Apollo’s Jukebox: Baroque hits, bawdy ballads & audience requests – live from an 18th century pub
Forget stuffy concerts with velvet seats and polite applause. Apollo’s Jukebox takes you back to the 18th-century music rooms where tunes weren’t just played — they were ordered.
Back then, there was no unlimited streaming or public concert halls where anyone could pick what they wanted to hear. In early 1700s Paris, Vienna, or Rome, unless you were royalty or a wealthy patron, new music was pretty much off limits. The idea that anyone, no matter their background, could choose the music was revolutionary — and it all started in Britain.
In 1672, violinist John Banister kicked off a real revolution by inviting paying guests into his own home, offering a simple but radical deal: you choose the music, we play it. For a shilling, the audience picked the programme.
This was the birth of a new, democratic way of experiencing music. The idea caught on fast, shifting music from palace halls to pubs and city streets.
This programme picks up that spirit today: with a musical menu in one hand and a shilling in the other, expect rowdy street songs, lively dances, moving arias, and gossip fresh from Georgian London’s tabloids. Forget concert formality - it’s about good music, great stories, and a proper pint.
And the best part? The audience call the shots and there will be quiz questions, mini-games and many surprises to help you choose.
Food and drinks available to purchase on the night before and after the show.
