Former names | Newcastle City Hall (1927-2019) |
---|---|
Address | Northumberland Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8SF England |
Coordinates | 54°58′39″N1°36′37″W / 54.9774°N 1.6102°W |
Operator | Academy Music Group |
Type | Concert hall |
Capacity | 2,135 |
Opened | 1927 |
Website | |
Venue Website | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | Northumberland Baths / City Hall |
Designated | 8 May 1992 |
Reference no. | 1242013 |
The Newcastle City Hall (currently known as O2 City Hall Newcastle for sponsorship reasons) is a concert hall located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has hosted many popular music and classical artists throughout the years, as well as standup and comedy acts. The venue is operated by Academy Music Group and named under a group sponsorship agreement with telecoms company O2. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]
The building was designed by Nicholas & Dixon-Spain [2] and opened in 1927 as a part of a development which also included the adjacent Newcastle City Baths. [3] It has since become a venue for orchestras, rock and pop bands, and comedy acts, as well as for celebrity recitals, talks and civic functions. [3] The city hall formed the east side of the complex and, like the city baths, the design involved a tall portico with central Doric order columns between flanking antae with five square windows above. [1]
In November 2012, Newcastle City Council announced that, as part of a wider cost-cutting process, the future of the City Hall and the adjacent City Pool was under review, with a number of options being considered including closure or handing over the venue to an external operator. [4] Council leader Nick Forbes pre-empted the outcome of the consultations process by stating that the City Hall has "No long-term future". [5] In response, a 13,000 name petition against closure was presented to Newcastle City Council by members of the Facebook "North East Music History Group" on 31 January 2013. [6]
In April 2016 it was announced that the Theatre Royal Trust had taken over management of the venue [7] and, in May 2019, the Theatre Royal Trust transferred the City Hall operations to Academy Music Group, and the venue was renamed as O2 City Hall Newcastle. [8]
An organ, design and built by Harrison and Harrison was installed in 1928, to enable the building to operate as the city's first dedicated concert venue. [3] A concert instrument, as opposed to a cathedral specification, it has been used for choral and orchestral concerts as well as organ recitals. It has 4,274 pipes, with a number of unique stops and has been described as "A Rolls-Royce" of organs. [9]
The organ is currently in a poor state of repair, although as a result of its neglect, the instrument is probably the last and largest example of a Harrison tubular-pneumatic action (most other large organs were converted to electro-pneumatic action after World War II). The organ is also unusual in that it is unaltered, as most comparable organs have been modified, added-to or revoiced. [10]
The British Institute of Organ Studies awarded it a Grade 1 Historic Organ Certificate in 2003, and the significance of the organ was taken into account as part of the assessment of the hall's Grade II listed building status. [11]
The building was used as a public venue from an early stage and concert performers included the contralto singer, Kathleen Ferrier, who made an appearance on 22 April 1953. [12]
Bob Dylan performed there during his 1965 tour of England on 6 May 1965. [13] English rock band The Rolling Stones performed at the City Hall with American R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner and English rock band The Yardbirds on 1 October 1966. [14]
The rock band The Who appeared at the City Hall in October 1967, [15] and the local R&B band The Animals reunited and performed for a one-off performance at the City Hall in 1968. [16]
On 7 May 1971, American rock band The Byrds performed there as part of their 1971 UK Tour [17] and, in December 1976, as a one-off gig, local folk rock band Lindisfarne played three sell-out concerts in the City Hall. [18]
The rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer recorded their live album Pictures at an Exhibition there on 26 March 1971: Keith Emerson played the whole first Promenade on the City Hall organ. [19]
The singer-songwriter David Bowie performed in the City Hall in January 1973 during his Ziggy Stardust Tour [20] and the rock band Wishbone Ash recorded tracks at the City Hall for the live album Live Dates in June 1973. [21] Meanwhile, the rock band Roxy Music recorded tracks for Viva Roxy Music at the City Hall in October 1974. [22]
In 1981, rock band Motörhead recorded the majority of the tracks for their live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith at the City Hall. [23] Later that year rock band Slade performed and recorded their show, which was later released as a live album, entitled Slade on Stage . [24]
The German rock band, Rammstein, played at the city hall in October 1997 [25] and Ray Jackson performed with a new lineup of Lindisfarne in December 2013. [26]
"Dazed and Confused" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jake Holmes in 1967. Performed in a folk rock-style, he recorded it for his debut album "The Above Ground Sound" of Jake Holmes. Although some concluded that it was about a bad acid trip, Holmes insists the lyrics refer to the effects of a girl's indecision on ending a relationship.
Wolverhampton Civic Hall is a music venue in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It has been one of the most notable live music venues in the county for several decades. It is part of a complex branded as University of Wolverhampton at The Halls, Wolverhampton including University of Wolverhampton at The Civic Hall, University of Wolverhampton at Wulfrun Hall and the Slade Rooms. The complex is owned by City of Wolverhampton Council, operated by AEG Presents and is a Grade II listed building.
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Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South London, in the Lambeth district of Brixton.
Lindisfarne are an English folk rock band from Newcastle upon Tyne established in 1968. The original line-up comprised Alan Hull, Ray Jackson, Simon Cowe, Rod Clements and Ray Laidlaw (drums).
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Hammersmith, London, it is an art deco Grade II* listed building.
No Sleep 'til Hammersmith is the first live album by English rock band Motörhead, released in June 1981 by Bronze Records. It peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by the release of the single "Motorhead" on 3 July, which peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 6.
The O2 Apollo Manchester (known locally as The Apollo and formerly Manchester Apollo and ABC Ardwick) is a concert venue in Ardwick Green, Manchester, England. It is a Grade II listed building, with a capacity of 3,500 (2,514 standing, 986 seats).
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The Manchester Academy, originally known as the University of Manchester Main Hall, is composed of four concert venues, located on the campus of the University of Manchester, in Manchester, England. The four venues are: Academy 1, 2 and 3 and Club Academy. Utilised by the Students' Union, the venues are housed in two buildings, the original Students' Union built in 1957 and the academy, built in 1990. In 2004, after the merging of the universities, the venues carried the "Academy" moniker. Unlike other music venues named "Academy" in the UK, Manchester Academy is not owned or managed by the Academy Music Group.
NX Newcastle, formerly known as the Carling Academy and the O2 Academy Newcastle, is a music venue in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in the former Majestic Ballroom building on 14 October 2005 as the Carling Academy, and was renamed the O2 Academy for sponsorship reasons in 2008. The venue was managed by Academy Music Group until early 2022, when Electric Group took over the operation of the site. Following a complete refurbishment, it reopened as NX Newcastle in September 2022.
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Lindsay Raymond "Ray" Jackson is an English mandolin and harmonica player. He was a member and also joint lead vocalist, with Alan Hull, of the folk-rock group Lindisfarne from their original formation in 1970 until his departure in 1990. The group's drummer Ray Laidlaw shared the same forename, and thus Jackson was generally known in the group as "Jacka".
The following is a list of bands and musicians from the North East and Yorkshire of England, by town or city. Those to have a number one single are shown in bold.
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Brendan Healy was a British entertainer from North East England. Beginning as a musician, he worked in television, becoming an actor, theatre writer and producer, and, later, a comedian.
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