ABOUT THE SIZE OF IT

IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME. Caleb Followill.

‘Modest’ is the word that always seems to pop up when reviewers talk about Brixton Academy. The sentence usually goes “They have sold out the biggest arenas in the world, and I wondered how they’d respond to the intimacy of a venue as modest as Brixton.”

The truth, of course, is that size is often measured in more subtle things than bums on seats and return on investment. For many of the most recognised artists in the world, the journey to this former theatre in South London is more of a pilgrimage, a pot of art-deco gold at the end of a rainbow of sell-out gigs on mammoth world tours. Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Eminem and, most recently, Kings of Leon have all graced the old building, a grade 2 listed icon of Britain’s potent music history.

The Academy survived plans to morph it into a car showroom and petrol station in the 70’s, not to mention the painfully low ebb of the Brixton riots of 1981 when the whole area descended into meltdown. It wasn’t until 1982 when Simon Parkes grabbed the sleeping bull by its horns and launched the venue that lives on to this day. The wheels were set in motion with a concert by Jamaican reggae star, Eek-A-Mouse.

The reggae boom in the eighties saw it go from strength to strength, and Parkes had the foresight to hire out the venue to major rock acts such as Eric Clapton, Dire Straits and The Police for rehearsal. The venue was also used for video shoots for the likes of pop icons Wham and Culture Club. Even Billy Ocean's video for "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going", soundtrack for the supremely average Jewel Of The Nile, was shot in Brixton Academy.

The ‘Manchester Scene’ provided the rocket on which the Academy would fly through the 90’s and establish it as a ‘must-play’ gig on the international circuit, despite holding only 4,921 people. When a band such as the Kings of Leon consider it a privilege to play there, you soon realise that its modesty is its beauty. Long may it live on.

And in the spirit of tributes, this is Tenacious D live at Brixton in 2006: