As long as I’ve been in London, the Roundhouse has been part of my life. It is as symptomatic of the city as the Post Office Tower, Buck House, the Millennium Wheel or the 100 Club. Not only is it architecturally idiosyncratic (it was declared a National Heritage site in 2010), not only is it one of the most important performance venues in London, but it also has a rich and genuinely storied history. It is a capital treasure, and certainly one of the few iconic buildings in Camden.
I first went in the early Seventies, although it was during punk that it came into its own, particularly with its Sunday night jamborees. The Ramones, the Clash, Buzzcocks, the Jam, and, unforgettably, Slaughter and the Dogs (they were chosen to support everyone back then, probably because they weren’t any good) — these were the bands I remember seeing, concerts that now seem part of a golden age.
