 | |
 | |
| Former names | King's Cross Cinema |
|---|---|
| Address | 275 Pentonville Road, London N1 9NL |
| Location | King's Cross, London |
| Type | Nightclub (previously Cinema) |
| Capacity | 1,145 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1920 |
| Opened | 1999 |
| Website | |
| Scala.co.uk | |
Scala is a former cinema turned nightclub and live music venue in Pentonville Road, London, England, near King's Cross railway station.
The Scala was originally built as a cinema to the designs of H Courtney Constantine, but construction was interrupted by the First World War and it spent some time being used to manufacture aircraft parts, and as a labour exchange for demobilised troops before opening in 1920 as the King's Cross Cinema. [1] The cinema changed hands and names several times through its life and also changed focus, ranging from mainstream to art-house to adult film over 70 years, as well as spending a short time as a primatarium. [2]
In the summer of 1972, the King's Cross Cinema played host to the only UK concert by Iggy & The Stooges, who were in London recording the album Raw Power . All photographs later featured in the Raw Power album sleeve (including the famous cover shot) were taken that night during the show by Mick Rock. The cover shot of the Lou Reed LP Transformer was also taken that summer at the venue by Rock as well.
Intended to be an alternative National Film Theatre, the Scala Film Club (which took its name from Scala House, its home on Tottenham Street) moved to this venue in 1981 under the management of Stephen Woolley. [3] However, when the Scala showed the film A Clockwork Orange , then withdrawn from UK distribution, the copyright holder Warner Bros. sued at Kubrick's insistence, and won. [4] As a result, Scala was almost rendered bankrupt and closed in 1993; however, the club was re-opened in 1999. The cinema had been refitted, with the lower seating area incorporating the new stage, DJ booth and dancefloor, while the upper seating area incorporated a second room and a DJ booth.
Scala now plays host to many eclectic club nights, and has featured live music acts including Jon Boden, The Midnight, Smoke Fairies, Shed Seven, The Libertines, Deftones, Slaves, Outlandish, Laibach, London Elektricity, Coldplay, Tash Sultana, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Gorillaz, Big Talk, Moby, HIM, Wheatus, Adam Ant, Sheryl Crow, Sara Bareilles, Gavin DeGraw, Ray LaMontagne, Trampled by Turtles, Doomtree, Super Furry Animals, The Chemical Brothers, Avril Lavigne, Enslaved, Spandau Ballet, Gorgoroth, Lacuna Coil, Maroon 5, The Script, Melanie C, KLOQ, Gabrielle Aplin, piri, Bastille, Wolf Alice, JAWS, Kaiser Chiefs, Jedi Mind Tricks, P!nk, Louis Tomlinson The Iterations and FEET.
In the 1980s, the Scala Cinema was known for its Shock Around The Clock horror all-nighters which would programme films such as The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue and Martin . Shock Around The Clock would be a precursor to the London FrightFest Film Festival, which ran in the 21st Century at various cinemas in and around Leicester Square. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
In 2021, Wargasm singer Sam Matlock stated that security staff at Scala had assaulted him, where the bouncers "dragged" him into the toilets, "slammed his head against the toilet seat" and "held his head in the toilet bowl". [13] Scala banned the bouncers involved from the club. [14] [15] [16]
The Scala's years as a cinema club in Tottenham Street and King's Cross are chronicled in the book SCALA CINEMA 1978-1993 written by Jane Giles and edited by Ali Catterall (FAB Press, 2018) and the film SCALA!!! Or, the incredibly strange rise and fall of the world’s wildest cinema and how it influenced a mixed-up generation of weirdos and misfits (directors: Ali Catterall, Jane Giles, 2023).
| International | |
|---|---|
| Geographic | |
Darlington is a market and industrial town in County Durham, England. It is the main administrative centre of the unitary authority Borough of Darlington. The borough is a constituent member of the devolved Tees Valley area.
