![]() | |
Former names | Shepherd's Bush Empire (1903–53; 1994–2009) BBC Television Theatre (1953–1994) |
---|---|
Address | Shepherd's Bush Green London, W12 United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°30′13″N0°13′28″W / 51.50349°N 0.22433°W |
Public transit | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Owner | Academy Music Group |
Operator | Academy Music Group |
Capacity | 2,000 |
Construction | |
Opened | 17 August 1903 |
Renovated | 1993 |
Architect | Frank Matcham |
Project manager | Oswald Stoll |
Website | |
o2shepherdsbushempire.co.uk |
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally built in 1903 as a music hall for impresario Oswald Stoll, designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham; among its early performers was Charlie Chaplin. In 1953 it became the BBC Television Theatre. [1] Since 1994, it has operated as a music venue. It is a Grade II listed building. [2]
The Shepherd's Bush Empire was built in 1903 for impresario Oswald Stoll, designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham. [3] Ashly's Circus performed at Shepherd's Bush Empire and presented to George Strong a trophy for riding The Bucking Mule "Sloper' on 8 September 1905. The first performers at the new theatre were The Fred Karno Troupe including Charlie Chaplin (1906). The Empire staged music-hall entertainments, such as variety performances and revues, until the early 1950s, by which time the popularity of these forms of entertainment was declining. [4]
During the Second World War, the Shepherd's Bush Empire narrowly escaped being hit by a flying bomb, which in 1944 hit the neighbouring Shepherd's Bush Pavilion, destroying the original interior. The Pavilion did not re-open until 1955. [5] [6]
In 1953, the Empire was sold to the BBC, which put it to use as a television studio–theatre, renaming it the BBC Television Theatre. [3] Among the programmes produced there were Crackerjack , The Old Grey Whistle Test , That's Life! , The Generation Game , Juke Box Jury , This Is Your Life , Jim'll Fix It , most of the BBC's light entertainment music shows, such as those starring Cliff Richard, Lulu, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Shirley Bassey, Vera Lynn, Harry Secombe, Petula Clark, Val Doonican, as well as the UK's Eurovision Song Contest preliminary heat, A Song for Europe . In 1985, the theatre was turned over for exclusive use by Wogan , which was broadcast three nights a week from the theatre. [7] The BBC vacated the building in 1991.
In 1993, The Shepherd's Bush Empire was acquired by entrepreneur Andrew Mahler, who invested over £1m in the building in improvements and refurbishments. [3] In 1994, the building re-opened under its original name of The Shepherd's Bush Empire; since then it has hosted gigs and dance nights.
Live performances filmed at the venue and released on DVD include a King Crimson concert on 3 July 2000, presented on the two-disc set Eyes Wide Open , Siouxsie and the Banshees' The Seven Year Itch album and DVD recorded over two nights In July 2002, Frank Turner's "Take to the Road" DVD, Opeth's first live DVD (Lamentations) recorded at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on Thursday 25 September 2003, a November 2005 concert by indie band The Wedding Present and The Only Ones comeback concert in June 2007. In November 2007, Amy Winehouse recorded I Told You I Was Trouble: Live in London . On 27, 28 and 29 February, and 1 March 2008, gothic rock pioneers The Mission recorded their farewell concerts, The Final Chapter, for release on CD and DVD. In addition to this, Transatlantic's third live release, "Whirld Tour 2010: Live in London", was recorded and filmed at the venue. Nik Kershaw released a DVD of his September 2012 performance there, recorded as part of the tour promoting his album Ei8ht (album). Folk-rock band Mumford & Sons recorded their album Live from Shepherd's Bush Empire there. In 2015, Public Image Ltd recorded their album "Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire" there.
The Empire has a capacity of 2,000, and has been chosen as a venue for small gigs or as a venue for 'surprise' warm-up gigs. Prior to their 1999 tour, the Rolling Stones put in a performance, with Sheryl Crow as support, on 8 June.
The London Palladium is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many with televised performances. Between 1955 and 1969 Sunday Night at the London Palladium was staged at the venue, produced for the ITV network. The show included a performance by the Beatles on 13 October 1963. One national paper's headlines in the following days coined the term "Beatlemania" to describe the increasingly hysterical interest in the band.
