The Tower Theater is a music venue in

Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule Township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the township had a total popul ...

, a suburb of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. It opened in 1927, and has been a globally popular venue for music acts since the 1970s. In 2018, the Tower Theater was named one of the ten best live music venues in the United States by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine. Known for its acoustic properties, the venue has been used for recording live albums by many bands. It is a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

located in the Terminal Square section of

at the intersection of 69th and Ludlow Streets. It is adjacent to

69th Street Terminal 69th Street Transit Center is a SEPTA terminal in the Terminal Square area of Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It serves the SEPTA Metro L, M, D, and multiple SEPTA bus routes. It is located at the end of 69th Street, a major retail corri ...

just outside of

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...

History

20th century

The Tower Theater, built in 1927, was opened the following year by John H. McClatchy as one of Upper Darby Township's first movie houses. Located just outside the city limits of

, the theater thrived in the busy area that was once the most highly traveled route to Center City from the west. In its early years, Tower Theater showed both

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

acts and movies. By the 1970s, the Tower, then owned by the A.M. Ellis chain, had fallen on hard times, and was showing third-run movies for $1 admission. In 1972, after refurbishing the theater from a severe fire, Midnight Sun Concerts promoted its first concert at the Tower. The sold-out show featured

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who came to prominence in 1967 as a founding member of the rock band Traffic. While with Traffic, he wrote and sang lead vocals on two of the b ...

and Buzzy Linhart on June 14. Reviewer Jonathan Takiff of the ''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a daily newspaper in Philadelphia. The ''Dail ...

'' wrote the following day that, "Philly Finally Has its Fillmore", making reference to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's famed

Fillmore East The Fillmore East was Promoter (entertainment), rock promoter Bill Graham (promoter), Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue near 6th Street (Manhattan), East 6th Street on the Lower East Side section of Manhattan, ...

. Midnight Sun was formed by Rick Green, its president and talent booker; Peter Wertimer, who met Rick while a student at Penn in charge of the university's concerts and who later became Rick's stage manager at a series of shows at the Central Theater in Passaic, NJ; and Billy Stevenson, Peter's friend and stage managing partner who had seen movies at the Tower as a kid. After booking several Dave Mason shows, Rick made Midnight Sun's home at 69th and Market. Peter became the company's general manager, handling advertising and PR between shows and transitioning to house manager on show days. Billy served as backsatage manager. Other notable employees were Pat Gibbons, the first box office manager who went on to act as business manager for David Bowie and Joe Jackson; David Fricke who assisted in Press Relations before graduating to become a writer at Rolling Stone Magazine; and Debbie Gold who would go on to a career in record production. In 1972, the Tower introduced

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and the Spiders from Mars and

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

, to the United States. Then unknown Genesis played a midnight concert with a $4 admission price. In September 1974,

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

, who had an early, strong, and long-lived fan base in

, introduced the world to his new

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...

, with

Max Weinberg Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' an ...

and

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synth ...

, at the Tower Theater. It was the first time in his career that Springsteen earned $5,000 for a night's work. He returned in early November for two sold-out shows, a year prior to his big breakthrough with ''

Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. Co- produced by Springsteen with his manager Mike Appel and the producer Jon Landau, its recordin ...

'' and its associated publicity. Other regular Midnight Sun headliners at the Tower included

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

, Steve Miller,

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

and various editions of the

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

/ Merle Saunders band.

repaid his Philly fans by recording his 1974 ''

David Live ''David Live'' is the first official live album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released through RCA Records in October 1974. The album was recorded in July of that year, on the initial leg of Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour, at the ...

'' album during a long run of shows at the Tower. The

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) was a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They were best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their alb ...

's live album, ''Person to Person'', was recorded at the Tower with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

in the production truck behind the theater. In late 1975, the owners informed Midnight Sun that they were selling the theater to the promoter's much larger competitor, Electric Factory Concerts. The final Midnight Sun produced show at the Tower was

10cc 10cc are an English rock music, rock band formed in Stockport, southeast of Manchester, in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded togethe ...

, the British pop quartet, with Rory Gallagher opening, on December 5, 1975. In October 1977, Irish rock band

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

recorded their live album ''

Still Dangerous ''Still Dangerous'' is a live album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. It was compiled from two live concerts by the band at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, U.S., just outside of Philadelphia, at 20 and 21 October 1977 duri ...

'', which was released on March 2, 2009. A 1980 performance by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

was developed into '' Paul Simon in Concert'', and released a second time in 2003 as '' Live at the Tower Theatre''.

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

performed twice at Tower Theater: March 13, 1982 and January 7, 1997.

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

guitarist

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

performed three solo concerts at the Theater in May 1984 in support of his '' About Face'' album. The Tower Theater happened to be a popular venue for Berliner's

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

since they played here four times on their North American tours. Dates included April 6, 1977; June 25, 1986; September 10, 1988; and October 10, 1992. Metal acts

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

, Exodus and

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first ...

also performed at the theater during the

Headbangers Ball Tour The Headbangers Ball Tour was a North American tour presented by MTV's Headbangers Ball, which took place in April and May 1989. It was headlined by American thrash metal band Anthrax, and supported by Exodus and Helloween. History The tour be ...

in 1989. It was not unusual at a Tower show to observe the following rock journalists huddling together during the intermission and comparing notes:

David Fricke David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...

, Matt Damsker,

Bill Mandel William Marx Mandel (June 4, 1917 – November 24, 2016) was an American broadcast journalist, Left-wing politics, left-wing political activist, and author, best known as a Sovietology, Soviet affairs analyst. He was born in New York City. Sen ...

, Jon Takiff, John David Kalodner, together with

Ed Sciaky Edward Leon Sciaky (April 2, 1948–January 29, 2004) was an American rock radio disc jockey who spent his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia area. Early life and education He was born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia, where ...

and Michael Tearson from the city's progressive rock radio station

WMMR WMMR (93.3 FM, "93-3 WMMR") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC and broadcasts an active rock radio format. ...

. Bowie and Genesis's

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

would subsequently mention their Tower shows as being instrumental in introducing them to an American audience. A concert by Jethro Tull on November 25, 1987 was recorded for broadcast by the ''

King Biscuit Flower Hour The ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' was an American syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock music recording artists. History The program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 1 ...

''. On November 10, 1988, a performance by

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (née Andrzejewski; formerly and still professionally Benatar ; born January 10, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 US ''Billboa ...

was recorded by

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

for the "Superstar Concert Series."

21st century

By the 2000s, the theater continued to be active, filling much the same role in the concert hierarchy as the Beacon Theatre in

. The theater operates under the

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 ...

/Electric Factory Concerts name. On August 13, 2019, the tower on top of the venue was removed due to structural issues with the base; the ball and lettering are to be donated to a local museum. Replacement plans are under development.Philadelphia Inquirer

References

External links

*
Glide Magazine profile of theater
{{Authority control 1927 establishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Live Nation Entertainment Music venues completed in 1927 Theatres completed in 1927 Theatres in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Delaware County, Pennsylvania