New faces were emerging: Rod Stewart playing with Long John Baldry, Manfred Mann, The Yardbirds, Cream and Joe Cocker — followed, over the years, by a host of other struggling up-and-coming acts including Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, David Bowie, Yes, Genesis, Elton John, Queen, The Police and The Pretenders.
The Marquee was a mythical place for a lad like Dave Stewart, brought up in far-off Sunderland. He was a I 6-year-old guitar fanatic when he made his way to London in 1968 and, in 1973, Stewart finally performed at the Marquee with his band, Longdancer. ‘I was like a sponge, absorbing and taking in all these amazing performances. It was almost like going to school,’ he says of his many nights at the club. Brian May of Queen was inspired by Jeff Beck, and hung around for advice from his hem, guitarist Rory Gallagher. And, as David Bowie noted, ‘It was the place where you met other musicians. It was tremendously important. It was really a heartbeat in terms ofwhat was happening.’ Bowie went there to see Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, his mate Marc Bolan — and the glamorous girls it attracted, many of whom were Scandinavian tourists.
