Carl Allen

1. Blur got maced by security on stage at Dingwalls Despite the Camden venue’s punk credentials, their security guards weren’t ready for the on-stage antics of Colchester’s most famous sons. Damon, Alex, Graham and Dave – then known as Seymour – played their first London gig at Dingwalls, and back in the day they were regularly drunk and uncontrollable on stage – which goes some way to explain why security decided to spray the band with mace. The lyrics to Blur's 1992 B-side ‘Mace’ – ‘No-one can see when they get mace in their eyes’ – were presumably drawn from personal experience. 2. The Electric Ballroom used to be a Masonic lodge It may be hard to believe, but this bastion of the Camden music scene was originally a Masonic lodge with a swimming pool and steam bath. If only these features had been kept they would surely have given the Electric Ballroom the most luxurious backstage area in London. 3. The Beatles played to an all-Jewish audience at the Pigalle Club On April 21 1963, The Beatles went straight from playing to 10,000 people at Wembley Arena show to a second gig at the Pigalle Club in the West End. Because it was a Jewish charity event and the only advert for the gig had appeared in the Jewish Chronicle, the audience was almost entirely Jewish. (Side-note: that year The Beatles also played Finsbury Park’s Majestic Ballroom – now better known as Rowan’s bowling alley.) 4. REM once played The Borderline as Bingo Hand Job This small basement venue off Charing Cross