Address | 8 Talbot Street |
---|---|
Location | Nottingham, England |
Coordinates | 52°57′22″N1°09′16″W / 52.9561°N 1.1544°W |
Owner | DHP Family Ltd |
Type | Music venue and Nightclub |
Genre(s) | Alternative |
Seating type | Primarily standing, some seating |
Capacity | 2,000 |
Opened | 1980 |
Website | |
rock-city |
Rock City is a music venue and nightclub located in Nottingham, England. It is owned by venue operator and concert promoter DHP Family.
It opened in December 1980, first hosting The Undertones, and has gone on to host some of the biggest names in alternative music, as well as maintaining a number of weekly club nights. It has been described by NME as "sweaty but truly indie" [1] and has received numerous awards, including Kerrang! magazine's Venue of the Year for ten consecutive years. [2]
Rock City is based in Nottingham City Centre, with a capacity of 2,000. [3] The club features six bars spread across three rooms. The Main Hall and the Basement (Beta) rooms are all-standing during gigs. The third room, the Black Cherry Lounge, is operated separately (prior to September 2011 it was known as The Rig). [4] Rock City plays host to various sized gigs, from smaller upcoming bands of the underground and local scene, to bands that are in the charts.
The building opened as the Alexandra Skating Rink on 23 November 1876 [5] and was renamed Victoria Halls in 1887. [6] It closed in May 1928 and the proprietor, Mr. Walker started a new venture with a new Palais de Danse which was opened in 1929 in Greyfriars Hall, Greyfriar Gate.
Prior to Rock City the building was called The Heart of the Midlands, which hosted variety acts including the inaugural World Professional Darts Championship in 1978. [2] The building was taken over by Sammy Jackson, who already owned a club called the Retford Porterhouse where he had booked bands such as AC/DC and The Clash, along with George Akins Snr., a local bookmaker, who bankrolled the new venture. [7] The club was managed by Paul Mason, who would go on to manage Manchester's Haçienda nightclub, [1] and had Iron Maiden booked to be the band to open the venue, although unfinished electrics resulted in the gig being cancelled. [7] As a result, Orange Juice became the first band to play at Rock City on 11 December 1980 supporting The Undertones, [8] who ended the gig with "Teenage Kicks". [7]
Rock City underwent a major refit in 1982 which included a purpose-built sound system, lighting rig and two video screens. [9] Although the club remained faithful to the spirit of rock, with riots at sold-out gigs by The Pogues and Ozzy Osbourne, [1] it was never restricted by genre as by 1982 the club already had a well-established Futurist night every Saturday and were considering starting a student night on Thursdays, approaching DJ Jonathan Woodliffe, who performed the first Thursday night to a crowd of about 400 people. [9] Following the success of Thursday nights the club looked at introducing a dance night, initially playing a mixture of European electronica and American releases, although this was not as successful and was cancelled after a few months. [9] It was replaced by a jazz, funk and soul night which was advertised by word of mouth and was well received. To add to the diversity in music, Rock City also hosted all-age hip-hop jams on Saturday afternoons, establishing breakdancers the Rock City Crew, and the club would also host the first performance of Bring the Noise in the UK by Public Enemy. [1]
As alternative music changed, Rock City changed with it. Grunge and punk became popular in the first part of the 90's, with bands such as Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine appearing. The intimate environment allowed for band members such as Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain to sit at the bar with fans after their gigs. [1] Equally, as Britpop became established, Rock City found itself hosting the likes of Oasis and Blur. [7] The Nineties also saw the club change management, as George Akins Jnr. took over at his father's request in 1994, aged just 19 and having previously worked on the bar and cloakroom. [10]
In keeping with music trends, the new millennium saw Rock City play host to more dance music events. The Rig situated beneath the Main Hall was annexed and operated as a separate venue.[ citation needed ]
Rock City has remained one of the biggest names on the live circuit for alternative bands and celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2016. [7] In January 2019, the dancefloor was replaced for the first time in forty years. [11]
In November 2018, over 2000 concertgoers were evacuated from the sold out Lil Pump gig. Nottinghamshire police stated this was due to a smoke flare. The situation was described as "panic" as people struggled to breathe, vomited and cried. The area was cordoned off as emergency workers attended the venue. Only minor injuries were said to have been sustained. [12] [13] Later that evening, as the gig had been cancelled, Lil Pump performed on top of his tour bus at the back of the venue for waiting fans.
During the 2020 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that hit the UK, Rock City, upon the gradual re-opening of bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes from 4 July in England, which excluded club venues, utilised their outdoor car-parking space to newly establish the Yard Bar in order to engage in commerce while maintaining government guided social distancing measures. [14]
In January 2013, Nottinghamshire police stated that between September 2011 and August 2012, 10% of all mobile phones stolen in the Nottinghamshire area were stolen at Rock City. Bart Easter, the club's general manager, claimed that organised crime gangs who followed bands on tour were partly to blame. [15] Rock City also faced backlash because of the increase in spiking through needles in Nottingham in 2021 [16]
The venue currently hosts four club nights: [17]
The following is a list of recordings made at Rock City:
• New Model Army - Live at Rock City - Nottingham - 28th Feb 1989 (2020)
The Glee Club is a chain of independent live stand-up comedy and live music venues in the UK. The first Glee Club was opened by Mark Tughan in Birmingham's Chinese Quarter in 1994, the first dedicated comedy club to open in the United Kingdom outside London.
