Popular live music venue the Astoria Theatre is to close down, reports BBC 6 Music.

London's Mayor Ken Livingstone has revealed that the venue will close down due to a new building and transport link being built in the area.

Livingstone said: "There are some instances where that just physically isn't possible. The construction of [new underground railway line] Crossrail means that the Astoria can't be saved."

He added that a new venue, built as part of the Tottenham Court Road development, will replace the Astoria: "We're basically putting in a vast train station but the developers that have actually drawn up the scheme for the area are replacing it (the Astoria) with a larger live music venue."

Both the Hammersmith Palais and The Spitz have closed in recent times, with Livingstone revealing he was planning a "live music strategy" to prevent more landmark venues from disappearing.