Rainbow Theatre

£25.00

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The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. One-night concerts were held on the stage in the 1960s, with the building becoming one of the premier music venues in the capital. The Beatles Christmas Show ran from 24 December 1963 to 11 January 1964. The Beach Boys' album, Live In London, was recorded here in 1968. It was also at this theatre that Jimi Hendrix first burnt a guitar, with the collusion of his manager Chas Chandler and a journalist from NME. Hendrix set fire to his Fender Stratocaster guitar on 31 March 1967, on the opening night of the Walker Brothers tour; Hendrix's burnt fingers required treatment in hospital. Renamed "Odeon" on 17 November 1970, the theatre was closed by the Rank Organisation on 25 September 1971 with Bill Travers in Gorgo and Hayley Mills in Twisted Nerve. The Odeon was converted into the Rainbow Theatre from 4 November 1971, when The Who performed the first concert in the newly named venue. The Who later wrote and recorded the song Long Live Rock, which celebrates the theatre (although still referring to it as The Astoria). Today, the building is used by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an Evangelical church.