London Music Attractions - For Music Lovers

London boasts an embarrassment of fine live music venues, from gritty urban dive bars all the way up to cavernous, royally appointed concert halls. And no tour of London venues would be complete without a stop at the Royal Albert Hall just south of Kensington Gardens. It was Queen Victoria herself who laid the foundation stone way back in 1867, in memory of her dear departed Albert. Since then, the hall has attracted such regal events as the annual BBC Proms, a Muhammed Ali bout, rabble-rousing speeches from Einstein, Churchill and Emmeline Pankhurst, and show-stopping musical extravaganzas from Sinatra, Bassey and many hundreds more world-class performers.

Buzzing Brixton is a great place to see established bands and artists as well as young up-and-comers. Brixton Academy (aka the 02 Academy) is the big kahuna round these parts; a century-old former cinema which attracts lively crowds with some of the biggest names in music – previous performers include Madonna, Bob Dylan and Iron Maiden, no less. Just along the road, Electric Brixton mixes smaller shows with reggaeton club nights and celeb DJs, while The Windmill is the place to catch aspiring young acts on the rise. Don’t miss the shrine to local lad David Bowie opposite the station, or the chance to rock down to Electric Avenue, the street immortalized in Eddy Grant’s 1983 smash hit.

Check out our guide to things to do in Brixton here.

Only the luckiest punters will nab tickets to the legendary 100 Club on Oxford Street. This tiny subterranean venue holds a mere 350 guests, yet has played host to major acts including Muddy Waters, The Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols in its illustrious eight-decade history. Nearby Ronnie Scott’s is held in similarly high regard; the world-famous Soho jazz club has had toes tapping since 1959.

Looking for something a little quirkier? Try jazz nights at the crypt under St Martin-in-the-Fields church or perched on a pew beneath the arched ceilings of Islington’s soaring Union Chapel.

London is full of music-related locations, not least the epicentre of cool that is Camden Town. This, after all, is where Amy Winehouse cut her teeth – there’s even a statue of the late singer at Camden’s Stables Market. You can also enjoy a pint at The Good Mixer, the non-nonsense pub where Britpoppers Blur, Oasis, Elastica et al hung out (and squabbled) in the mid-90s, and check out what might just be the highest concentration of live music venues in central London. We’re talking the mighty Roundhouse, Koko, Dingwalls, Barfly, The Water Rats, Cecil Sharp House and, of course, the deliciously scuzzy Dublin Castle, the pub that launched the career of ska legends Madness and has hosted The Killers, Arctic Monkeys and many more household names since. 

Check out the selection of music-themed walking tours included with The London Pass®.

There’s no longer a great deal to see on Denmark Street, aka the British Tin Pan Alley, a short thoroughfare linking Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street which was once home to many major music publishers. But it’s worth a visit for a selfie by the blue plaque commemorating the Gioconda café, a favorite hangout of Bowie, Elton John and others back in the day.

Nearby Berwick Street is a veritable valhalla for vinyl lovers, thanks to stalwart record stores including Reckless and Sister Ray. It’s also where you can recreate the sleeve shot for Oasis’ 1995 magnum opus (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? – looking south from (roughly) the current location of Sister Ray.

And there are plenty more classic album covers you can mimic across London. Bowie’s iconic Ziggy Stardust sleeve was shot on Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, and is commemorated by a blue plaque there, and Battersea Power Station famously features (alongside a flying pig) on the artwork for Pink Floyd’s Animals LP.

The most famous such location is, of course, the pedestrian crossing featured on the cover of The Beatles’ Abbey Road album – you’ll find it near St John’s Wood station. But arrive early to beat the crowds to that perfect Fab Four selfie, and to avoid the ire of horn-honking rush hour drivers!

Love music? Then you’ll love the epic roster of big-name musicals that run at London’s glittering West End theatres, from the bright lights of Shaftesbury Avenue to Covent Garden and Drury Lane, and south to Victoria. Book well in advance if you want to nab seats to perennial favourites including Wicked, Matilda, Mamma Mia and the Tina Turner musical. Or take your chances with last-minute tickets – you can read our tips on saving on theatre seats and other London attractions here. 

We wonder what Handel, 18th-century composer of grandiose operas and oratorios including the mighty Messiah, would have made of guitar-chewing virtuoso Jimi Hendrix, whose star burned brightly all too briefly in the late 1960s. The Handel Hendrix House in Mayfair is as close as we’re ever likely to get to a collaboration between the pair. This quirky museum came about because the two were neighbours on upmarket Brook Street, albeit a couple of centuries apart. Step inside to experience the 18th-century townhouse as it would have looked in Handel’s day, with exhibits that include prints, paintings, sculptures and several of the maestro’s correspondences, manuscripts and early opera drafts. You can also visit Hendrix’s preserved former apartments to ogle his old record collection, guitars and other artifacts of the era.

Last but by no means least, the V&A Museum’s long infatuation with all things Bowie reached its natural conclusion with the acquisition of an 80,000-piece archive that includes iconic costumes, instruments, handwritten lyrics, letters and many more of the starman’s personal effects. Highlights can be seen, heard and generally swooned over at the snappily titled David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts at V&A East Storehouse in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from 2025.