The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England, that operated from 1976 to 2009.
The London Coliseum is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre of Varieties, it was designed by the architect Frank Matcham for the impresario Oswald Stoll. Their ambition was to build the largest and finest music hall, described as the "people's palace of entertainment" of its age.
Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South West London, in the Lambeth district of Brixton.
Goldhawk Road is a London Underground station located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the south side of Goldhawk Road, about 250 metres (820 ft) west of Shepherd's Bush Green. It is served by the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines in Travelcard Zone 2.
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Hammersmith, London, it is an art deco Grade II* listed building.
The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors. Hippodrome is an archaic word referring to places that host horse races and other forms of equestrian entertainment.
Koko is a concert venue and former theatre in Camden Town, London, England.
Francis Matcham was an English architect who specialised in the design of theatres and music halls. He worked extensively in London, predominantly under Moss Empires for whom he designed the Hippodrome in 1900, Hackney Empire (1901), Coliseum (1903) and Palladium (1910). His last major commission before retirement was the Victoria Palace (1911) for the variety magnate Alfred Butt. During his 40-year career, Matcham was responsible for the design and construction of over 90 theatres and the redesign and refurbishment of a further 80 throughout the United Kingdom.
Sir Horace Edward Moss was a British theatre impresario and the founder chairman and joint managing director of the Moss Empires Ltd theatre combine which he created in 1899, and floated on the Stock Exchange, after first joining forces with Richard Thornton of Newcastle and later with Oswald Stoll then operating in Wales. From its start and during the 20th century Moss Empires remained the largest group of variety theatres in Britain, with over 50 venues at its height, and was regarded as the largest in the world. It was he who, in 1904, introduced a "four shows a day" system at some of his theatres; he was also the first to allow advance booking of seats in a music hall.
Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by The Guardian as "the most beautiful theatre in London" it is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
Moss Empires was a company formed in Edinburgh in 1899, from the merger of the theatre companies owned by Sir Edward Moss, Richard Thornton and Sir Oswald Stoll. This created the largest chain of variety theatres and music halls in the United Kingdom. The business was successful, with major variety theatres in almost every city in Britain and Ireland, and was advertised as the largest group in the world.
Ezio is a folk band from Cambridge, England, formed in 1990. They are named after their lead singer and main composer, Ezio Lunedei.
Exotic Creatures of the Deep is the 21st album by the American rock band Sparks.
The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, then the Finsbury Park Paramount Astoria, and then the Finsbury Park Odeon, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as an "atmospheric cinema", to house entertainment extravaganzas which included a film show. It later became an ordinary cinema, then a music venue, as which it is best known, and then an occasional unlicensed boxing venue. Today, the building is used by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an Evangelical church.
The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first palais de danse to be built in Britain. In 2009, it was named by the Brecon Jazz Festival as one of twelve venues which had made the most important contributions to jazz music in the United Kingdom.
The New Theatre Royal is a Victorian Grade II* listed theatre in the heart of Portsmouth, England, with a capacity of 667. The theatre building was constructed in 1854 as Landport Hall. It was converted to a theatre two years later. It was rebuilt in 1884 by Charles J. Phipps and again in 1900 by Frank Matcham.
Shepherd's Bush is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham centred on Shepherd's Bush Green. Originally a pasture for shepherds on their way to Smithfield market, it was largely developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1844 the West London Railway officially opened, followed in 1864 by the Metropolitan Railway who built the original Shepherd's Bush station, opening up the area to residential development. Businesses soon followed, and in 1903 the west side of Shepherd's Bush Green became the home of the Shepherd's Bush Empire, a music hall whose early performers included Charlie Chaplin.
Post Live is a live album by Icelandic singer Björk. It contains live performances centering mostly on Björk's second album, Post, though several songs from her Debut album appear in drastically reworked versions. Originally released in the 5 disc Live Box set in 2003, Post Live was later released separately on 1 June 2004 by One Little Indian records.
The Chiswick Empire was a theatre facing Turnham Green in Chiswick that opened in 1912 and closed and was demolished in 1959. A venue for touring artists, some of the greatest names in drama, variety and music hall performed there including George Formby, Laurel and Hardy, Chico Marx, Peter Sellers and Liberace.