100 Club

Best known for hosting traditional and swing jazz, the 100 Club's notoriety for booking top-flight bands is not unfounded. Eminently influential rock and blues acts have also graced the stage, including the Sex Pistols, Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker and BB King. Public perception of the trad jazz focus has slightly diminished general appeal, but current pop and rock acts choose the venue for clandestine mid-week gigs, giving it a hue of hipness to savvy clientele. There's also a long-running Sunday blues night. Taking around 300 people, the basement club has a large central stage with great all-round visibility. The 100 Club has a retro feel with genuine historical roots. It's also one of the curiously scarce London venues bridging the gap for bands leaving the pub circuit for greater things. Festive Friday nights have recently been injected with new wave folk, funk, world music or new blues as well as jazz.