Scala

Once a picturehouse and a concert hall (along with brief stretches as an aeroplane parts factory and demob labour exchange), the Scala today is a brilliantly big blank canvas club that can accommodate huge, multi-floored club nights or gigs from bands on the cusp of real stardom in its banked main room.

Although the venue has vacillated between uses, Scala’s one consistent trait has been its lack of respect for authority: its stint as a cinema was ended after Stanley Kubrick sued it into bankruptcy for showing ‘A Clockwork Orange’. Nowadays, it’s one of the most rewarding venues in which to push your way to the front for shows by big names in waiting – names as varied as triple-threat Londoner MNEK and online sensation Poppy.