 Exterior of venue (c.2018) | |
 Interactive map of O2 City Hall Newcastle | |
| Former names | Newcastle City Hall(1927-2019) |
|---|---|
| Address | Northumberland Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8SFEngland |
| Coordinates | 54°58′39″N1°36′37″W / 54.9774°N 1.6102°W /54.9774; -1.6102 |
| Operator | Academy Music Group |
| Type | Concert hall |
| Capacity | 2,135 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1927 (1927) |
| Website | |
| Venue Website | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Northumberland Baths / City Hall |
| Designated | 8 May 1992 |
| Reference no. | 1242013 |
TheNewcastle City Hall (currently known asO2 City Hall Newcastle for sponsorship reasons) is aconcert hall located inNewcastle upon Tyne,England. It has hosted manypopular music and classical artists throughout the years, as well as standup and comedy acts. The venue is operated byAcademy Music Group, which is part owned byLive Nation,[1] and named under a group sponsorship agreement with telecoms companyO2. It is a Grade II listed building.[2]
The building was designed by Nicholas & Dixon-Spain[3] and opened on 7 November 1928[4] as a part of a development which also included the adjacentNewcastle City Baths.[5] 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.[5] The city hall formed the east side of the complex and, like the city baths, the design involved a tallportico with centralDoric order columns between flankingantae with five square windows above.[2]
In November 2012,Newcastle City Council 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.[6] Council leader Nick Forbes pre-empted the outcome of the consultations process by stating that the City Hall has"No long-term future".[7] 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.[8]
In April 2016 it was announced that theTheatre Royal Trust had taken over management of the venue[9] and, in May 2019, the Theatre Royal Trust transferred the City Hall operations toAcademy Music Group, and the venue was renamed as O2 City Hall Newcastle.[10]
An organ, design and built byHarrison and Harrison was installed in 1928, to enable the building to operate as the city's first dedicated concert venue.[5] 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.[11]
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.[12]
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 IIlisted building status.[13]
The building was used as a public venue from an early stage and concert performers included thecontralto singer,Kathleen Ferrier, who made an appearance on 22 April 1953.[14]
Bob Dylan performed there during his1965 tour of England on 6 May 1965.[15] Englishrock bandThe Rolling Stones performed at the City Hall with AmericanR&B duoIke & Tina Turner and English rock bandThe Yardbirds on 1 October 1966.[16]
The rock bandThe Who appeared at the City Hall in October 1967,[17] and the local R&B bandThe Animals reunited and performed for a one-off performance at the City Hall in 1968.[18]
On 7 May 1971, American rock bandThe Byrds performed there as part of their 1971 UK Tour[19] and, in December 1976, as a one-off gig, localfolk rock bandLindisfarne played three sell-out concerts in the City Hall.[20]
The rock groupEmerson, Lake & Palmer recorded their live albumPictures at an Exhibition there on 26 March 1971:Keith Emerson played the whole firstPromenade on the City Hall organ.[21]
On April 11, 1972,The Grateful Dead performed at Newcastle City Hall[22] as part of their tour of Europe that year. The complete show was released as volume 3 of theEurope '72: The Complete Recordings box set.[23]
The singer-songwriterDavid Bowie performed in the City Hall in January 1973 during hisZiggy Stardust Tour[24] and the rock bandWishbone Ash recorded tracks at the City Hall for the live albumLive Dates in June 1973.[25] Meanwhile, the rock bandRoxy Music recorded tracks for Viva Roxy Music at the City Hall in October 1974.[26]
In 1981, rock bandMotörhead recorded the majority of the tracks for their live albumNo Sleep 'til Hammersmith at the City Hall.[27] Later that year rock bandSlade performed and recorded their show, which was later released as a live album, entitledSlade on Stage.[28]
The German rock band,Rammstein, played at the city hall in October 1997[29] andRay Jackson performed with a new lineup of Lindisfarne in December 2013.[30]
Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|