of Karen O'Connor, Laurence Malice, and Iain Williams, performed their debut concert at the Camden Palace on January 13, 1987. The band billed their first series of concerts as 'Stage 1' of their 'World Domination Tour' and enlisted the help of illustrator Mark Wardel to design their publicity. Their appearance at the Camden Palace attracted over 1,000 people on what the Met Office recorded as probably being England's coldest night of the 20th Century. In 2005, a year after restoration, Coldplay chose Koko to launch their album X&Y. Later that year, Madonna also hosted her album launch of Confessions on a Dance Floor at Koko. Prince performed a secret show at Koko in 2007, which was his first UK show in over 10 years. The American band My Chemical Romance also played a private show at Koko in 2007, hosted by BBC Radio 1. In 2008, Siouxsie Sioux recorded a live DVD at Koko called Finale: The Last Mantaray & More Show, which was released the following year. In 2009, Koko hosted the iTunes festival, which extended over 30 nights and featured guests including N. E. R. D, Paul Weller, James Blunt, Calvin Harris and Dizzee Rascal and over 45,000 people. In 2010, Koko also hosted fundraiser for the Institute of Contemporary Arts, featuring a performance Lily Allen and Bryan Ferry and attended by Vivienne Westwood, Damien Hirst, and Tracey Emin. Since its restoration, the club has attracted well known musicians and DJs including: The Damned, Terrorvision, Al Murray, Irfan Latif, Don Broco, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Coldplay, Tori Kelly, Katy B, My Chemical Romance, Emma Marrone, Oasis, Bruno Mars, Thom Yorke, Amy Winehouse, La Roux, James Marriott, Skrillex, Lady Gaga, The Killers, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Tokio Hotel, Lily Allen, Poppy, Demi Lovato, Usher, Noel Gallagher, Wargasm, Swedish House Mafia, JoJo, Azealia Banks, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Masters at Work and many others. In 2017, Ed Sheeran performed a private concert to promote his third studio album ÷ in partnership with UK radio station Capital FM, as also Ariana Grande in September 2018 to promote her fourth studio album, Sweetener.