Larry's Hideaway
{{Short description|Music venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada}}
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| address = 121 Carlton Street
| location = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| coordinates = {{Coord|43.662686|-79.375289|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
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| closed = 1986
| demolished = 1993–1996?
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Larry's Hideaway was a bar in the Prince Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The venue was notable for being one of the first venues in Toronto to open itself to punk and new wave music acts, as well as hard rock. The venue was well known for its good acoustics.{{cite web |url=http://www.myfreakinears.com/10-unforgettable-defunct-toronto-music-venues/ |title=10 Unforgettable Defunct Toronto Music Venues - My Freakin Ears! |accessdate=April 4, 2016}} Several artists recorded live albums at the venue.
Venue
The bar was located in the basement of the Prince Carlton Hotel on the north-west corner of Allan Gardens, on Carlton Street at Jarvis Street. The room was a restaurant prior to 1961, when it became a jazz venue.{{cite news |work=The Globe and Mail |title=JAZZ SCENE: He Had It Once, But It's All Gone Now |first=Patrick |last=Scott |date=August 16, 1961 |page=13}}
Starting in the late 1970s, the venue was booked by the "Two Garys", Gary Topp and Gary Cormier, who also booked bands to "The Edge" venue and to the Horseshoe Tavern. The bar had a dirty, un-clean reputation although bands reputedly loved to play there.
The bar closed in the summer of 1986, but the hotel remained open and was the site of several robberies and sexual assaults.{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |title=Most robberies on the increase but bank holdups are down 8% |date=29 Oct 1986 |page=A2 |first=Gwyn |last=Jocko}}{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |title=2 Men charged in downtown sex attacks |date=October 14, 1986 |page=A7}}{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |title=Robbed man beaten with clubs and chain |date=November 11, 1986 |page=A6}} In September 1986, the hotel was raided by the Toronto Police. The police arrested 26 persons and seized thousands of dollars of stolen goods and drugs.{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |title=26 arrested, drugs and loot seized as 50 police raid Carlton St. hotel |first=Nicholas |last=Pron |date=September 17, 1986}} The hotel was sold in 1988 and closed. It was boarded up and left vacant, sometimes used by squatters and vagrants. On October 16, 1991, a three-alarm fire destroyed much of the hotel.{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |date=October 16, 1991 |title=Arson Suspected in $1 million fire |first=Henry |last=Stancu |page=A7}} The City of Toronto government bought it in 1990 to increase the size of Allan Gardens park.{{cite web|url=https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-49946.pdf|title=Amending of Designating By-law – 160 Gerrard Street East (Allan Gardens)|publisher=City of Toronto|website=www.toronto.ca|date=5 September 2012|access-date=2 December 2020}} The location is now the off-leash dog area of the park.
Notable artists
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- Lee Aaron
- Alien Sex Fiend{{cite news |work=The Globe and Mail |title=Good news, music from Queen Street |date=February 14, 1984 |page=22 |first=Liam |last=Lacey}}
- Bauhaus
- Billy Bragg
- Blibber and the Rat Crushers
- Black Flag
- Circle Jerks{{cite web |website=setlist.fm |title=Larry's Hideaway Toronto Concert Setlists |url=http://www.setlist.fm/venue/larrys-hideaway-toronto-on-canada-4bd627d6.html |accessdate=April 4, 2016}}
- HYPE
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Chris and Cosey
- Ornette Coleman
- The Cramps
- The Cult
- Dead Beat
- Howard Devoto
- The Diodes
- Einstürzende Neubauten
- The Exploited
- The Fall
- FM{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |title=Eight late-career resurrections or, last gasps? |first=John |last=Sakamoto |date=September 27, 2014 |page=E4}}
- Goddo
- Hanoi Rocks - First North American performance March 1984
- Nina Hagen
- The Hi-Fi's (early Blue Rodeo){{cite web |website=Lost Toronto |url=https://losttoronto2.wordpress.com/tag/larrys-hideawaythe-prince-carlton-hotel/ |title=Larry’s Hideaway/The Prince Carlton Hotel}}
- John Cale
- Killing Joke
- L'Etranger
- Linton Kwesi Johnson
- The Lords of the New Church
- Max Webster
- R.E.M.
- Random Killing
- Raving Mojos
- Rush
- Slayer
- Sun Ra Arkestra
- Teenage Head
- The Jolly Tambourine Man
- The Tragically Hip{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |date=August 31, 1991 |title=Tory numbers guru a rock fan and film buff |first=Sid |last=Adilman |page=K3}}
- Triumph
- U.K. Subs
- Vital Sines
- Negative Gain
- HYPE
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Live albums
- Killing Joke - Ha!
- R.E.M. - Murmur (Deluxe Edition bonus disc)
- The Viletones - Saturday Night/Sunday Morning
- Discharge - Toronto '83
- HYPE - Live at Larry's Hideaway 1985 (album)
- Bauhaus - In a Glass Haus (1982)
References
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