O2 Academy Islington Review

Great! Went to see Aries on the 16th and boy was it a night to remember!
On the bad side, the toilets could be better, but guess it makes sense since 100s of people use it at once. Does not excuse the completely deshovelled look of it all; kinda looked like an abandoned dungeon.

The staff is really cool. They allowed the performers to crowdsurf, even though it was not permitted. Dont know if ill get them in trouble by saying that! No interference, they did their best to keep the lines safe and the queues short. Did not get rude with the people once it hit curfew ; did not sully the experience whatsoever.

Really cool experience.

It's a small venue and it's all standing, no seating, which was great for atmosphere and dancing but caused a problem for people who are shorter to get a good view of the stage. Has a bar and cloak room which was great for checking in our coats. Overall it was a great night and would defo recommend.

I love this venue. Aside from the fact I've never not had a banging time here, the pa is awesome and the space is perfect for everything from a casual stand at the side to a furious mosh in the middle. Couple that with the 2nd, smaller venue and it's winner winner chicken dinner.

Seen some of my absolute favourite bands here - such a treat to see bigger bands in an intimate space.

Get down there.

Another fantastic night at the London international ska festival. Rocksteady with Keith and Tex, Rudeboy style with Rudy Mills.

A small, lovely venue with average sound and pricey drinks

Great venue and good for a mosh if your seeing a heavy group! Nice bar staff to mostly, except cloakroom

This venue is complete sh*thole. Went there on the 27th July to a small heavy metal gig. It was so hot, everyone was jumping, there was no air conditioning! Someone was opening the front door for like 5 seconds, and it felt like heaven <3 Trust me It wasn't easy to breathe! I wonder if you can cover any safety requirements???? I bet not!

Kind of average pub. It has two stories so you can watch the performers from above and that's nice and more chill than the pit. Went there twice because the dates of the Electric 6 concert were convenient.

Have never had a bad night at club De fromage. Good music, good vibe.

We went to watch our son's band, The Skin Tones, play Loud In London. The door staff were really friendly while we waited to get in and even called out to my son "Bye! Can't wait to see you play again soon!" as we left! The drinks were a little pricey but was to be expected in the middle of London!
There are several doors with O2Academy branding on and we weren't too sure which one to use at first, so make sure you queue at the door next to Gormet Burger on the first floor!

Venue great... But shut the bar when the bands are on! Crowded room with constant flow of drinkers to & from the bars pushing through. I paid to see the band, not keep moving out of the way, could have just stayed in the pub.

Really enjoyed the 90 vs 00s night. Excellent music choices.

Nice, no frills music venue. It's quite small, so feels intimate. Sound good. Only spoilt by rather officious security man upstairs. I appreciate he had a job to do, but he was rude to quite a few people in a well behaved and generally older crowd. Unnecessary!

I went to Club au Fromage. Even though the place could be fun, the night with Club au fromage was aweful - dodgy audience - weirdo staff - unpleasant cheesy music - bad smell as the floor was a beer-swimming pool. I really don't recommend any night at Club au fromage...

Went to see the band Gloryhammer here. It was a bit cramped near the Merchandise stand as that was near the entrance. Bar serves quickly enough.

Parlotones in just the right venue..so close to our boys.

Smelly people. I mean smelling as in urine. No wifi! Slow bar staff. Never going back to that flea pit.

Almost like an old fashioned pub and club. Took the wife's granddaughter to see her favourite group chapter 13. She wants to become a pro photographer at the age of 15 so needed some photographs to send to their management McFly. Low and behold standing in front of us were Tom and Danny with the groups parents. When our young charge returned to us at the concert end we nudged her to ask outright if she had a chance. Danny was great and advised her to apply directly. My wife was apprehensive about the venue being overcrowded but it was fine. Only gripe was the 02 priority queue did not exist and the bar prices were extortionate.

Really intimate venue that isn't roasting hot inside.

Saw a fantastic Bowie Tribute. "Absolute Bowie. The venue was very good too.

Great venue, good acoustics, friendly staff. Limited drinks which are overpriced, but decent enough service. It is what it is.

I got to see Mic Lowry perform. AWESOME!!!!!!!! It was the best part of my trip.

Quite well organised, very friendly team, clean toilets and you actually get to be near the performers.

Lovely place overall. Nice intimate rooms for shows, very friendly staff. Only slight issue is the prices at the bar, although being where it is in London, slightly higher prices are to be expected.

As a place it's fine, it's really going to depend on what or who you are here to see. I went to see The Smyth's and had a great night. Staff here are good at their job. As a venue for a great gig it is good. Went to the after gig party/disco and there was a small timing issue between one part closing and the other opening, but that was a really minor issue.

Cool enough venue to see bands up close. I go most years to see Electric Six here.