Pentonville Road is a road in Central London that runs west to east from Kings Cross to City Road at The Angel, Islington. The road is part of the London Inner Ring Road and part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone.
The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in Soho, London, England, opened in 1979 by Don Ward and Peter Rosengard.
The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England, that operated from 1976 to 2009.
A bouncer is a type of security guard, employed at licensed or sanctioned venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, strip clubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, balls or movie theaters. A bouncer's duties are to provide security, to check legal age and drinking age, to refuse entry for intoxicated persons, and to deal with aggressive, violent or verbal behavior or disobedience with statutory or establishment rules. They are also charged with maintaining order, and ensuring all laws and regulations are being followed by all patrons.
Koko is a concert venue and former theatre in Camden Town, London.
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter, with Ellen E. Jones, of the BBC Radio 4 programme Screenshot and co-presenter of the film-review podcast Kermode & Mayo's Take alongside long-time collaborator Simon Mayo. He is a regular contributor to The Observer, for whom he was chief film critic between September 2013 and September 2023.
Brent Cross Shopping Centre is a large shopping centre in Hendon, north London, owned by Hammerson and Abrdn. Located by the Brent Cross interchange, it opened in 1976 as the UK's first out-of-town shopping centre. Brent Cross attracted 15–16 million shoppers a year as of 2011 and has one of the largest incomes per unit area of retail space in the country.
Stephen Woolley is an English filmmaker and actor. His career has spanned over three and a half decades, for which he was awarded the BAFTA award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in February 2019. As a producer, he has been Oscar-nominated for The Crying Game (1992), and has produced multi-Academy Award nominated films including Mona Lisa (1986), Little Voice (1998), Michael Collins (1996), The End of the Affair (1999), Interview with the Vampire (1994), and Carol (2016). He runs the production company Number 9 Films with his partner Elizabeth Karlsen.
The 12 Bar Club was a music venue in London that opened in 1994 on Denmark Street – known as Britain's "Tin Pan Alley" – just off Charing Cross Road and close to Soho.
Big Ben is the common name for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and by extension to the clock tower and the clock itself. The Great Clock of Westminster is a striking clock with five bells. The clock tower is at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and was originally known simply as the Clock Tower, but was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
The Electric Cinema is a cinema in Notting Hill, London.
The Screen on the Green is a single-screen cinema facing Islington Green in the London Borough of Islington, London. The current building was opened in 1913 and it is one of the oldest continuously running cinemas in the UK. It is an example of the many purpose-built cinemas that followed the regulations set by the Cinematograph Act 1909.
Scala or SCALA may refer to:
Josh Taylor is a Scottish professional boxer. He is a former undisputed super lightweight champion, having held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) titles between 2019 and 2022, the World Boxing Council (WBC) title between 2021 and 2022, the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) title between 2021 and 2023 and the Ring magazine title between 2019 and 2023. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth light-welterweight title from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur, he won a lightweight silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and light-welterweight gold at the 2014 edition.
The Scotsman Group is a Scottish hospitality and leisure operator based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is run by its founder Stefan King. The company operates more than 50 venues in cities all over Scotland, most notably in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Wargasm (stylised as 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐒𝐌, and sometimes known as Wargasm (UK)) are a British electronic rock duo from London. Formed in 2018 by musician Sam Matlock and model Milkie Way, they have released 11 solo singles including "Spit". which has gained 7 million streams on Spotify, and over 400 thousand views on YouTube. Alternative Press listed them as a defining part of the 2020s wave of nu metal, and NME listed them as one of 2021's essential emerging artists. The pair also took home "Best UK Breakthrough" at The Heavy Music Awards in 2021 and have received widespread acclaim from Kerrang! and Revolver. Their debut extended play (EP), Explicit: The Mixxxtape, was released on 9 September 2022 and their debut studio album, Venom, released in October 2023 charted at No. 88 in the UK Albums Chart.
Scala!!! Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits, or simply Scala!!!, is a 2023 British documentary film directed by Ali Catterall and Jane Giles.
