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O2 Academy Islington

3.4 (38 reviews)
ModerateMusic Venues

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Lizzie S.

Music Academys' should be somewhere cool, N1 Shopping Centre in Islington is not cool. It's the epitome of mainstream, people who go here wear Next and Monsoon and start there night with a drink in the Loydds No. 1 bar. Like I said, it's not cool. Yet here they hold some pretty cool nights here, Rebel Bingo, Club Du Fromage and still I can't like it. Full of kids with too much pocket money and guys who don't wash as they think it makes them edgy. Erm, no. Please have a bath. If there is a band playing that you want to see then this is a nice little intimate venue but it does lack atmosphere, and reasonably priced drinks. Oh yeah, and a style or class from the punters is absent too, more O negative than O2!

Joseph T.

I have a soft spot for the Carling Academy in Islington as I came to see Dilated Peoples here when I was 16 for one of my first gigs in London. More recently I have been for the fun Club de Fromage night. As Leanne said in her review it is relatively small compared to the other Carling Academies. However, when you're there it still feels like a large venue and whilst nothing special in terms of decor it is can feel like quite the night out. I'd recommend the Academy as a place to see a mid level (in terms of fame) band or for the Club de Fromage night.

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15 years ago

Fantastic venue,spacious,clean and brilliant sound quality. Im a regular visitor here and recommend it.

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18 years ago

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15 years ago

great place to go to i had a great time there sexy ladies and nice crowed with great dj's you can not go wrong.

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18 years ago

cool venue! quite small so good seeing bands there!

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11 years ago

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O2 Academy Islington Reviews in Other Languages

Review Highlights - O2 Academy Islington

Firstly I don't like Carling Academys mainly for the over priced drinks and tickets.

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King's Head Pub and Theatre

King's Head Pub and Theatre

4.1(47 reviews)
0.3 miIslington, Angel
££

The Kings Head Theatre is one of the most famous theatres in London and it still produces excellent…read moreshows as well as a brilliant venue for live music. I used to come here every night when I was living in Angel. Its arty nonsense was a refreshing escape from social barriers of London life. Each night I would arrive about 9, alone with a sketchbook in hand, and within half an hour I would have made friends with artists, musicians, actors and television producers. Each night about 10pm, they have live music from regular bands, and jazz musicians singing their souls out. I felt completely comfortable being a girl on my own; I saw it as an education for life ;)

Five minutes walk from Angel tube station, the King's Head is a pub/theatre, and an ideal place to…read moredrink and enjoy a performance. Well recognised for a wide mix of classic and contemporary theatre it's famous for attracting an absorbing crowd to the admirable performances. We called to book tickets for a Wednesday evening, but we were told just to come along (I'd always ring to check though as popularity varies). So, after a drink in the bar area we headed upstairs to the theatre, wine glasses in hand. We watched 'The Rape of Lucrece', a narrative poem by Shakespeare. The acting was astonishingly good and I find it really remarkable to see a performance of such quality in such an intimate space. The theatre is the size of your living room and our seats were so close to the stage that I could see the sweat on the actor's face! After you can head back down to the bar to top up your wine and rave over what you just had the real pleasure of seeing. Often you're joined in the bar with the actors themselves which shows what a nice atmosphere this place has. For the love of theatre!

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King's Head Pub and Theatre - From Website

From Website

King's Head Pub and Theatre - Lovely pub and theatre

Lovely pub and theatre

King's Head Pub and Theatre

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The Garage - BLOC PARTY RE-LAUNCH JUNE 2009

The Garage

3.7(30 reviews)
0.9 miHighbury, Lower Holloway
££

Great little venue just across the road from Highbury and Islington Station. Whilst the venue…read moreitself is quite intimate, the acoustics are anything but. For most gigs I have no idea who is doing the sound, but it's either muffled to the point you can hear any words, or overly loud, in which case you feel the person in the booth is either deaf, bad at their job, or just has access to really poor equipment. It is capable of sounding good. One gig by Glasvegas was perfect. Sound was balanced, not too loud, and I understood every word (despite the accents!) so they really just need to pull their finger out for the majority of other acts, regardless of who supplies equipment. The venue is a little dank inside and when it's packed can get quite rowdy. So as long as you're not wearing anything particularly nice, you'll be fine.

I went to The Garage twice in one week - first to see Abney Park (a steampunk band who don't often…read moreperform in the UK) and then to see the Cruxshadows (a darkwave band from America, along with several other really great bands - Among the Echoes and Bad Pollyanna). The sound was ok, a little bit dodgy to start with but certainly improved as the night went on. It's a small venue with a bar, stage and very small seating area (near the bar). I think it's the perfect size for bands - intimate enough to get close to the band but big enough that you can dance around and lose yourself in the small crowd. The prices at the bar are quite expensive in my opinion: I took 20 quid on the first night and that was just enough to buy two beers and two shots of spirits for me and my friend. Thankfully there's a Barclay's cashpoint just around the corner. Even when it's quite busy though, you never have to wait for too long to get a refreshment. There's a cloakroom that charges £2 per item so we combined our jackets to make it one item (shh! Don't tell anyone!). They section off a bit of pavement outside as a smoking area which I know can get a bit crowded on busy nights. I can't comment on the men's toilets (although I have been in them once, apparently...I don't remember much of that night!!) but the women's loos aren't up to much. There's at least two that leak so you either hope to get one of the unflooded ones or play a puddle dodging game before you sit down! As the other reviews have said, it's close to the Tube station so it's easy to get to. Or if you're a bus-sort-of-person then there's some bus stops just around the corner. Overall, compared to other 'alternative' bars I've been too, this is one of the nicer ones. Brilliant for bands with very reasonable ticket prices.

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The Garage
The Garage - THE NEW GARAGE

THE NEW GARAGE

The Garage - Madcap Stranger rocking it

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Madcap Stranger rocking it

O2 Academy Islington - musicvenues - Updated May 2026

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