"The Palais" | |
 Exterior sign used from 2003 to 2007. | |
 The Hammersmith Palais in 1969, when it was celebrating its golden jubilee. | |
 Interactive map of Hammersmith Palais | |
| Former names | Hammersmith Palais de Danse, Le Palais |
|---|---|
| Address | 242 Shepherd's Bush Road LondonW6 7NL United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°29′38.6″N00°13′26.9″W / 51.494056°N 0.224139°W /51.494056; -0.224139 |
| Owner | Howard Booker and Frank Mitchell (1919–) Mecca Leisure Group (1960–1990) Rank Group (1990–1999) Po Na Na Group (1999–2003) Barvest (2003–2006) Parkway Properties (2006–2012) |
| Type | Dance hall,music venue,nightclub |
| Event | Entertainment |
| Capacity | 2,500[1] |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 28 November 1919 |
| Closed | April 2007 |
| Years active | 87 |
TheHammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply namedHammersmith Palais, was adance hall and entertainment venue inHammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the firstpalais de danse[nb 1] to be built in Britain.[3][4] In 2009, it was named by theBrecon Jazz Festival as one of twelve venues which had made the most important contributions tojazz music in the United Kingdom.[5]
The Palais occupied a large site on theA219 at 242 Shepherd's Bush Road, LondonW6, near the circular system under theA4Hammersmith flyover. The area has twoLondon Underground stations, a bus station, and the road network atHammersmith Broadway.[3]
Built in 1910 on a site formerly occupied by atram shed[3] forLondon United Tramways, the Brook Green Roller Skating Rink,[1] which may have been closed since 1915,[nb 2] was acquired at the end of theFirst World War by North American entrepreneurs Howard Booker and Frank Mitchell,[3][4] to convert it into a place to hostballroom dancing and various kinds of dance bands, among which were the new jazz bands. This first incarnation of the Hammersmith Palais was the work of architectBertie Crewe.[1] Its Chinese-style decoration featured lacquered columns, fretwork and a pagoda roof with silk lanterns;[1][3] in the centre of the expensivesprung dance floor,[3] made of Canadian maple,[1] was a model mountain with a replica Chinese village and a fountain;[3] while at each end thereof, was a low-rise bandstand encased in glass, to allow two bands to play alternate numbers for the dancers.[3][6][7] The venue, which also featured a restaurant and a café,[3] was considered at the time to be the largest and most luxurious establishment of its kind in Europe.[1] The Hammersmith Palais de Danse opening night took place on 28 November 1919.[6][7]Nick LaRocca'sOriginal Dixieland Jazz Band, in those days on tour from America, played regularly at the Palais from that first night until June 1920.[8][9][10] Many of the famous jazz stars of the day would appear in concert there, including American jazz singerAdelaide Hall, who performed at the venue during the week from 27 March to 2 April 1939, accompanied byFela Sowande and his Florida Club Orchestra.[11]
During theGreat Depression, while dance halls saw a reduction in attendance,ice skating came into fashion instead, and replaced dancing as the most popular leisure activity.[12] The Palais site was therefore converted into anice rink,[1][13] which was opened on 30 December 1929, with the originalLondon Lions ice hockey team using it as a base. However, the craze proved short-lived,[13] and by late 1934 the rink had reverted to being a dance hall.[1] A new maple dance floor at a cost of £5,000 was installed in the venue.[14]
In 1959,Joe Loss and hisOrchestra, with singersRose Brennan,Ross MacManus and Larry Gretton, became the resident dance band at the Palais.[15] For the next decade, they were a regular feature every night, except on Monday's "Record Night" when only recorded music was played and no alcohol was served from the bar.[nb 3] The stage and rehearsal room were within earshot of the Chief Superintendent's office inHammersmith Police Station, leading one of its occupants to observe "where else can visitors to a police station be soothed by the sound of famous dance bands?".[17] In 1960, theMecca organisation acquired the Palais.[15] Other house bands during the 1960s and 1970s included Andy Ross,Ken Mackintosh,[18] Tony Evans, and Zodiac.[19] On many Saturday nights, in excess of 2,000 people would visit the venue. One of the features was a huge revolving stage with a band on each side (this also caused a number of accidents when microphones and stands were left on the revolve).
