More about: Arctic Monkeys
The historic gigs in North London borough
This weekend, Arctic Monkeys perform two huge gigs in North London's Finsbury Park. It may not seem like the most illustrious location to perform, but this unassuming, rather average outdoor space has seen its fair share of historic gigs in its time, with some of music's biggest names staging huge gigs on its green grass.
In fact, Finsbury Park has been playing host to rock and roll icons from as far back as 1967, when Jimi Hendrix headlined a show - which marked his first time ever of setting his guitar on fire while on stage. In 2013, The Stone Roses headlined two gigs, packing Finsbury Park with nostalgic indie fans and earning rave reviews for their performances.
This weekend, Arctic Monkeys take their turn. They will already make more than a few pages in the history books, but their Finsbury Park gig will put them next to some of the biggest stars of all time. Look back at the 11 most iconic Finsbury Park gigs of all time right here.
Jimi Hendrix (1967): This marked the first time the legendary guitarist performed his party piece of setting his guitar on fire on stage.
Kiss (1997): The make-up fancying rockers chose the park for the grand finale of the massive Alive/Worldwide tour. Kiss were at the height of their powers so it was quite a coup for the venue to have them finish their mammoth tour there.
The Sex Pistols (1996): The reformed and slightly re-hashed Sex Pistols played their much vaunted comeback gig. they still had just enough venom to please their ageing fan base. Live video Filthy Lucre Live was recorded on that night.
Pulp (1998): Pulp played a triumphant show in 1998, following on from their Glastonbury headline appearance earlier that year. Catatonia, Bernard Butler and Ultrasound also played. Pulp's set was released on DVD The Park Is Mine later that year.
Madstock 1992: Madness hosted a mini-festival in the early nineties. Notable for Morrissey being bottled off stage by Madness's notoriously racist crowd who objected to the singer's use of far-right imagery and playing song 'National Front Disco'
Oasis (2002): Oasis played a triumphant show as part of their world tour. Although their powers on record were waning by this stage, live they could still mix it with the best of them.
New Order (2002): The band played a 16 song set that was captured in live DVD 511. They mixed New order classics such as 'Blue Monday' and 'Bizarre Love Triangle' with Joy Division favourites such as 'She's Lost Control'
Bob Dylan (1993): Dylan is something of a Finsbury Park veteran. Having played there on his 1993 tour he also appeared in 2011 as part of the Feis Festival. Both went down very well indeed.
Rage Against The Machine (2010): To thank fans for elevating their signature track 'Killing In The Name Of' the previous Christmas, the anarchic rockers played a free concert that sent hordes of British rock fans into raptures.
Stone Roses (2013): Busting the myth that The Stones Roses are very much a Northern thing, the band played two huge shows in June 2013. Londoners made a pretty strong case that they can spill beer and go mental as well as the most battle-hardened Mancunians.
Arctic Monkeys (2014): The band have announced themselves as true superstars by announcing 2 shows at Finsbury Park in May 2014. Immortality awaits.
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More about: Arctic Monkeys
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