The Four Aces Club was a pioneering music and recreational space on Dalston Lane in Dalston, London. Based in a building that had formerly been the North London Colosseum and Amphitheatre and then a cinema, in the 1960s and 1970s the club became one of the first venues to play black music in the United Kingdom. It was credited with playing a significant "role in the evolution of reggae into dance music, from ska, to rocksteady, to dub, to lovers, to dancehall and the evolution of jungle." Many notable Afro-Caribbean musicians appeared at the Four Aces, which was often referred to as "the jewel in Dalston's crown". As well as reggae and dub artists, its clientele over the years including stars such as Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder and Jimmy Cliff.
The Four Aces, Dalston
Dalston is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It lies in North East London and is four miles northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas including Kingsland and Shacklewell, all three of which being part of the Ancient Parish of Hackney.
St. Mark's Church – "Cathedral of the East End"
The Dalston Culture House now houses the Vortex Jazz Club. (October 2005)
The Dalston Rio Cinema
Dalston's Ridley Road market, October 2005