The Hammersmith Palais remained a popular dance venue from its start to the late 1980s, from then on hosting mainly live music gigs, but also dance nights and private events.[20] The venue accommodated the popular School-Disco club night with its resident band, On-On, which subsequently moved to theLondon Forum inKentish Town. Promoters Onyx Promotions championed Brit-Asian bands and DJs, includingDCS,Heera,Juggy D,Panjabi Hit Squad,Premi,RDB,Rishi Rich and Xzecutive/San-j Sanj. TheStudents' Union atImperial College School of Medicine frequently hired the Palais as a venue for student nights.
The Palais played host to countless artists; among themBill Haley & His Comets (1974),the Beatles,the Rolling Stones,The Who,David Bowie, theSex Pistols,Elvis Costello andthe Attractions,the Cure,U2,the Jesus and Mary Chain,the Fall,Robert Plant & theStrange Sensation,Hanoi Rocks,Big Bang andKylie Minogue andthe Police. "There was the night[in 1979] when we drove in an armoured military vehicle from our show at theHammersmith Odeon to another the same night at the Hammersmith Palais," recalled Police drummerStewart Copeland, "while the people from both concerts were all on the street."[21]
Bands such asPiL,the Cramps andSoft Cell, who played their "farewell" concerts there in January 1984, made the venue popular for London gig-goers.
This venue also served as a stage for renowned Latin artists, including the legendary Cuban singerCelia Cruz, known as the Queen of Salsa.
From 1999 to 2003, the Palais was owned by the Po Na Na Group, which converted it into a themed nightclub calledPo Na Na Hammersmith.[15]
On 20 March 2007, despite its importance to Britain's cultural history,[20] the Hammersmith Palais was condemned for demolition.[15][22][23] Among the artists playing the last concerts at the venue wereKasabian,Idlewild, andJamie T. On 31 March, the unnamedDamon Albarn-fronted band, informally known asThe Good, the Bad & the Queen, performed a show which was promoted as the venue's official send-off.[24][25] However, the following evening, 1 April (scheduled before it was known that the building was to be sold), there was a performance by the Fall, which was also promoted as the Palais' last night.[26] A recording and avideo of this concert was subsequently released as a live album titledLast Night at The Palais.[27] In the end, none of these events was truly the last: the final gig at the Hammersmith Palais took place on 3 May 2007, and was byGroove Armada to launch their albumSoundboy Rock.[28]
Film producer and director Richard Weller made a documentary forBBC Television about the venue's history, titledLast Man at the Palais.[29] It was first screened onBBC Four on Christmas Eve 2007.[30] Near the end of the film, ballroom dancerLyndon Wainwright performs "The Last Waltz" on the dance floor of the Palais.[29]
Following its closure as a music venue, proposals for the site included use as an office and restaurant complex, or a students' hall of residence.Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council had been expected to rule on the proposed demolition and development in November 2009;[25][31] however, on 27 October 2009, the council rejected plans to turn the Hammersmith Palais site into student flats.[nb 4]
In July 2010, the Planning Inspectorate held a week-longpublic inquiry and rejected an appeal by a development company against a council decision to block a proposed development. The developers were London & Regional (Hammersmith), who were given leave to submit an amended application.[33][34]
The Palais was finally demolished in May 2012.[20][35] A new building was constructed on the site, and in September 2013 opened as a luxury student hall of residence, advertised as being on the site of the Hammersmith Palais.[36]
Michael Monroe's 1993–1994 bandDemolition 23 recorded a track called "Hammersmith Palais" on their 1994 self-titled album. The song, a nostalgic description of the 1980s club scene in London, was written by Monroe, Jude Wilder and Little Steven (Steven Van Zandt).
The venue provides inspiration for theDan Wilde track "Hammersmith Palais", from his 2016 album"Rhythm on the City Wall".
The venue is named in several songs, including:
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