The Élysée Montmartre was originally a ballroom inaugurated in 1807[1][2] where the famous Can-Can was performed among others dances during the 19th century.

From the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, a wide variety of French and international performers gained notoriety at the location, including Patti Smith, Alain Souchon, and Jacques Higelin.

David Bowie's performance, during the Hours Tour, on 14 October 1999, was filmed and recorded, with three songs later appearing on the CD single of "Survive".

The venue is mentioned in The Roots' 1999 song, "You Got Me", as a place where the subject saw the band and narrator perform, even though they both lived in the same building in Philadelphia.

The room returned to its original vocation in 1995 with dancing evenings animated by the Grand Orchestre de L’Élysée Montmartre and it is now one of the most famous music venues in the city.