Academy Islington front home and many other service is to him training mobile so cultural activities for the performance support

As a stand up venue be prepared for pushing and getting up close to each other, especially if you want to be close to the stage. Toilets also filthy and I guess only get cleaned once a day.

staff were excellent, place is pretty wheelchair friendly

Sound quality wasn't good. The toilets were from "Trainspotting".

Nice venue, friendly and efficient bar staff, great atmosphere.

One of the best venues in London - small, bars close to the action, easy to get to.

Great venue and location, easy from Angel. Security and bar staff were top people.

Saw Tessa Violet, and the venue was perfect. Bottom floor has enough standing space for say 400 comfortably, with air con to help keep the heat down. There is also a too floor, though did not venture here. The bars decently stocked, but what made the gig was the very friendly staff they had so shout out to them!

Great venue and very easy to find. The Hilton car park is a bit pricey but it does make it easy to get back on the road quickly

Not my favourite venue for live music. A bit overrated

I really liked this venue, its a lot smaller given its literally in a small shopping complex. However it being smaller it felt more intimate with the artist which was nicer. I would advice getting there early so you can be closer to front as it can be harder to see with taller people and people filming in the way. Nice experience.

its a great venue, amazing sound system, but there were some complications when entering.

Had a drunken night and was saved by the staff here :)

Nice music venue - balcony a waste of time unless you get to the front

Great location. Small venue, places need total decour. Staff is is slow! Service is rubbish, prices are ridiculous. Asked for a receipt for drink bartender wrote it down on piece of paper. Place is a joke

Very good place for special events and great atmosphere for all ages :)

Always love it here really cheap drinks fun cheesy music and some bangers too great people no drama great staff

The music played before the act was so terrible, sent me to sleep. Where is the bangers?

[Review for upstairs venue] The best word to sum up this venue, is 'silly'. Your silly night will begin at the fairly hostile entrance, when the bouncers will order you to empty your pockets, confiscate your chewing gum, sometimes even go through your wallet, then frisk you. Regular gig/club goers know that being treated like you're visiting a maximum security prison is standard these days, and to be absolutely fair, a certain amount of diligence on the part of door staff is reassuring. But I haven't had my chewing gum confiscated since I was a schoolboy. The silliness will continue inside, when, after queuing for an eternity whilst wearing a magical Cloak of Invisibility, you will witness a constant stream of poor souls (and potential law suits) slipping arse over head in an ocean of beer on the floor, whilst an unfortunate staff member spends the entire night trying in vain to tame the flood waters with a little mop and bucket. You can t go anywhere in this venue without passing through the dance floor, as the bar is right beside it. Drink will be spilt. No, of course you shouldn t have glass in a venue like this. But the farcical conditions could be helped if the venue just sold plastic bottles or let you drink from cans rather than insisting everything gets decanted into flimsy plastic cups when the only place you can physically go with it is the Great Spill Fest that is the dance floor.

Good venue, nice staff and good view from the balcony.

Really awesome venue with great sound and fairly big.

We went here to escape the 35 degree heat outside as the air-conditioning is top. Also caught Dice People play too, who where triple top.

It was great. I went last Halloween to see the boyband band Roadtrip (TV) live and the atmosphere was lovely. Before you get in there is a huge cue outside in the cold but its not unbearable. I think the adrenaline keeps you warm. The staff are nice and up for a joke but according to other reviews, I think I just got lucky on the day. Got in with no problem and all was well after being terrified of something going wrong after binge reading other reviews.

FYI Just a quickie: my only issue was finding the place. Don't rely fully on google maps. It IS on that road in islington BUT in that shopping center.

anyway. I got in near to last, its pretty hard to see or film (which you Could do in the concert I was at) the performers. However, you could still hear and see well and the music was at a good hearty volume. Show was around 2 hours and my feet hurt after but it was WELL worth it. Had 2 other performances with the band I was there to see and both were amazing too. Good atmosphere and great vibe, would definitely go again or recommend, especially to see Roadtrip :P

Downsides and more FYI: they don't take well do you having your own bag unless they check it, no food or drinks allowed but there is a bar inside. I've heard its overpriced but didn't check as I wasn't too thirsty during. Tickets sell out FAST as its a smaller venue so beware.

Great venue with good sound, seen many gigs since it opened, the last gig was Tiger Army last week.

Came for The Smyths and it was amazing. Love wide venues. Wasn t allowed into the after party for smoking cannabis in the smokers area but fair enough I guess.

Quite small and cozy to be an O2 ACADEMY. Acoustics are not bad.

However, their priority access is a bit of a mess: there's an indication just at the bottom of the barricades, no sign at all at the start of the queue. Result: almost everyone in that lane (us included) didn't have a priority access.

Cracking venue. Up close and personal with the bands, and generally a good vibe.

I went to see Siniestro Total concert on 23 may 17. The place is fine the concert was fine but my experience ordering was awful. The waitress with long dark hair was extremely rude. No customer service at all.