Golders Green Hippodrome
Encyclopedia
Golders Green Hippodrome was built in 1913 by Bertie Crewe
as a 3000-seat Music Hall
, to serve North London and the new tube rail expansion into Golders Green
.
Its capacity was reduced by half on the introduction of a stage, but it then became a famous pre/post West End
venue for many travelling shows. Taken over by the BBC
in the 1960s as a television studio, it has been put to more recent use as a radio studio and multi-purpose concert venue. In 2003, the BBC left the Grade II listed building vacant and deteriorating, although it has now been bought by El Shaddai International Christian Centre
, an evangelical church.
was built as a 3000 seat music hall by Bertie Crewe
, and opened on Boxing Day
.
Its capacity was reduced by half with the construction of a full theatre stage, and it became famous for its pre and post London tours, and has been used as a receiving venue for West End transfers - Laurence Olivier
, Marlene Dietrich
, Stephane Grappelli
, Arthur Askey
, Django Reinhardt
and Chico Marx
played there. Donald Swann
's Wild Thyme played in 1955, and its regular performances included an annual pantomime
and the Gang Show
Touring opera was popular still at the time, and performances included pre-war with the British National Opera Company
and post-War in 1952 with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
and a filmed production of The Mikado
in 1966.
In 1961, the theatre appeared in an early British sexploitation
film called Naked As Nature Intended directed by Harrison Marks. The nudist film, which starred Pamela Green
, was a box office success.
studio capacity to cope with the introduction of colour transmissions They took out a long leasehold on the Hippodrome to 2060 In 1969 the Hippodrome was converted into a radio studio and concert hall with reduced capacity of 700 seats, as the BBC had been looking for a north London venue, and became home for the BBC Concert Orchestra
, and also saw broadcasts and concerts from the BBC Big Band
and BBC Radio Orchestra
.
As a concert venue, it was used in various configurations for:
The BBC recorded various radio specials at the Hippodrome, including the famous BBC Sight and Sound concert of January 1978. AC/DC's 27 October 1977 appearance at the Hippodrome for Sight and Sound in Concert was later released on DVD as Live '77
.
The BBC also broadcast the weekly radio program Friday Night is Music Night
, a traditional old light entertainment program it had moved from the Camden Theatre (now known as KOKO) in Camden High Street. Presented originally by Robin Boyle and conducted by Sydney Torch, it was presented latterly by Ken Bruce
However, with a public brief to bring music to all of the people of the UK, and with additional high-quality space available all over London, the BBC announced its intention to leave the building in August 2003, after mounting minor repair work saw the BBC Concert Orchestra relocate to the Mermaid Theatre
in central London, among other places.
’s ‘buildings at risk’ register as its future is now so uncertain.
Barnet Council
is said to be keen for the building to carry on being used as an entertainment venue, and the BBC has been given 18 months to sell it as such. If no buyer is forthcoming, sources say the local authority will allow it to be sold at auction in September 2006 with the potential for being developed for other uses - which the BBC have already applied for, but presently been turned down for. The Hippodrome is now owned by the church ministry El-Shaddai International Christian Centre, led by Pastor and apostle Ramson Mumba.
For planning purposes the Hippodrome is classed as 'D2' under the 'Use Classes Order' and not under 'Sui Generis' exclusively as a Theatre - no stage productions have taken place for more than 40 years. The 'D2' class means that potential buyers could use the Theatre for: "Cinemas; Dance and Concert Halls ; Sports Halls; Swimming Baths, other Indoor Sports and Leisure Uses" A new operator could use it as a bingo hall, casino, swimming pool, gym or ice skating rink among many other leisure activities.
The theatre's potential fate galvanised a group formed of various interest groups and local newspapers, including Save London’s Theatres Campaign, the Theatres Trust, Hendon Times and the Ham&High. In early 2007, Christian group El Shaddai International Christian Centre
purchased the hippodrome for £5million.
Bertie Crewe
Bertie Crewe was one of the leading English theatre architects in the boom of 1885 to 1915-Biography:Born in Essex and partly trained by Frank Matcham, Crewe and his contemporaries W.G.R...
as a 3000-seat Music Hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
, to serve North London and the new tube rail expansion into Golders Green
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Although having some earlier history, it is essentially a 19th century suburban development situated about 5.3 miles north west of Charing Cross and centred on the crossroads of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.In the...
.
