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Hammersmith Apollo
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The HMV Apollo is a major entertainments and concert venue located in Hammersmith, London, England. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema. It was known as the Hammersmith Odeon. In 2007, the building was purchased by the MAMA Group. On 14 January 2009, it was announced the Hammersmith Apollo is to be renamed the HMV Apollo.
venue was opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, Hammersmith and seated over 3,500 people.
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Encyclopedia
The HMV Apollo is a major entertainments and concert venue located in Hammersmith, London, England. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema. It was known as the Hammersmith Odeon. In 2007, the building was purchased by the MAMA Group. On 14 January 2009, it was announced the Hammersmith Apollo is to be renamed the HMV Apollo.
History
1930s to 1950s
The venue was opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, Hammersmith and seated over 3,500 people. It was designed by Robert Cromie in the Art Deco style.
1960s to 1980s
In 1962 the building was re-named the Hammersmith Odeon, a name many people still use for the venue along with the phonetic abbreviation "Hammy-O". The venue was later refurbished and re-named the Labatt's Apollo following a sponsorship deal. Musical Theatre Star Michael Ball was the last person to play Hammersmith when it was named 'Odeon' and the first person to play following its renaming as the 'Apollo', both during his 1993 sell out tour.
1990s to 2000s
In the early 1990s it was again re-named The Hammersmith Apollo. It became a Grade II listed building in 1990 and was upgraded to Grade II* status in 2005.
In 2002 the venue was again re-named, this time to the Carling Apollo after another brewery struck a deal with the owners, US-based Clear Channel Entertainment (spun off as Live Nation (Venues) UK Ltd in 2005).
In 2006, the venue reverted to its former name, the Hammersmith Apollo. Around this time the stalls seats were made removable and now some concerts have full seating whilst others have standing only in the stalls (i.e. no seats). In the latter format the Apollo can accommodate for around 5000 people.
In 2007 the original 1932 compton pipe organ, still present from the building's days as a cinema, was restored. The building then changed hands and was bought by the MAMA Group.
On 14 January 2009, a placing announcement by HMV Group revealed that by selling additional shares, the company will raise money to fund a joint venture with the MAMA Group, to run 11 live music venues across the United Kingdom, including the Hammersmith Apollo. As a result, the venue is to be renamed as the HMV Apollo. Other venues purchased include The Forum in London's Kentish Town, the Birmingham Institute and Aberdeen's Moshulu.
On 30th January 2009 the Britain's Got Talent Auditions wrapped up at the theatre.
Performances at the Apollo
Artists who have performed at the Apollo have included:
A-H
30 Seconds to Mars, Abba, ABC, AC/DC, Adam Ant, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Annihilator, Babyshambles, Bryan Adams, Tori Amos, Barenaked Ladies, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Blondie, Blue Öyster Cult, David Bowie, Elkie Brooks, Kate Bush, Celtic Frost, Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper, The Clash, The Cult, The Cure, Deep Purple, Depeche Mode, Dire Straits, Dream Theater, Bob Dylan, Hilary Duff, Duran Duran, Cascada, Ian Dury, Echo & The Bunnymen, Eddie Izzard, Europe, Evanescence, Fall Out Boy, Feeder, John Fogerty, Fish, Funeral for a Friend, Nelly Furtado, Genesis, David Gilmour, Googoosh, Gojira, Green Day, Guns N' Roses.
I-O
Iggy and the Stooges, In Flames, Iron Maiden, The Jam, Elton John, Jonas Brothers, Tom Jones, Judas Priest, Nik Kershaw, Avril Lavigne, Marillion, Bob Marley and The Wailers, Metallica, Megadeth, Mika, Morrissey, Mott the Hoople, Nas, New Kids On The Block, Nightwish, Nuclear Assault, Gary Numan, Oasis, Alexander_O'Neal, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Ozzy Osbourne.
P-Z
The Police, Prince, Queen, Poison, The Raconteurs, Radiohead, Rainbow, Rush, Sanctity, The Saturdays, Saxon, The Sex Pistols, Slipknot, Soft Cell, Squeeze, Bruce Springsteen, Status Quo, The Stranglers, The Sweet, Talk Talk, Thin Lizzy, Tears For Fears, Tool, Trivium, The Tubes, Uriah Heep, U2, Ultravox, Van Halen, Venom, Weezer, Whitesnake, The White Stripes, The Who, Wishbone Ash, Paul Young, and Neil Young
Historical Performances
1960s
In the early 1960s, many of the top American stars performed at the Odeon, including Tony Bennett with Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Woody Herman and the Herd.
In late 1964 and early 1965 the Beatles played 38 shows over 21 nights. Special guests on the bill included the original Yardbirds featuring Eric Clapton.
In 1966, Johnny Cash performed at the venue.
1970s
In July 1973, David Bowie performed his final concert as Ziggy Stardust at the venue.
In 1975, Bruce Springsteen's performances there are also well known, as is Neil Young's performance there in the same year, when part of the venue caught fire. Queen played several concerts at the Hammersmith, including their Christmas concerts in 1975.
In 1976, much of Thin Lizzy's live album Live And Dangerous was recorded at the Hammersmith on the Johnny The Fox Tour.
Bob Marley and the Wailers performed at the "Hammy-O" also in 1976, part of the Rastaman Vibration Tour.
On 24 January 1978, Sweet played their first concert at Hammersmith Odeon. As it transpired, it was to be their last British show with the classic line-up featuring popular blonde singer Brian Connolly.
