The Knowhere Guide

The Local Music Scene in Maidenhead, Berkshire*

Maidenhead, Berkshire Record Shops and Venues

Record Shops

• High Wycombe - Scorpion records!
• HMV is all we got :(
• All we have now is an HMV, may as well just stay home and download.
• MVC, vigin (r.i.p), GAME
• virgin has gone now! the only proper music shop left is mvc
• cdreeves.co.uk is an online music shop based in Maidenhead. The prices are good for the chart stuff and they specialise in helping unsigned bands and small labels sell their stuff. Really trying to help the new music scene.
• thames valley hospice is the best place then mvc then virgin
• uhh virgin, mvc i guess......
• No good record shops at all. Your best bet will be in nearby Reading.
• virgin,mvc,whsmiths
• virgin,Wh Smiths,MVC
• There really isn't anything in Maidenhead except Virgin and MVC. And they're everywhere.
• virgin, mvc.(yr 2001)
• The place where we usually buy our records from is the virgin shop in the nicholoson shopping precient!
• None.
• Bugger all record shops here. Best got to Reading. This place is so Musically defunkt that there are even regular Sunday protests by the deaf community.
• Nothing you haven't seen before.
• Hard Edge records has gone. Not Not NOt NOT Good. The place was the best for decent NEW dance vinyl.
• Virgin is definitely the best record shop in town. WhSmiths has a record dept. but hardly ever has any new releases until they are out of the charts!
• The record section of Hard Edge has now shut due to the fact that they did a part time trade in drug selling (Clothes section is still open though)
• NEW Virgin - Great but NO VINYL. Opened by Hunter (Gladiators) last year [1996], best store to open in the town recently although it is quite small with only a limited selection. The Megastore in Reading is much better.

Clubs (Dance Music) and Music Bars

• Phatz bar and the Hobgoblin :)
• Smokey Joes woohoo!.. Its down the street in the town centre near the methodist church and tescos
• "night shift" gd stuff, 2nd thursday of the month, 7.30 till 11
• Chicagoes- mainstream and painfully cheesy with some painful tribute bands and D list celeb guests eg Peter Andre and Maxwell from Big Bro. Que Pasa- pricey and full of yuppies that are so far up their own asses its unreal. The Bar 38-As Que Pasa.
• I moved from Maidenhead 8 yrs ago. (Its now 2005) Coming back it looks completely different. Loads of crappy so called trendy bars. Im glad I moved. same old faces new locations. The only club(apparently) Chicago Rock -or whatever it is called these days! just isnt worth going into.
• Ok not exactly club but certainly the best Funky House night in Maidenhead by far is Sticky Wicket @ Phatz Bar on the first Friday of every month, well worth a visit, normally the DJ's are accompanied by a percussionist & a Saxophonist, so it's a little bit different from the norm, very much on the lines of Hed Kandi.
• chicagoes is horrific and should be shut down. the toad is worse . the honeypot is scummy but funny. heroes is for zeroes bar thirtynot so great. the bear is rubbish. BUT BY FAR THE WORST PLACE IS THE HOBGOBLIN FULL OF STUPID TWITS TRYING TO TURN IT INTO A TRENDY BAR AND GETTING IT COMPLETELY WRONG . AGGY ITS NOT A RUGBY PUB THAT WAS HANKS ROUND THE CORNER AND EVEN THEY ARE MOVING WITH TIMES . SHOULD OF LEFT IT AS IT WAS 1998 ROCKED
• The Toad on the clocktower (or something like that) - diagonally opposite the cinema on 'grenfell island' - a classier type of 'chicago rock cafe', sambuca a bit pricey though. open till 1am i think, and a good laugh.
• The particularly bad Chicago's is the haunt of the most desperate alcoholics for after hours drinking with an average pint setting you back over 3 quid though any professional boozers wallet must be well lined. An alternative is Smokey Joes Roadhouse nicknamed 'The Phoenix' after it's resembelance to Peter Kaye's club in the series of the same name, where DJ's encourage many of the distinctly underage female patrons to dance around a golden pole in the middle of the dance floor.
• ok so wot maidenhead is hell of alot beta den slough at clubs i mean it has got betta bar 38 4 just one example den theres the toad etc......
• well were all off on a trip to heaven soon, slimnight, play paintball so not much time for clubbing.
• Heroes isn't really a club, but the staff are friendly, its open till 1am and the music isn't too bad at all - compared to Chicago's 1980s policy and The Bear's boyband/girlband/cheese policy.
• Berkshires Premiere Live music event! "New Rock Fallacy" featuring Rage DC, Jecano, Blind II Reality, Sextodecimo and Method.One all play live @ Newt & Cucumber, 2 Bridge Street, Maidenhead on Thursday 19th September. National magazine present at the event. Doors at 7:00pm. Finishes midnight. Not to be missed!
• The excellent Smokey Joe's for the terminally shite, or Chicago's for the somewhat more innocent looking reveller.
• zoots used to do a free bar on 70's night where you could get absolutely blotto for £2.50
• The Old Youth Club in Cookam Rd Right opp the Pub
• erm- none?!! yup- shit, and if we did have one- some how a nice little town like ours- would still manage to hold 5 fights in one night.....either that or it'll close down after one week!(yr 2001)
• er clubbing?
• Mainly crap. Zoot's got taken over by Chicago Rock cafe. Dire. Stay in.
• Loads of clubs, populated by non-entities with acne. But if you like Damnce Music and posering this town is for you.
• Used to have one. Standard 'Pound a Pint - Fight a Night' Hellhole. Now Chicago Rock, as frequented by hairdressers caked in make-up, and bored office workers looking for fights.
• I met my fiancee in Zoots. Now it's closed we can tell our kids it was dead classy.
• Zoots is now the "Chicago Rock Cafe". TFI fridays with a different name, or Zoots with stricter dress code.
• What clubs? Zoots has shut now (oh what a shame!), and has been replaced by The Chicago Rock Cafe. Chicago's is a good night out, if you get past the "I'm well 'ard" bouncers. If they don't think you're old enough, they'll tell you it's over 23's. This is a lie, it's over 20's every night!
• Zoots has shut (oh, shame) and been replaced by The Chicago Rock Cafe which is ok but God forbid if you get anywhere near the dancefloor with a drink
• OK. Zoots is closed (thank god). It has re-opened as Chicagos, which is heaving Fri / Sat, play 70's and 80's music and most people are between 25 and 35ish. The Bear has reopened after refurb, I don't go there anymore, it's too young now.
• Smokey Joes Roadhouse (used to be the Silver Skillet). This place is blinding! Live music every night Thursday-Saturday. Always cover bands, and they are always excellent. For a fiver entrance fee you also get a meal. I can't comment on the quality of the food because I have normally had a few pints before I get in. (Ripped jeans and trainers are a no-no).
• Zoots (used to be The Avenue) fine if you look like you are 14 years of age or looking for someone that age. (Ripped jeans and trainers - no problem - they just want your dosh!)