Its capacity was reduced by half on the introduction of a stage, but it then became a famous pre/post West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
venue for many travelling shows. Taken over by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in the 1960s as a television studio, it has been put to more recent use as a radio studio and multi-purpose concert venue. In 2003, the BBC left the Grade II listed building vacant and deteriorating, although it has now been bought by El Shaddai International Christian Centre
El Shaddai International Christian Centre
El Shaddai International Christian Centre is a group of churches led by Ramson Mumba. He started His first church in 1998 in Bingley, West Yorkshire, and then moved to Bradford in 2000, experiencing considerable growth. In 2004, Ransom Mumba moved to London to plant a church, and churches have...
, an evangelical church.
History
The Grade II listed, 1913 Hippodrome Theatre building next to Golders Green tube stationGolders Green tube station
Golders Green tube station is a London Underground station in Golders Green, north London. The station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern Line between Hampstead and Brent Cross...
was built as a 3000 seat music hall by Bertie Crewe
Bertie Crewe
Bertie Crewe was one of the leading English theatre architects in the boom of 1885 to 1915-Biography:Born in Essex and partly trained by Frank Matcham, Crewe and his contemporaries W.G.R...
, and opened on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
.
Its capacity was reduced by half with the construction of a full theatre stage, and it became famous for its pre and post London tours, and has been used as a receiving venue for West End transfers - Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, Stephane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands....
, Arthur Askey
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
, Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
and Chico Marx
Chico Marx
Leonard "Chico" Marx was an American comedian and film star as part of the Marx Brothers. His persona in the act was that of a dim-witted albeit crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes, and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat.As the first-born of the...
played there. Donald Swann
Donald Swann
Donald Ibrahím Swann was a British composer, musician and entertainer. He is best known to the general public for his partnership of writing and performing comic songs with Michael Flanders .-Life:...
's Wild Thyme played in 1955, and its regular performances included an annual pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
and the Gang Show
Gang Show
A Gang Show is a theatrical performance with a cast of youth members of Scouts and sometimes Guides too, by invitation. Adult leaders and parents help out behind the scenes. The aim of the shows is to give young people in Scouting and Guiding the opportunity to develop performance skills and...
Touring opera was popular still at the time, and performances included pre-war with the British National Opera Company
British National Opera Company
The British National Opera Company presented opera in English in London and on tour in the British provinces between 1922 and 1929. It was founded in December 1921 by singers and instrumentalists from Sir Thomas Beecham's Beecham Opera Company , which was disbanded when financial problems over...
and post-War in 1952 with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
and a filmed production of The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
in 1966.
In 1961, the theatre appeared in an early British sexploitation
Sexploitation
Sexploitation, or "sex-exploitation", describes a class of independently produced, low-budget feature films generally associated with the 1960s and serving largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films...
film called Naked As Nature Intended directed by Harrison Marks. The nudist film, which starred Pamela Green
Pamela Green
Pamela Green was an English glamour model and actress, best known at the end of the 1950s and early 1960s...
, was a box office success.
BBC
In 1969, the BBC were looking for additional televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
studio capacity to cope with the introduction of colour transmissions They took out a long leasehold on the Hippodrome to 2060 In 1969 the Hippodrome was converted into a radio studio and concert hall with reduced capacity of 700 seats, as the BBC had been looking for a north London venue, and became home for the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
, and also saw broadcasts and concerts from the BBC Big Band
BBC Big Band
The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band run under the auspices of the BBC. Widely regarded as the UK’s leading and most versatile jazz orchestra, the band broadcasts exclusivley on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long running series Big Band Special...
and BBC Radio Orchestra
BBC Radio Orchestra
The BBC Radio Orchestra was a broadcasting orchestra based in London, maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1965 until 1991....
.
As a concert venue, it was used in various configurations for:
- Light Music Concerts - including Maria FriedmanMaria FriedmanMaria Friedman is an English actress working in television, musical theatre, and concerts. She has won three Olivier Awards for her stage work.-Early years:...
- Rock bands - the first were QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
in 1973, Jethro Tull in 1977 and many that followed were for the John PeelJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
show including AC/DCAC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, ELOElectric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
, Barclay James HarvestBarclay James HarvestBarclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Saddleworth, Lancashire, in September 1966 by John Lees, Les Holroyd, Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme , and Mel Pritchard .-History:...