In 1979, Queen played several further concerts at the Hammersmith. In fact, the Hammersmith Odeon hosted the four-night Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, a benefit concert to raise money for Cambodian residents who were victims of the tyrannical reign of dictator Pol Pot of which Queen played the first night. Kate Bush also performed the same year, and released a live video and record EP of her 1979 concerts there. Frank Zappa also recorded parts of his 1979 album, Sheik Yerbouti, at the venue.
1980s
In 1980, Randy Rhoads performed one of his first shows with new musical soulmate Ozzy Osbourne on the Blizzard of Ozz tour.
In 1981, Motörhead's live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith brought the Apollo to the international stage, becoming recognised internationally, (ironically, the album wasn't recorded there).
In 1982, Venom accidentally burned Hammersmith's ceiling during a performance, which event can be clearly seen in the 7 dates of hell concert video (during Countess Bathory). As a result, Venom was banned from Hammersmith for a year.
In 1983, Tears For Fears released a live video of their December concert at the venue along with Dire Straits who also filmed a 1983 live concert there, released as Alchemy.
In 1984, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed three sold-out shows at this venue on his About Face solo tour which was documented on the concert video David Gilmour Live 1984. The same year, Soft Cell played their last two shows on February 6th and 7th 1984.
At the start of the seminal Public Enemy album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back they are heard addressing the Hammersmith Odeon crowd.
1990s
During the early 1990s, the venue played host to a number of stage productions, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Musical theatre star Michael Ball has performed at the Hammersmith Apollo on five occasions—each time selling out. His concerts in December 1993 and December 1994 were recorded by BBC Radio 2. He has also recorded his 2003 and 2007 concerts for DVD release.
2000-
In 2004, the venue was part of the "Carling Live 24" event, which saw Feeder play their only date of that year. The venue also spawned the BBC television series Live at the Apollo, originally titled Jack Dee Live at the Apollo.
In 2004, Money Can't Buy was a one-off, invitation only concert in support of Kylie Minogue's 2003 album, Body Language held at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, England.
In 2005, Tori Amos released a live album from her 2005 concert at the Apollo as part of the "Official Bootlegs". Green Day also played a sell-out gig as part of their American Idiot world tour
On 25 November 2006, Video Games Live presented the first ever UK video game concert at the Hammersmith Apollo as part of their 2006 World Tour. A parody of the Hammersmith Odeon was made for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, called "Ye Olde Royal Odeon". The upcoming game Guitar Hero: Metallica will feature the real life Hammersmith Apollo as a playable venue.
In 2007, the Caribbean superstar, soca artist Machel Montano performed at the "Hammy-O" in his Rezarrek World Tour.
On June 5 2008, the venue played host to Passion: London, part of the Passion Conferences. In the summer of 2008, the Apollo saw a 10-week season of Disney's High School Musical Live On Stage!, starring EastEnders' star Letitia Dean. On September 11, 2008 the Jonas Brothers performed a one-off concert for their British fans. On 12 October 2008, BBC Switch hosted a show of live music from Fall Out Boy, Ne-Yo, Miley Cyrus, Basshunter, McFly, N-Dubz and George Sampson. It was a gig especially for 14-17 year olds. In November 2008 the newly reunited New Kids on the Block announced that they were adding another show to their successful world tour in London at the Hammersmith Apollo on January 25, 2009.
In Popular Culture
Many bands have released live CDs, videos or DVDs of concerts held at the Apollo, such as the Kings of Leon, Tears For Fears, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Robbie Williams. Kate Bush released a video and record EP of her her concerts at the Odeon from her first and only tour in 1979. Kylie Minogue and Girls Aloud released DVDs of their concerts at the Apollo in 2004 and 2005 respectively. A DVD of a Bruce Springsteen concert held there in 1975 was released as part of the Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition package; later the CD Hammersmith Odeon London '75 was released. Melodic death metal band In Flames also released a DVD that featured footage of a December 2004 performance there. Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard's show Glorius was also released as a DVD. Rush recorded their 1978 performance and later included it in their three-disc set, Different Stages. American musician Tori Amos released a series of six live albums in 2005 known as The Original Bootlegs, one of which was recorded at the Apollo. Photographs of The Who outside the Hammersmith Odeon appear on their 1973 album Quadrophenia.
Other acts have made music videos featuring clips from performances at the Apollo. An example of this is Kelly Clarkson, who made a special version of her "Breakaway" video using clips from her concert at the Apollo in 2006.
The Hammersmith Apollo is seen in the American romantic comedy film Just My Luck where McFly perform in which, in the movie, is the Hard Rock Cafe. It is also the location in The Football Factory where the Chelsea fans board the bus for Liverpool away.
The Apollo Pipe Organ
The original 1932 Compton pipe organ is still present at the Apollo and was fully restored to playing condition in 2007. It has a 4-manual console which rises through the stage on a new lift and about 1200 organ pipes housed in large chambers above the front stalls ceiling. Having fallen into disrepair, the organ was disconnected in the 1990s and the console removed from the building. However at English Heritage and the council's insistence it has been reinstated and the entire organ restored. A launch party was held on July 25th 2007 at which an invited audience and the media witnessed top organist Richard Hills play the instrument.
Pipe organs such as this were installed in most cinemas of the pre-war period to provide music for film shows, accompany silent movies and to feature in solo performances. Many were also broadcast on the radio and recorded on 78rpm records. These organs were based on church-type instruments but had many other sounds including percussion instruments built in. A lot of the pipe sounds were voiced to sound like instruments of the orchestra and indeed the organs were in effect one-man orchestras, offering a large variety of sounds and being capable of accommodating music styles from classical though to jazz. Although several such organs survive in the UK these days, there are very few left in their original buildings. The Apollo organ is one of these and its sounds now fill the huge Apollo auditorium again after about 25 years of silence.
More information about this organ can be found at the Cinema Organ Society's website
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