The O₂ Apollo Manchester (known locally as The Apollo and formerly Manchester Apollo and ABC Ardwick) is a concert venue in

Ardwick Green Ardwick Green is a public space in Ardwick, Manchester, England. It began as a private park for the residents of houses surrounding it before Manchester acquired it in 1867 and turned it into a public park with an ornamental pond and a bandsta ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, with a capacity of 3,500 (2,514 standing, 986 seats).

History

The building was designed by architects Peter Cummings, Alex Irvine, and R. Gillespie Williams, in an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style. The building's frontage consists of a glazed white terracotta

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

. Its original purpose was as a multi-purpose cinema and variety hall and was opened on 29 August 1938 by actress Margaret Lockwood. It was taken over by Associated British Cinemas in 1943, but it began to host pop concerts in the 1960s. The

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

performed at two shows at the ABC Ardwick on 20 November 1963 which were filmed, in colour. They performed here again on 7 December 1965.

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

performed at the ABC Ardwick with

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

, and Peter Jay & the New Jaywalkers on 28 September 1966. In the 1970s, it stopped presenting films and became solely a concert venue. It also hosts seated events to a capacity of 2,693. Split into two levels, the upstairs contains permanently fitted seating, whereas the larger downstairs can be altered to suit the event; both levels view a single concert stage. The venue has no air-conditioning except in the "Whiteroom" hospitality area. It was the biggest venue in Manchester before the 23,000 capacity (formerly 21,000 capacity) NYNEX Arena, now

AO Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Prior to the opening of ...

, opened in 1995. The largest venue in Manchester is now the

Co-op Live Co-op Live is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, sited in the Etihad Campus next to the City of Manchester Stadium. It opened on 14 May 2024 and is the List of indoor arenas in Europe, largest indoor arena in the UK by capacity, and List ...

Arena with a capacity of 23,500. The venue hosts a large number of

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 ...

-based concerts and other events throughout the year. Concert management and advertisement is handled by

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...

, merchandise is sold by the permanent resident concession company CMI Ltd, and

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

cover for all events is provided by

St. John Ambulance St John Ambulance is an affiliated movement of charitable organisations in mostly Commonwealth countries which provide first aid education and consumables and emergency medical services. St John organisations are primarily staffed by volunte ...

. In September 2010, the venue was rebranded as the O₂ Apollo Manchester, following a sponsorship deal with O₂.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

* {{Authority control 1938 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1938 Grade II listed buildings in Manchester Former cinemas in Manchester Music venues in Manchester Art Deco architecture in England Wrestling venues in the United Kingdom

History

See also

References

External links