The Newcastle City Hall (currently known as O
2 City Hall Newcastle for sponsorship reasons) is a
concert hall
A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats.
This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
located in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It has hosted many
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
and classical artists throughout the years, as well as standup and comedy acts. The venue is operated by
Academy Music Group
Academy Music Group (AMG) is a leading owner-operator of music venues in the United Kingdom. They operate a number of medium-sized venues, the majority of which (until January 2009) took the name Carling Academy after their sponsor Carling. Som ...
and named under a group sponsorship agreement with telecoms company
O2. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
The building was designed by Nicholas & Dixon-Spain and opened in 1927 as a part of a development which also included the adjacent
Newcastle City Baths.
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.
The city hall formed the east side of the complex and, like the city baths, the design involved a tall
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
with central
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...
columns between flanking
antae
The Antes, or Antae ( gr, Ἄνται), were an early East Slavic tribal polity of the 6th century CE. They lived on the lower Danube River, in the northwestern Black Sea region (present-day Moldova and central Ukraine), and in the regions aro ...
with five square windows above.
[
In November 2012, ]Newcastle City Council
Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...
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. Council leader Nick Forbes pre-empted the outcome of the consultations process by stating that the City Hall has ''"No long-term future"''. 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.
In April 2016 it was announced that the Theatre Royal Trust had taken over management of the venue and, in May 2019, the Theatre Royal Trust transferred the City Hall operations to Academy Music Group
Academy Music Group (AMG) is a leading owner-operator of music venues in the United Kingdom. They operate a number of medium-sized venues, the majority of which (until January 2009) took the name Carling Academy after their sponsor Carling. Som ...
, who operate the nearby O2 Academy Newcastle, and the venue was renamed as O2 City Hall Newcastle.
Organ
An organ, design and built by Harrison and Harrison
Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company that makes and restores pipe organs, based in Durham and established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and the R ...
was installed in 1928, to enable the building to operate as the city's first dedicated concert venue. 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.
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.
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
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
status.
Noted musical acts
The local rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
band, The Animals
The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...
, reunited and performed for a one-off performance at the City Hall in 1968.
On 7 May 1971, American country rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
performed there as part of their 1971 UK Tour and, in December 1976, as a one-off gig, local folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
band, Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...
, played three sell-out concerts in the City Hall.
Rock group, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...
, recorded their live album, ''Pictures at an Exhibition
''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite (music), suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's ...
'', there on 26 March 1971: Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...
played the whole first ''Promenade'' on the City Hall organ.
The singer-songwriter, David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, performed in the City Hall in January 1973 during his Ziggy Stardust Tour
The Ziggy Stardust Tour was a concert tour by David Bowie during 1972–73, to promote the studio albums ''Hunky Dory'', ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' and '' Aladdin Sane''. Bowie was accompanied by his backi ...
and the rock band, Wishbone Ash
Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included ''Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage'' (1971), '' Argus'' (1972), ''Wishbone Four'' (1973), ''There's the Rub'' (1974), and '' ...
, recorded tracks at the City Hall for the live album Live Dates
This is the complete discography of the rock band Wishbone Ash. Over the years they have released 24 studio albums, 12 live albums, 10 compilation albums and 20 singles.
Albums
Studio albums
Other albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
S ...
in June 1973. Meanwhile, the rock band, Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...
, recorded tracks for Viva Roxy Music at the City Hall in October 1974.
In 1981, rock band, Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...
, recorded the majority of the tracks for their live album, ''No Sleep 'til Hammersmith
''No Sleep 'til Hammersmith'' is the first live album by English rock band Motörhead, released on 22 June 1981 via Bronze Records. It peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by the release of the single " Motorhead" (backed ...
'', at the City Hall. Later that year, rock band, Slade
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...
, performed and recorded their show, which was later released as a live album, entitled ''Slade on Stage
''Slade on Stage'' is the third live album by the British rock band Slade. It was recorded at Newcastle City Hall on 18 December 1981 and released almost a year later on 11 December 1982. The album, produced by the band, reached No. 58 in the UK. ...
''.
The German rock band, Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...
, played at the city hall in October 1997 and Ray Jackson performed with a new lineup of Lindisfarne in December 2013.
See also
*List of concert halls
A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats.
This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Music venues in Tyne and Wear
Culture in Newcastle upon Tyne
Music venues completed in 1927
City Hall Newcastle
Grade II listed buildings in Tyne and Wear