, The KinksThe KinksThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, UFOUFO (band)UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
, Procol HarumProcol HarumProcol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
, Roxy MusicRoxy MusicRoxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
and Stiff Little FingersStiff Little FingersStiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star , doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They split up after six years and four albums, although they... - Theatre - including an early performance by Sir Ian McKellenIan McKellenSir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
in a performance of James Saunders play A Scent of Flowers, which became his first Westend performance and his first Award - BoxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
- as both a regional and national venue - Comedy - including performances before he won New FacesNew FacesNew Faces was a British television talent show popular in the 1970s and 1980s, presented originally by Derek Hobson. It was produced by ATV Network Limited for the ITV Network. The first run of the show was from 29 September 1973 to 2 April 1978 and was recorded at the ATV Centre, Birmingham...
by Jim DavidsonJim DavidsonJim Davidson may refer to:* Jim Davidson , American actor* Jim Davidson , American football player, played for Ohio State Buckeyes and drafted by the Buffalo Bills* Jim Davidson , Australia author, see Meanjin...
as well as two episodes of the first series of Monty Python's Flying Circus in October 1969, The Val Doonican Show, and The Roy Castle Show,
The BBC recorded various radio specials at the Hippodrome, including the famous BBC Sight and Sound concert of January 1978. AC/DC's 27 October 1977 appearance at the Hippodrome for Sight and Sound in Concert was later released on DVD as Live '77
Live '77
Live '77 is a DVD released by AC/DC in January 2003 in Japan. It was recorded live in The Golders Green Hippodrome, London, on 27 October 1977 and contains tracks recorded by the band with their former singer, Bon Scott....
.
The BBC also broadcast the weekly radio program Friday Night is Music Night
Friday Night is Music Night
Friday Night is Music Night is a long running live BBC radio concert programme featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra, broadcast most Fridays on BBC Radio 2 at 8.00pm. It is the world's longest-running live music radio programme....
, a traditional old light entertainment program it had moved from the Camden Theatre (now known as KOKO) in Camden High Street. Presented originally by Robin Boyle and conducted by Sydney Torch, it was presented latterly by Ken Bruce
Ken Bruce
Kenneth Robertson Bruce is a British broadcaster known for his programme on BBC Radio 2, which is broadcast on weekdays from 9:30am until 12 noon.-Early life and career:...
However, with a public brief to bring music to all of the people of the UK, and with additional high-quality space available all over London, the BBC announced its intention to leave the building in August 2003, after mounting minor repair work saw the BBC Concert Orchestra relocate to the Mermaid Theatre
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
in central London, among other places.
Today
After the BBC left the theatre in August 2003, it has been unused and deteriorated considerably - in early 2005, the venue was placed on English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
’s ‘buildings at risk’ register as its future is now so uncertain.
Barnet Council
Barnet
High Barnet or Chipping Barnet is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, North London, England. It is a suburban development built around a twelfth-century settlement and is located north north-west of Charing Cross. Its name is often abbreviated to Barnet, which is also the name of the London...
is said to be keen for the building to carry on being used as an entertainment venue, and the BBC has been given 18 months to sell it as such. If no buyer is forthcoming, sources say the local authority will allow it to be sold at auction in September 2006 with the potential for being developed for other uses - which the BBC have already applied for, but presently been turned down for. The Hippodrome is now owned by the church ministry El-Shaddai International Christian Centre, led by Pastor and apostle Ramson Mumba.
For planning purposes the Hippodrome is classed as 'D2' under the 'Use Classes Order' and not under 'Sui Generis' exclusively as a Theatre - no stage productions have taken place for more than 40 years. The 'D2' class means that potential buyers could use the Theatre for: "Cinemas; Dance and Concert Halls ; Sports Halls; Swimming Baths, other Indoor Sports and Leisure Uses" A new operator could use it as a bingo hall, casino, swimming pool, gym or ice skating rink among many other leisure activities.
The theatre's potential fate galvanised a group formed of various interest groups and local newspapers, including Save London’s Theatres Campaign, the Theatres Trust, Hendon Times and the Ham&High. In early 2007, Christian group El Shaddai International Christian Centre
El Shaddai International Christian Centre
El Shaddai International Christian Centre is a group of churches led by Ramson Mumba. He started His first church in 1998 in Bingley, West Yorkshire, and then moved to Bradford in 2000, experiencing considerable growth. In 2004, Ransom Mumba moved to London to plant a church, and churches have...
purchased the hippodrome for £5million.
External links
- Save London Theatres page on Golders Green Hippodrome includes original planning cross section
- Old Recording studios page on Golders Green Hippodrome includes some interesting pictures
- Theatre History with Original Bertie Crewe Plans and archive Images
- El Shaddai