Larry's Hideaway was a bar in the Prince Carlton Hotel in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, Canada. The venue was notable for being one of the first venues in Toronto to open itself to

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and new wave music acts, as well as hard rock. The venue was well known for its good acoustics. 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 Allan Gardens is a conservatory and urban park located in the Garden District of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The property includes a playground, off-leash dog park, and a conservatory with six green houses. The park originated from lands donated ...

, on

Carlton Street Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyteri ...

Jarvis Street Jarvis Street is a north-south thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through some of the oldest developed areas in the city. Its alignment extends from Queens Quay East in the south to Bloor Street in the north. The segment s ...

. The room was a restaurant prior to 1961, when it became a jazz venue. 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 Horseshoe Tavern (known as ''The Horseshoe'', ''The 'Shoe'', The 'Toronto Tavern' and The 'Triple T' to Toronto locals) is a concert venue at 370 Queen Street West (northeast corner of Queen at Spadina) in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and ...

. 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. 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. 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. The

City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its structure and powers are set out in the '' City of Tor ...

bought it in 1990 to increase the size of

park. The location is now the off-leash dog area of the park.

Notable artists

Lee Aaron Lee Aaron (born Karen Lynn Greening; July 21, 1962) is a Canadian rock singer. She had several hits in the 1980s and early 1990s, such as "Metal Queen", "Whatcha Do to My Body", and "Sex with Love". Early life Aaron was born as Karen Lynn Green ...

* Alien Sex Fiend *

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

* Billy Bragg * Blibber and the Rat Crushers * Black Flag * Circle Jerks * HYPE * Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds * Chris and Cosey * Ornette Coleman *

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. ...

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...

* Dead Beat * Howard Devoto * The Diodes *

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh ( custom-made instruments; p ...

The Exploited The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,

* The Fall * FM * Goddo *

Hanoi Rocks Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. The band broke up in June 1985 after drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley died in a drunk driving accide ...

- First North American performance March 1984 *

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as ...

* The Hi-Fi's (early Blue Rodeo) * John Cale * Killing Joke * L'Etranger *

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His p ...

The Lords of the New Church The Lords of the New Church were an English/American supergroup with a line-up originally consisting of four musicians from 1970s punk bands. This line-up comprised vocalist Stiv Bators (ex- the Dead Boys), guitarist Brian James (ex- the Da ...

Max Webster Max Webster was a Canadian hard rock band formed in Toronto in 1972. The band's founder, Kim Mitchell, enjoyed a long and successful solo career in their native Canada. Biography Initially a trio for their first gigs in December 1972, the ori ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

Random Killing Random Killing is a Toronto, Montreal and Oshawa based veteran Canadian punk rock band established in 1984. The group of childhood friends initially got together to jam some of their favourite punk rock music, just for a shits and giggles. The ...

Raving Mojos Raving may refer to: *Rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated ...

* Rush * Slayer *

Sun Ra Arkestra The Sun Ra Arkestra is an American jazz group formed in the mid-1950s and led by keyboardist/composer Sun Ra until his death in 1993. The group is considered a pioneer of afrofuturism. As of 2022, the Arkestra is led by saxophonist Marshall All ...

* Teenage Head * The Jolly Tambourine Man *

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

* U.K. Subs * Vital Sines * Negative Gain * HYPE

Live albums

* Killing Joke - '' Ha!'' *

- '' Murmur'' (Deluxe Edition bonus disc) *

The Viletones The Viletones are a Canadian punk band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, led by Steven Leckie on vocals. Other members from the original line-up were Freddie Pompeii, (some sources list him as 'Frederick DiPasquale') on guitar/vocals; Chris Hate (C ...

- ''Saturday Night/Sunday Morning'' * Discharge - ''Toronto '83'' * HYPE - ''Live at Larry's Hideaway 1985 (album)''

References

{{reflist , 30em, refs= {{cite journal , work=the eyeopener , url=http://theeyeopener.com/2009/10/the-biggest-shit-hole-in-the-city/ , title=‘The biggest shit hole in the city’ , first=Karolina , last=Weglarz , date=October 21, 2009 {{cite news , work=Toronto Star , url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2010/01/03/torontos_transit_of_venues_or_weep_not_for_the_bop.html , title=Toronto's transit of venues (or, weep not for the bop) , first1=Nick , last1=Krewen , first2=Garnet , last2=Fraser , date=January 3, 2010 , accessdate=April 4, 2016 Music venues in Toronto