Built in 1930, the building was listed Grade II* in 1974, an unusually short period after construction, with the interior described in great detail as a Hispano-Moresque fantasy.

[1] Former stage manager Rick Burton has published a website[2] with a detailed history of who has performed at the theatre and when, and which is a major source for this article.

Although the Charing Cross Road Astoria was a more conventional cinema, the last four were built as "atmospheric cinemas", also, and perhaps more accurately, called atmospheric theatres, built to evoke the feeling of being outdoors, most often in a Mediterranean village in the twilight, with stars in the sky, moving clouds and sometimes even "flying" birds.

They were cinemas but not as we know them, places where one could spend a whole evening, including cafes and bars, organ recitals, orchestral concerts and see a full variety show as well as a movie.

A Moorish foyer with a goldfish-filled fountain (which survives today) led to an auditorium recalling an Andalucian village at night.

The stage, 35 feet (11 m) deep and spanned by a 64-foot-wide (20 m) proscenium arch, was equipped with a twin-console Compton 3-manual/13-rank theatre organ (opened by G. T. Pattman).

In December 1930, the Astoria chain was taken over by Paramount Pictures, and plans for additional theatres in Wood Green and Catford were cancelled.

He got rave reviews, though sometimes backhanded — Melody Maker said on 8 December 1956 "...it seemed little short of a miracle that this 19-year-old youth could receive such a rapturous ovation for the little musical talent he displayed.

[5] 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 (now with 3,040 seats), and the Who performed the first concert in the newly named venue on 4 November 1971.

As a result, the steep gap between the stage and floor was covered with sheets of hardboard on top of staggered scaffolding, creating an artificial but safe slope.

Thomas "Todd" Fischer, Equipment Manager at the time for the British Rock group Uriah Heep, had established a friendship and working arrangement with Martin while on a two-week hiatus before resuming a European tour, which required Fischer to wire up the audio mixing consoles, a somewhat laborious and tedious task that took almost 10 fourteen-hour days to complete.

David Bowie performed three concerts at the Rainbow during his Ziggy Stardust Tour on 19 and 20 August 1972, then again on 24 December 1972, where he encouraged fans to bring toys to donate to local children's homes.

Featured artists who played with him were Pete Townshend, Stevie Winwood, Ron Wood, Rich Grech, Jim Capaldi, Jimmy Karstein and Rebop.

Deep Purple were included in the 1974 Guinness Book of World Records as "the globe's loudest band"[11] by reason of their concert on 30 June 1972 at the Rainbow Theatre.

In January 1974, Stevie Wonder played two dates at the Rainbow, among his first public performances after surviving a serious car accident five months earlier.

The sold-out concerts were attended by many fellow musicians, including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pete Townshend, Charlie Watts, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, and David Bowie.

June 1, 1974 is an album of the collaborative performance at the Rainbow Theatre by Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Nico and Brian Eno.

[14] The original line-up of Little Feat with guitarist and singer Lowell George played on 19 January 1975, second on the bill to the Doobie Brothers.

Genesis opened their Wind & Wuthering Tour on 1 January 1977, playing for three consecutive nights, marking the re-opening of the venue.

On 16 October 2001, Tuff Gong released five songs from the 4 June 1977 Rainbow Theatre performance on disc two of Exodus (Deluxe Edition).

Mick Taylor was the guest guitarist on the third night and played on two songs, "An Apolitical Blues" and "Teenage Nervous Breakdown".

Iron Maiden also recorded their first music video, "Women in Uniform", directed by Doug Smith and released in 1980, here.

The building had been the subject of a preservation order in the 1970s and the management company that operated the venue was unable to maintain it to the required standard.

Following the closure of the Rainbow Theatre in early 1982 (last concert on 24 December 1981), it was designated a listed building, but lay empty and largely disused for the next 14 years.

It was used occasionally in unlicensed boxing matches, most notably in April 1986 when Lenny McLean beat Roy Shaw in a dramatic first-round knockout.

The auditorium restoration was completed by 1999, the foyer by 2001, and in 2004 it was opened to the public for one night in partnership with the Cinema Theatre Association.

At that event, the Guardian described the Theatre as 'jaw dropping' and chairman of the CTA, Mr Richard Gray, said the building was "one of the greatest cinemas of its kind in Europe".