'Secret' Gigs
The historical importance of the club led to a number of bigger, established artists playing 'secret' gigs at the venue often as one-off 'fan thank yous', warm up shows or just because they liked the intimate atmosphere. These 'secret' shows were often promoted under an assumed name designed to be recognised only by hardcore fans. These included appearances by The Jam (under the name John's Boys), Marillion (under such names as Skyline Drifters and Lufthanser Air Terminal), Prince, Genesis (under the name Garden Wall, Iron Maiden (appearing as guests on a bill headed "A Fun Night With The Entire Population of Hackney"), Squeeze & Mötley Crüe (in the Charing Cross Road venue as The Four Skins - seen in the video of their cover version of "Anarchy in the UK", and to the derision of those who arrived at the venue expecting the skinhead band of the same name). The less-famous Glasgow indie guitar band Del Amitri poked fun at this tradition in 1985 by playing a gig at the Marquee with "Special Guests" 'Bob Dylan and the Libyans', who were Del Amitri in costume. The venue also prominently featured in the 1985 video for the Wham! single "I'm Your Man". Metallica played a secret gig 1990 supporting Metal Church on their Blessing in Disguise Tour. They performed as Vertigo, and Mike Howe (Metal Church vocalist) introduced them as a new band that had only played a couple of shows.
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