O2 Academy Islington Reviews

First time at the venue, icicle works gig, great little venue

Looking for a cheap night out? Enjoy having money in your pocket? Love standing at a bar trying but to get someone's attention? Then make sure you head down to Islington Academy! Guaranteed one of the cheapest nights out in London.
After many years of travelling to various gig venues around London. The academy has managed to banish the memory of the horrendous token system at a Hyde park gig with a gargantuan 35 minute wait at the bar.

Very intimate venue for concerts, very nice vibes and the sound was good.
Another plus is that it is very easy to get to.

Very intimate venue, which is really nice. Just saw Tokio Myers and in was well put together. Being disabled, the staff went out of their way to be helpful... Couldn't fault them on anything.

WE NEED MORE MIDDLE SIZED VENUES! And this one...heck...it does pretty damn well.

We went with my friend Paco. We like dancing . And there they have a party Not Another Indie Disco where the music we like happens. But also there is another more bizarre party. By mistake we paid the 2 tickets (be careful not return the money) and we could enter at two. We also had fun, we had a couple of beers and had a great time. It was also special 80s.

I went to see Tessa Violet here and she was incredible. Her energy on stage paired with her music provided such an awesome experience! It was a great venue too - fairly small and intimate - and, being an o2 customer, I got free use of the cloakroom and entered in the priority queue which were a helpful perks. Would definitely go to another gig here. It was also easy to get to.

Really impressed with this venue especially being my first time there. Great staff all round from security to internal staff. Venue was perfect for the Tokia Myers concert and couldn't have been more impressed all round. Hope to be back soon.

Awesome personal venue, drinks are as pricy as to be expected. Audio is good, good sound guys keeping levels to enjoyable levels.

Nice little venue with friendly staff. Plenty of places around to grab a drink and bite to eat.

Last night's gig was a blast! Great venue and the staff were very helpful & friendly, can't wait to come and play here again in a few months time!

Awesome concert, just a shame the merch stand didnt take card

Small and in a really strange location!!?

Bar was difficult to get to as the place was packed.

I had a really good time though.

Overall okay, venue is a quite run down and in need of repair. The toilets are just vile and way too small. I m petite and struggled to get in and out of the cubicle without touching the door!

Came here for Saturday night Club De Fromage - a really fun night and a small but well equipped venue. Don't turn up too early as it gets going around 11pm, but it's a really fun experience with loads going on! A great night out for only a tenner.

Nice little room but sound for the gig I was at wasn't great :/

Great venue, amazing line up, and superb beer and bar staff.

5 stars because it was an Oasis night. On a regular gig night it gets 4.

Played a gig here, backstage was far too small and the sound guy somewhat clueless, otherwise good venue with a good atmosphere.

There are two venues in Islington. I went for a concert inside the smaller room. it is very clean to locate and truely near the tube. it's also situated inside a shopping centre so it became pretty easy to get food and drink at the same time as we were ready at the queue. there's also a cinema inside the purchasing centre if you get there certainly early and would love to kill a while.

The place is small and the stage is invisible unless you're 2 to 3 meters away max.

Small but great little venue. Only down side is rubbish beer selection.

I cant stand or walk well and I have anxiety. I have never been treated as well as I was Friday 14/6/19. Staff were amazing, polite and caring. I was so worried about going but I had a ball. I will definitely be going again. Thank you for making my night. X

Front of house and security were extremely rude, it completely ruined the tone of our night. Coat check was riddiculous, expensive and took ages. Would not recommend this place.

Experienced a great Jeremy Zucker concert here. Some staff was nice, some staff was quite rude. Wardrobe is quite expensive and there is barely any service or wifi inside.

Clean, fresh and lovely, but barely any space.

The bars have a very small selection of drinks and the food is non existent. If you are reading this O2, PLEASE add more food. Many of us get ravenous for food while being there for so long.

First time going to this venue I was pleasantly surprised. It's quite small so the sound and view are great from anywhere in the room. Some of the bar staff were insanely slow which was frustrating, in a venue with thousands of people you really need to work fast. However I will be looking out for more bands I want to see here.

