5 late-night live music venues on the night tube

This Frith Street institution opened in 1959 as the first UK venue to host American Jazz musicians – and has been a gloriously low-lit London home for jazz ever since. The plush red velvet seats are all aimed at the stage, which has hosted greats such as Miles Davis, Count Basie and Kurt Elling – even Stevie Wonder once made an appearance up there. It’s open until 3am six nights a week (12am on Sundays) and it’s a bucket list venue for a reason.

Night tube: Leicester Square/Tottenham Court Road (Northern line)

Housed in a former newspaper-printing factory, Printworks is 20 times the size of Fabric and one of the most respected venues for electronic music in London – hosting acts including Richie Hawtin and The Chemical Brothers. Big, sweaty nights in the cavernous space where the printing presses used to sit have been mostly DJ-led until now, but promoters have just announced a live music programme curated by the people behind Field Day, Festival No 6 and Snowbombing – so expect this club’s rep to get even bigger.

Night tube: Canada Water (Jubilee line)

Like singing along? Good. This place only does requests – from the Spice Girls to Queen classics and ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ theme song, the expert live pianists and backing band will play pretty much anything for you (and a tip always helps get yours to the top of the very high pile of requests written on napkins). This listed Victorian former warehouse is always packed, messy, drunk and loud.

Night tube: Chancery Lane (Central line)

This place, walls covered with band posters, is even open late on a Sunday (until 2am). It’s a music pub in the truest sense of the word – all wooden bar stools, red-painted walls and the rowdy back room is one of the best places to see up-and-coming bands (Blur played here when they were starting out). Suggs from Madness apparently pops behind the bar to pour himself drinks, as did Amy Winehouse back in the day.

Night tube: Camden Town (Northern line)

This 6,000 square-foot post-industrial space off the Hackney Road – beneath the structure of an old gas works – hosts everything from experimental classical shows and mid-week album listening parties to bleeding-edge live techno sets that spill over into the following mornings. A great venue that gets even better when the killer outdoor terrace bar opens in summer.

Night tube: Bethnal Green (Central line)