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.
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts.
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally built in 1903 as a music hall for impresario Oswald Stoll, designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham; among its early performers was Charlie Chaplin. In 1953 it became the BBC Television Theatre. Since 1994, it has operated as a music venue. It is a Grade II listed building.
The Cockpit was a club and music venue in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Formerly the Cock of the North pub, the venue was located on Swinegate, close to Leeds station. It hosted small to medium-sized touring artists as well as occasional showcases for local acts. The venue's main room held 500, whilst the second room held 250, and the small upstairs room held 125.
Antony Moore is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio presenter and music promoter. He was a member of Iron Maiden in the late 1970s prior to the release of their first album. In 1986 he was the keyboard player with the band Cutting Crew, appearing on their hit single "I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight," and founded The Kashmir Klub in 1997 to showcase live music in London.
The Guvernment, formerly known as RPM, was a nightclub complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was also the name of one of the two main performance venues within the complex. The other venue was Kool Haus. Other smaller rooms within the complex included: The Drink, D'Luxe Lounge, The Orange Room, SkyBar, Charlies, Tanja and Acid Lounge. The Guvernment opened in 1996 and closed in early 2015. The Kool Haus venue became known for hosting the first ever concert performance by Canadian rapper and singer Drake.
Bottom of the Hill is a concert venue located at the corner of 17th and Missouri streets in the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco, California. According to Rolling Stone, the Bottom of the Hill is the best place to hear live music in San Francisco. It has repeatedly won the Readers' Poll Best of The Bay award for Rock venue, including 10 years in a row from 2003 to 2012. Bottom is described as the heart of San Francisco's indie rock scene and is among the most active venues in the city, usually holding shows seven nights a week. The venue contains a large antique bar, kitchen serving hot food, and patio.
The Music in Leeds encompasses a variety of styles and genres, including rock, pop and electronic. While groups like Soft Cell, the Kaiser Chiefs, the Wedding Present, Utah Saints and the Bridewell Taxis have gained success in the mainstream, Gang of Four, the Sisters of Mercy, Chumbawamba and the Mission have helped to define genres like punk rock, gothic rock and post-punk.
The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music. It, along with the nearby music scene in Newport, has brought a number of musicians to perform or begin their careers in South Wales.
Limelight is a live music and night club venue complex in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which initially opened in 1987. The complex, located on the city's Ormeau Avenue, consists of Limelight 1 & Limelight 2, as well as a bar called Katy's Bar. The outdoor terrace is called The Rock Garden.
The Brudenell Social Club is a live music venue and social club in Hyde Park, Leeds, England. While being a social enterprise, it retains the "community atmosphere of its origins as a working men's club". The club is split into three areas—a 400 capacity concert room, a bar area and games room section and a second 400 capacity concert area, known as the Community Room, which opened in 2017.
The Dot to Dot Festival is an annual music festival taking place since 2005, currently held at various venues in Nottingham, Bristol and previously Manchester across May bank holiday weekend.
D.I.D, formerly known as Dog Is Dead, are a five-piece indie pop band from West Bridgford, Nottingham, who have described their music as "an original blend of harmonious, indie-pop in the disco, with a cheeky jazz hint" and "uplifting pop for jazz junkies and choir folk". The band consists of Robert Howie Milton, Rob 'Paul Roberts' White, Joss Van Wilder, Lawrence 'Trev' Cole and Daniel Harvey (drums).
Splendour in Nottingham is an annual, mostly one-day music festival held in Nottingham, England since 2008. Organised by Nottingham City Council and DHP Family Ltd, the event is held within Wollaton Park, to the west of Nottingham City Centre. The first event was held in 2008 as a two-day event featuring artists Kate Nash, Paolo Nutini, Ocean Colour Scene and Rufus Wainwright. In 2019 the capacity of the festival was 25,000.
The Soul Rebels are an eight-piece New Orleans based brass ensemble that incorporate elements of soul, jazz, funk, hip-hop, rock and pop music within a contemporary brass band framework.
Just the Tonic is a comedy club with branches in Nottingham and Leicester, which also takes acts to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The club opened in Nottingham in 1994, followed by a Leicester branch in 2012.
Oslo is a live music venue, bar and club, located in Hackney Central, East London. It was one of the first clubs to open in the area.
The Lexington is a pub and music venue on Pentonville Road in Islington, London that opened in 2008. The bar specialises in bourbon, as well as American craft beer. The building it is in was built over 1875 to 1876 and was originally known as The Belvidere Tavern.
The Newport music scene, in and around Wales' third city, has been well documented and acclaimed for cultivating bands, singers, and famous music venues. Newport has been traditionally a rock city since the 1970s, but it has evolved over the years to include forms of punk, 1990s alt-rock, and more recently metal and hip-hop.