The Knowhere Guide

The Local Music Scene in Ilford, Essex*

Ilford, Essex Record Shops and Venues

Record Shops

• Guy Norris records in Cranbrook Road, Gantshill. That was a great shop
• Music Power closed down almost two years ago. Nothing since, oh V2 in the exchange.
• Reasonable second hand record shop in the Pioneer Market, Backtrax.
• Trumps is pretty good now since it moved from the corner of Waverley Gardens to opposite Dixie Warehouse
• I dunno what it is called but there is a record shop in the little centre opposite The Venue (previously Ilford Palis) which is specilist and run by the big fat guy who played the part of Roland in Grange Hill

Clubs (Dance Music) and Music Bars

• Desis from downtown who change there attire altogether when dancing on the floor, a cool look overall but whats with the aaaaahu bud bud accent mate? and please use a nice gel rather than grease
• liquid bar just outside ilford near that cheap lidl food shop
• Room at the Top Ilford and the Green Gate Newbury Park, used to love the basket meals and the stupid competitions.
• Clubs in Ilford - Jumpin Jaks provided the best free entertainment I've had in a long time. Great staff, good drinks offers and brilliant entertainment on stage. Thanks Ilford.
• As a huge fan of mature women, I have to say that Magnum's is THE place to be on a Saturday night. Any other recommendations? No, didn't think so.
• 5th Avenue (formally the pallais) became "The Venue" oppersite the "Island" both got closed down due to shootings! Now both are pubs that close before 12
• Jumping Jaks... i big must if your into cheesy pop from the 80s 90s and now!!! Ths Shannon Centre.. oh dear!! have to hand it to them.. cheap drinks!!!
• Starlight. Also known as Masters. Grab a granny, but then I'm grateful for that.
• Kings (in Seven Kings) was a brilliant club, but they knocked it down to build a nasty "supermarket" called Aldi, which sells tins of watery baked beans for 4p and other european foods with labels in foreign languages. Kings was a great club for goths and other misfits. Upstairs was Lacy Lady, a superb disco for all the Shazzas. Ahh, memories. Thank god the Island stopped their horrible ravey/jungle/garage all-nighters. I used to live around the corner, and had to put up with scum bags pissing in my front garden at 3am. Not to mention the poor bouncer who got shot and killed. Did they ever catch the murderer? No. Even though there's a police station next door, AND a plain-clothed police officer happened to be secretly filming when it happened. I moved house shortly after that.
• The all time club of ilford is the Venue, its ok but i prefer the clubs in Romford like Time&Envy.
• The Island used to be the best! Also been to the Venue a few times, I thought the place wasn't bad until my bag got stolen one time, and the next time (the other week, beginning of October) my boyfriend got chucked out and punched by the bouncers for no reason, leaving me stranded there by myself not knowing where he was. Incidentally, the three other people we met down Casualty had also had probs with the bouncers that night. When you can't rely on the security to keep you safe, is it worth going? And yes, alot of the people there look like they're only recently out of nappies.......
• 5th - now the Venue - is part of growing up in Ilford - everyone who's grown up in Ilford has been there at one point or other - everyone has a memory of it. Worth going, just for the experience. Has "remarkably young patrons", who seem to have the most fun.
• Try Romford which is Nearby it has 'Time & Envy', 'Hollywoods' & 'Jaks'
• Oh come on... 5th (oh what ever it's called now) was crap when I used to go, I doubt it can be any better now. Check out the hogs head, good beer and no music, then move on to O'neils...
• The Venue - I know everyone slags it down but some top nights have been had there. A right pulling place if that the kind of night your looking for or a laugh with the girlies/blokes. Advisable to drink lots - you won't notice the 16 years olds that way! Saturday night's if your over 18 are better than Friday's. GARAGE ISM a night run on a Saturday at the moment is very good - the music is superb and there are loads of PA's and MC's over the previous month. Examples to come are 22nd Jan - Ramsey & Fen, 29th - The Artful Dodger.
• the venue a.k.a "5th" is a pile of cak, and frequented by people who would be better off at home studying for their gcse...You should only go there if 1) you're broke, or 2)you're very pissed and dont care where you end up being sick
• To all you Ballroom and Lating American dancers. Good spot is Thursday evening at Wanstead House. 7.30 - 8.30 lesson, then 8.30 till 10.30 Social dancing.
• Cellar Club Little Ilford Lane
• Magnums (previously Room at the Top and then later The Penthouse)

Live Music Venues

• Room at the Top Ilford and the Green Gate Newbury Park, used to love the basket meals and the stupid competitions
• the cauliflower
• For live music in Ilford, its got to be The Cauliflower,a change in management a year or so ago has had a dramtic effect,top bands such as Wishbone Ash, The Hamsters, East of Java, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Bad Manners, you can see them all at the Cauli, Weds nights is alternative rock night, with 2 or 3 excellent bands, and there are top live bands on thurs to sat, Ilfords only live music venue - it rocks !!!
• The cauliflower is a great pub. Its got a great atmosphere and great bands. Cant believe they've started charging for them though.
• A Friday night at the Olde valentine has been a local watering hole for me and a wide range of tourists and weirdos, although lately in the last year a young crowd of younger drinkers have blagged there way in via the doorman. Fridays are average with a DJ pumping out(ha ha)a range of music on his cd mixer for drunken dancing but it tends to clear about 11pm when the excited young clubbers bring a grand finnish to there night buy either going to 5th or The Shannon (nice) and fight each other. Saturday is the best night in the Valentine with its disgustingly dangerous ammount of high strength shots and nice young ladys going to various places. Dont even think you will get a game of pool on a saturday night. The good thing about this pub it closes at 12pm the bad thing is you have to be in there before 10:30 and beleive me not even a minute after.There is only one bad thing about this pub which is on a Friday and Saturday it takes on average 10 minutes to order a pint of fosters and a sambuca shot. There is even a small dance floor where tourists and drunken girls and boys decide to make tits of themselves i know i have done it!.
• Try the Cauliflower pub in Seven Kings. Really lively, huge Victorian pub. (Mostly cover bands.)
• The Island was an excellent venue, but sadly no more gigs. I saw George Clinton there, and Morrissey even played once. Ilford has gone right down hill since. O'Neils sometimes has some good traditional Irish bands.
• Some people have mentioned The Island on Ilford High Road, next to the new police station. I used to go there for the indie/rock nights on Friday during my Uni days and it was great, but unfortunately it no longer exists as a club. The building it was housed in has been converted back into a cinema which shows Asian films, and the front of the building is a struggling pub called The Overdraft.
• Not really music per se, but The Valentine has a karoake night every Wednesday. Beware though - go on a Wednesday when everyone's back from university and expect to queue to get in.
• Anyone remember the Podigy when they played at the Island... Fucking manic!
• Anyone remember Ian Durie at the Ganthill Odeon in 1978 when the floor collapsed?
• In the mid to late sixties at Billy Walker's Uppercut you could see everyone from Hendrix and Cream down
• The Cauliflower pub has some good bands playing down there quite often
• The Island has now closed down and converted into a humble (albeit large) pub
• Absolutely zilch if you're talking Oasis and co. Some local bands do gig though not very often
• The Island -- Tel 0181 514 4400. Lots of different types of music: dance, indie, jungle, old heros like Squeeze and Ian Dury, plus shows like the KISS FM road show. Late license, easy parking.

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Last updated: 2008-06-11