The venue is small and so you get to see the bands you love upclose. I also discovered that there is a balcony you can see them from but unless you are in the front row, it's pointless.

Great venue.

Not bad... But pretty small for a concert as it gets packed

Terrible staff, great venue. Went to see Sebastian bach, didn't even get to see him as I was thrown out by a member of staff for stepping on a woman's toe. Staff are very hostile and rude. I'd avoid it going back there

Tiny venue with very rude staff! The drinks were so terribly overpriced and i met the RUDEST bar staff in my life. Wouldnt go there again even if you paid me. In the toilets there were people smoking which stank the place out and the staff didn't care. Awful just awful

The venue itself is okay, but the prices for a pint are ridiculous. The queue is on a stairs, which makes the place really crowded. It seemed dangerous in case of an emergency.

Had a really good time, I love that there is two rooms

Completely spoilt my evening when the goon on the door told need I could not go in with chewing gum. Talk about crazy. The management then later gave me a bs story about him many trends of thousands of pounds they spend removing it from the floor. I will never go there again or any other O2 academy venue.

Good venue to watch a gig.Standing only for the recent Wishbone Ash concert I attended.So not good for older fans,or anyone who has problems standing for 3 hours.
Limited drink options,no real Ale available.

For a close-up view of new talented bands. Standing only.

Amazing atmosphere, nice smaller venue for a more personal experience

Awesome venue good size for a medium gig and it was air conned which was an added bonus. The staff were lovely too, especially the security guys. Definitely would go again, good safe nearby parking as well.

Good venue, but the drinks at the bar are way over priced

I love live music events and have recently attended two gigs here. The sound was great both times and I had a great time watching some of my favourite bands.

Great venue...If a little small. Had a great time and the staff were brilliant too.

Nice small venue !! staff there were friendly !
Expensive alcohol

Overall great venue. However, neither toilet door locked.

Handy location for travel,and near local pubs and cafes etc.
Though one doesn't expect a venue like this in the middle of a shopping centre,once inside it felt okay inside.
All the facilities are there in working order,and the atmosphere was good.
Give it a try!

Love most of these smaller venues, including this one.

Great place, reasonable drinks and a good university feel for Friday and Saturday club nights. They have a couple of rooms and when bands play the atmosphere is really intimate. Propaganda on a Friday night is a good laugh with current indie music featuring heavily, and Saturday night is primarily cheese - like a student union!

Saw Coco and the Butterfields here. Fantastic show. Decent venue with friendly staff.

Brilliant place and local to me been there A lot of times. . . . .

Generally good sound and you don't want to be standing under the air conditioning.

Went here to see one of my favourite bands! The atmosphere was incredible, live music was beautiful and the staff were very friendly. Was even generous enough to get some of the bands merchandise and even meet the band themselves! Was a fantastic night and I would recommend anyone to come here and have an incredible time at the o2 academy!

It's cold. Who knows if the music is good. Most people just leave. There is a position somewhere between the door and the fron

Great intimate little venue, great atmosphere in here

On 01 Feb i traveled a very long distance to see Tech and Krizz at the 02 Academy, Islington. After a few complications and the generousity of the front staff (ticket scanner; an Angel i must add.security ) i got in. If it weren't for the amazing staff my travel would have been for not.

The venue had two floors open for one stage for this event. From this one and only experience i had, i think it was on the smaller side but still room to move around up stairs. Down stairs looked intimidating becauseof the amount of people. (Few people were escorted out for fighting. But was handeled fast and professional. )
Bartenders were fast, friendly, and consistant through out the night . Shout out to upstairs!

Avaliable seating (not much stage to see if people are in front of you)
Bathrooms were decent, mostly clean. expected way worse.

Over all i will defintely make another trip. Thank u again to the amazing staff for making this long wait3d adventure to end in a success <3

Great venue but unhappy that you let O2 customers in first, after queuing for 2 hours. Not fare.

Great venue dependent on the act on the astmosphere can be great