The Opera House (nightclub)
Encyclopedia
O2 Academy Bournemouth is a live entertainment venue in Bournemouth
, Dorset
, England
. It is a grade-II listed building.
The building was originally the Boscombe Grand Theatre, opening on 17 May 1895. Then in 1902 it became a music hall called Boscombe Hippodrome. In the 60s the building then became used as a music venue called Starkers Royal Arcade Ballrooms, which was visited by acts such as Pink Floyd
, Status Quo, Led Zeppelin
, Thin Lizzy
, Hawkwind
, The Faces and David Bowie
.
In 1982 the building had a multi-million pound refurbishment to become the Academy Nightclub. The nightclub had one of very first watercooled lasers and the first Karaoke
bar in the UK. Acts included The Sisters of Mercy
, Hawkwind
, Brand New Heavies
, Courtney Pine
, JTQ and Frankie Goes to Hollywood
. Other acts known to held concerts at the venue include, Deep Purple
, Canned Heat
, T.Rex, Colosseum
, Freedom
, Joe Jammer and Slade
.
The rise of rave culture in the 90s spawned nights such as Fantasia, Wild Turkey and Parhelion. From 1997 until 2009 the venue was called the Opera House nightclub. In 1997, the dance night Slinky was launched, which has now grown into an international dance music brand.
The Opera House was closed for a three million pound refurbishment between November 2006 and June 2007, and officially reopened by Jo Whiley
.
The Opera House was sold to AMG Group in July 2009 and rebranded as O2 Academy Bournemouth from September.
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is a grade-II listed building.
The building was originally the Boscombe Grand Theatre, opening on 17 May 1895. Then in 1902 it became a music hall called Boscombe Hippodrome. In the 60s the building then became used as a music venue called Starkers Royal Arcade Ballrooms, which was visited by acts such as Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Status Quo, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
, Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
, The Faces and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
.
In 1982 the building had a multi-million pound refurbishment to become the Academy Nightclub. The nightclub had one of very first watercooled lasers and the first Karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
bar in the UK. Acts included The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
, Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
, Brand New Heavies
Brand New Heavies
The Brand New Heavies are an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing, a suburb of London, England.-Biography:The Brand New Heavies began in the 1980s as an instrumental acid jazz group called Brother International....
, Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...
, JTQ and Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
. Other acts known to held concerts at the venue include, Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
, Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
, T.Rex, Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
, Freedom
Freedom (band)
Freedom was a psychedelic rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, formed initially by members of Procol Harum.Ray Royer and Bobby Harrison, who had performed on the hit Procol Harum single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", were kicked out of the Harum by vocalist Gary Brooker, and replaced by...
, Joe Jammer and Slade
Slade
Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
.
The rise of rave culture in the 90s spawned nights such as Fantasia, Wild Turkey and Parhelion. From 1997 until 2009 the venue was called the Opera House nightclub. In 1997, the dance night Slinky was launched, which has now grown into an international dance music brand.
The Opera House was closed for a three million pound refurbishment between November 2006 and June 2007, and officially reopened by Jo Whiley
Jo Whiley
Johanne "Jo" Whiley is a British radio disc jockey and television presenter. She was the host of the long running weekday Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1.-Early life and education:...
.
The Opera House was sold to AMG Group in July 2009 and rebranded as O2 Academy Bournemouth from September.
External links
- o2academybournemouth.co.uk - Official site
- slinky.co.uk - Official website of Slinky - an event that was held every Friday night night at the Opera House until it closed as a nightclub.