The Palm Tree on Spadina With Stories to Tell
If you’ve walked Spadina Avenue just south of College Street, you know the glow: a neon palm tree hanging over the sidewalk where Kensington Market meets Chinatown. That’s El Mocambo at 464 Spadina Ave., a club that’s been part of Toronto’s music story since 1948. Our latest reel, made with our friends at The RIFF, steps inside, and some of the best history in the building isn’t on the stage at all. It’s framed on the washroom walls.
So What Can Old Booking Sheets Tell Us About Toronto’s Most Famous Club?
The Paper Trail: Blondie for $2,750
The rebuilt El Mo displays vintage booking sheets that show who played, what they were paid and what fans paid at the door. One of our favourites has Blondie booked for August 2 and 3, 1978, for $2,750, with tickets at $5.50. Another sheet, as The Varsity reported, shows U2 playing in 1980 for $500. It’s a lovely reminder of how many future legends came up through rooms like this one.
The Night the Cockroaches Took the Stage
The club’s most famous weekend came on March 4 and 5, 1977, when the Rolling Stones played 2 surprise shows billed as The Cockroaches, with April Wine listed as the headliner. The sets were recorded, and some songs became side 3 of the Love You Live album. A full live album, El Mocambo 1977, followed in 2022. Margaret Trudeau, then the wife of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was in the crowd, and her presence turned a club gig into a national story.
A Stage Full of Names
Over the decades, the El Mo has hosted Blondie, U2, the Ramones, Elvis Costello, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bon Jovi and Toronto’s own Teenage Head. The lore runs deep too: The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that Marilyn Monroe reportedly dropped in for a drink in 1958.
A Rescue and a Rebuild
When the club looked set to close in 2014, Dragons’ Den investor Michael Wekerle stepped in and bought it. He put more than $30 million into rebuilding it from the inside out, adding modern sound, recording and broadcast gear, and those spotless washrooms, all while keeping the history front and centre. The original neon palm, too weathered to hang outside again, was cut in half and now flanks the stage, while a faithful replica lights up Spadina.
Your Turn: Which El Mo Show Do You Wish You’d Seen?
Tell us in the comments, and if you have a favourite El Mocambo memory, we’d love to hear it. Watch to the end of the reel for our giveaway, too.
Watch the reel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytorontonews/reel/DeRTECnuyX8/