Safety must come first – but it would be a national shame to shutter up Brixton Academy for good

The city’s music scene lost the jewel in its crown when the south London venue closed its doors after a tragic crowd crush left two people dead last year. Mark Beaumont looks back at the venue's iconic gigs, from David Bowie to The Pogues, and makes a case for why we can’t afford to lose this sticky-floored gem

Stepping onto the storied stage of Brixton Academy is many bands’ first taste of tangible big-gig success (PA)

Every London gig-goer can pinpoint the moment they fell in love with Brixton Academy. A Pogues Christmas waltz-along to “Fairytale of New York”. An incendiary New Year’s Eve spent with The Prodigy. A “club gig” by Coldplay or Madonna. Or simply gazing up at the Italianate balcony above the proscenium arch and ornate colonnades, bedecked with costume foliage as though a scene from Romeo & Juliet might break out at any point mid-Kasabian, soaking in the romance of this most sticky-floored of classical ampitheatres.

For me, the moment struck on my very first visit, sat in the balcony for The Jesus and Mary Chain’s legendary 1992 Rollercoaster tour. All-star support acts Blur were screening slaughterhouse films as a backdrop while My Bloody Valentine were busy bursting bouncers’ eardrums with their 10-minute “holochord”. It would stand as my best ever gig until Pixies marched onto the very same stage – on my birthday – 12 years later for the first of four nights of visceral, elevating, quiet-loud euphoria. It’s a wonder “Gouge Away” didn’t bring down the pillars.

It feels somewhat personal for London’s gigging community, then, that one year after the tragic events of the Asake show on 15 December 2022, the best-loved venue in the capital remains shuttered, even as the tragedy itself continues to shock those of us who frequented the venue. Hearts go out to the families of mother-of-two Rebecca Ikumelo and security guard Gaby Hutchinson, who were injured during a crowd crush at the entrance and later died in hospital, as well as a third person who remains critically ill. One year on, people are still seeking answers as to what happened that night. Many feel that Asake has not done enough to support the families in appealing for information from fans about the fatal incident, and would like to see the victims properly honoured before the 5,000-capacity venue reopens.