Live Music Venues

• Reading - Fez Club
• night shift, st marys church, check otu schools for concerts, cox green RPJ concert...and of course the jazz band!
• Smokey Joes has tribute bands and so does Chicagoes. Both tend to be of low quality, very gimmicky and lay old, tired songs like Livin la vida loca
• The Magnet leisure centre hosts battle of the bands occasionally
• re:charge, cox green school rock pop and jazz concert!!!
• None. Reading Fez club or Po na-na are probably the nearest places to see bands and DJ's
• THE ROOF now has a lot of really good nights going on. namely in weekly order wednesdays - beats and pieces- breakbeat and hip-hop with dj linus thursday - aqua with john b "metalheads" liquid funk , soulful drum and bass and electroclash fridays - dj's on rotation with house, hip-hop, and generally an alternative to top 40 crap saturdays - raise the roof with chris cardwell "point blank fm" also monthly DnB events apocalypse previous guests have been skibadee, andy c, shabba d, dj hype
• THE NEWT ROCKS LIVE MUSIC EVERY SATURDAY NO COVERS BANDS OR CHEESY LISTENING THERE
• Where you all been THE NEWT has been doing brilliant music for months has a house p.a and everyone there is really friendly.For info visit BUKANDSKIT.COM or thenewt.co.uk (site under construction )
• Berkshires Premiere Live music event! "New Rock Fallacy" featuring Rage DC, Jecano, Blind II Reality, Sextodecimo and Method.One all play live @ Newt & Cucumber, 2 Bridge Street, Maidenhead on Thursday 19th September. National magazine present at the event. Doors at 7:00pm. Finishes midnight. Not to be missed!
• First impact are soon gonner hit maidenhead with there song's so watch-out
• see above.And Finnegan's Wake for Irish music.
• The mad ferret was open for 4 months only and was a great venue especially when Ian and Dave were on the decks even better if you knew the brothers that ran it and were invited to the drunken parties upstairs after closing!!
• Used to be a Rec Centre for all sorts cant remember Rd but opp Kidwells park next to the old Art College
• Yay the magnet!!!! they usually have gigs there like all metal bands! yay!Ki
• Magnet Leisure centre holds great gigs woth a sexy compere (me).
• There is a live music venue in Maidenhead and has been for a long time. Smokey Joes Roadhouse in Nicholson Way. Live bands every Friday and Saturday.
• NONE,,,goto Reading i'm afraid. No one in Maidenhead could care a damn about Live music.
• Bj's where have you gone!

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Last updated: 2007-07-16