| HMV Apollo | |
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 |
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| Coordinates | 51°29′27.25″N 0°13′28.35″W / 51.4909028°N 0.2245417°W |
| Type | Music |
| Opened | 1932 |
| Location | London, England |
| Owner | MAMA Group, HMV Group |
| Former name(s) | Gaumont Palace Hammersmith Odeon Hammersmith Apollo |
| Capacity | 5,039 (standing) 3,632 (sitting) |
| Website | www.hammersmithapollo.net |
The HMV Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. 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 Hammersmith Apollo.[1]
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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.[2]
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.[3]
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 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 would 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 the HMV Apollo. Other venues purchased include The Forum in London's Kentish Town, the Birmingham Institute and Aberdeen's Moshulu.[1] On 30 January 2009 the Britain's Got Talent Auditions wrapped up at the theatre.
Also on 1 and 2 August was the filming location for The X Factor Series 6 Boot Camp.
The original 1932 Compton pipe organ is still present at the Apollo and was fully restored to playing condition in 2007.[4] It has a four-manual console which rises through the stage on a new lift and about 1,200 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 25 July 2007 at which an invited audience and the media witnessed top organist Richard Hills play the instrument.[5]
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 78 rpm 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 designed 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.
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 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. Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed three nights at the venue in April of 1984 which was documented on the David Gilmour Live 1984 concert film. These shows are of note as Roy Harper guested on "Short and Sweet" and Gilmour's Pink Floyd bandmate Nick Mason played drums on "Comfortably Numb".
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 the movie, the venue stands-in for the Hard Rock Café. It is also the location in The Football Factory where the Chelsea fans board the bus for Liverpool.
A-H
30 Seconds to Mars, ABBA, ABC, AC/DC, A Flock of Seagulls, Altered Images, Anthrax, Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, A-ha, The Alarm, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Tori Amos, Anastacia, Annihilator, Adam Ant, Babyshambles, Barenaked Ladies, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Pat Benatar, Big Country, Björk, Black Sabbath, Black Stone Cherry, Blink-182, Blondie, Blue Öyster Cult, Boy George, David Bowie, Elkie Brooks, Kate Bush, Ed Byrne, The Carpenters, Cascada, Celtic Frost, Eric Clapton, The Clash, Alice Cooper, The Cramps, The Cult, Culture Club, The Cure, The Damned, Dead or Alive, Def Leppard, Deep Purple, Delirious?, Depeche Mode, Dio, Dire Straits, Dream Theater, Hilary Duff, Duran Duran, Ian Dury, Bob Dylan, Echo & the Bunnymen, Enter Shikari, Erasure, Europe, Evanescence, Fall Out Boy, Feeder, Fish, John Fogerty, Funeral for a Friend, Nelly Furtado, Rory Gallagher, Genesis, David Gilmour, Girls Aloud, Gojira, Googoosh, David Gray, Green Day, Guns N' Roses, Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Hanoi Rocks, Hawkwind, Human League, Ian Hunter
I-O
Iggy and the Stooges, Il Divo, In Flames, Iron Maiden, Chris Isaak, Eddie Izzard, The Jacksons, The Jam, Jethro Tull, Elton John, Jonas Brothers, Tom Jones, Journey, Judas Priest, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Killswitch Engage, Kiss, Korn, Nik Kershaw, Avril Lavigne, Lil Wayne, Demi Lovato, Lee Mack, Magnum, Marillion, Bob Marley & The Wailers, John Mayer, McFly, Megadeth, Metallica, Michael McIntyre, Mika, Tim Minchin, Kylie Minogue, Gary Moore, Morrissey, Motörhead, Motley Crue, Mott the Hoople, Jason Mraz, Nas, New Kids on the Block, Nightwish, Nuclear Assault, Ted Nugent, Gary Numan, Oasis, Alexander O'Neal, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Ozzy Osbourne
P-Z
Pet Shop Boys, Robert Plant, The Police, Porcupine Tree, Poison, Prince, Psychedelic Furs, Queen, The Raconteurs, Radiohead, Rainbow, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mark Ronson, Uli Jon Roth, Roxy Music, Todd Rundgren, Rush, Sanctity, The Saturdays, Saxon, Scorpions, Sex Pistols, Sigur Rós, Simple Minds, Slayer, Slipknot, Soft Cell, The Specials, Regina Spektor, Split Enz, Rick Springfield, Bruce Springsteen, Squeeze, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Status Quo, The Stranglers, The Sweet, Talk Talk, Tangerine Dream, Tears for Fears, Tenacious D, Thin Lizzy, Thompson Twins, Thunder, Tool, Toyah, T'Pau, Trivium, The Tubes, U2, UFO, Ultravox, Uriah Heep, Van Halen, Venom, Rufus Wainwright, Weezer, Whitesnake, The White Stripes, The Who, Wishbone Ash, Yes, Paul Young, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction
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