Brixton Academy

The O2 Academy Brixton (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, commonly known as the Brixton Academy) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South London, in the district of Brixton. Opening in 1929 as a cinema, the venue was converted into a discotheque in 1972 then was reborn as a concert hall in 1983. It has become one of London's leading music venues.[3]

O2 Academy Brixton
Exterior of venue (c.2016)
Former namesAstoria Variety Cinema (1929-39)
Odeon Astoria (1939-72)
Sundown Centre (1972)
Fair Deal (1982)
Brixton Academy (1983-2004)
Carling Academy (2004-09)
Address211 Stockwell Rd
London SW9 9SL England
LocationBrixton
Public transit Brixton
Brixton
OwnerAcademy Music Group
Capacity4,921
Construction
Opened19 August 1929 (1929-08-19)
Renovated
  • 1983
  • 2006
Closed
  • 29 July 1972 (1972-07-29)
  • January 1973
  • April 1982
Reopened
  • September 1972
  • 12 March 1982 (1982-03-12)
  • 7 October 1983 (1983-10-07)
Construction cost£250,000
($15.2 million in 2019 pounds[2])
Architect
  • Thomas Somerford
  • Edward Albert Stone
Website
Venue Website

History
Part of the Italian Renaissance interior of the auditorium

The venue started life as a cinema and theatre in 1929 on the site of a private garden in Stockwell Road. Designed by the architects Thomas Somerford and E. A. Stone,[4] it was built at a cost of £250,000 as an "Astoria" theatre. The opening show was the Al Jolson film The Singing Fool, followed by a variety act, including Heddle Nash and Derek Oldham which was broadcast by the BBC. The theatre eventually closed its doors as a cinema on 29 July 1972. It was then converted into a discotheque in September 1972, known as the "Sundown Centre".[5] The club was not a success and closed down some four months later. In May 1974 planning permission was sought to demolish the Grade II listed building and replace it with a motor showroom and petrol station. However, the redevelopment scheme was scrapped. The building was kept heated after it closed, and was used as an equipment store by the Rank Organisation.[6]

In 1981, the venue was remodelled by Sean Treacy, who later ran the entire site services, was re-opened as a rock venue called "Fair Deal"[7] with a concert by UB40 and an interior restoration. The Clash played the venue in 1982 on their Casbah Club tour (30 July) but the venue closed later that year due to debt. In 1983, Simon Parkes bought the venue for £1, and re-opened it as the Brixton Academy.[8] The Academy's success steadily grew throughout the 1980s with numerous reggae productions and it was hired out to major rock and pop acts such as Eric Clapton, Dire Straits & The Police for rehearsal. The venue was also used for video shoots for Wham! (Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go) and Culture Club.

In 1995, Parkes sold the theatre to "Break For The Border". Under its new ownership (McKenzie Group),[9] reinvestment started immediately, with a complete £500,000 refurbishment of the Art Deco building frontage to its original grandeur, additional facilities both front of house and backstage and a capacity increase to just under 5,000. The venue is currently run by the Academy Music Group after a rebranding in August 2004[10] and hosts a range of live acts and club nights. With the sale, the venue's title was changed to the "Carling Academy Brixton". In 2008, naming rights were purchased by O2 for £25.5 million.[11]

Being one of the biggest non-arena venues in London, the Academy has been used by many very successful acts. It was also been voted venue of the year twelve times since 1994 in the annual NME Awards.[12] In addition the venue has won the Music Week Award for Venue of the Year several times including 2009.[13]

Notable performances
The decorative proscenium arch, framing the stage, with a concert in progress (Sex Pistols, 2007)

The Smiths played their last gig here in December 1986[14] which was an Anti-Apartheid benefit scheduled for the Royal Albert Hall but rearranged to the Brixton Academy due to Johnny Marr being involved in a car accident.[15]

Madonna played a special concert at the venue in 2000, to promote the release of her album, Music. The concert was broadcast live online and was watched by a record-breaking audience of 9 million.[16]

Rammstein, Iron Maiden, The Clash, Deborah Harry, The Prodigy, Arcade Fire, Nine Inch Nails, Bob Dylan, HARD-Fi, The 1975 and Sex Pistols have all played five consecutive nights at the venue. The Mighty Boosh broke this record in 2008, with their second live show Boosh Live, playing seven consecutive nights.[17] The xx equalled their record in March 2017, playing seven consecutive nights in support of third record I See You, becoming the first music act to reach that number. You could say they reached 8 nights in a row if you include the day off in which Jamie XX played a sold out club night for charity .[18]

Leftfield set the venue's decibel record in 1996.[19] They were summarily banned from using the same sound system at the venue after the high bass levels started disintegrating the ceiling, resulting in showers of dust and plaster.[20] They returned in 2000 using a different sound system.

Albums recorded at Brixton
Main article: Live at Brixton Academy (disambiguation)

Videos recorded at Brixton

References
  1. "Company Profile: O2 Academy Brixton". Academy Music Group. December 2020. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  2. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  3. "Visitor Information: O2 Academy Brixton". LondonTown. April 2012. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020.
  4. Visvardi, Aikaterini (31 March 2016). "The Sound of Music". Vicinity Magazine: 89. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020 – via Issuu.
  5. Allen, Carl (15 April 2016). London Gig Venues. Stroud, England: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 1445658208.
  6. Parkes, Simon; Rafaeli, J.S. (23 January 2014). Live At the Brixton Academy: A Riotous Life in the Music Business. London, England: Profile Books. ISBN 1847659934.
  7. Gimarc, George (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970-1982. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0879308486.
  8. Parkes, Simon; Thomas, Justin (27 January 2014). "I Bought the Brixton Academy for £1". Vice. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  9. "MBO to boost Academy roll-out". The Herald. 30 August 2004. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  10. "MKG Announce Carling Academy Liverpool". Entertainment Technology Press. 14 May 2003. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  11. "O2 replaces Carling as Academy venues sponsor". Marketing Week. Centaur Media. 6 November 2008. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  12. "Profile". Academy Music Group. August 2005. Archived from the original on 19 July 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
  13. Cardew, Ben (9 April 2009). "Blackwell saluted as best of last 50 years". Music Week. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009.
  14. Zaleski, Annie (12 December 2016). "30 Years Ago: The Smiths Play Their Final Concert". Diffuser.fm. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  15. "Morrissey jealous of neck brace". The Boston Globe. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  16. "9 Million Watch Madonna Webcast". CBS News. CBS Corporation. 28 November 2000. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  17. Moore, Sam (28 July 2016). "New 'The Mighty Boosh' exhibition to showcase unseen tour photography and Noel Fielding illustrations". NME. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016.
  18. "The xx announce record-breaking seven Brixton Academy shows". The Guardian. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016.
  19. "The loudest bands of all time". Radio X. Global Radio. 2 July 2020. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  20. "Leftfield Bring the House Down". Turbosound. MUSIC Group IP Ltd. November 2010. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  21. "Faith No More: Live at the Brixton Academy (Video 1990)". Internet Movie Database. 18 September 1990.
  22. "Faith No More: Live at the Brixton Academy Movie Reviews, Information and Film Reviews for Faith No More: Live at the Brixton Academy the Movie". movierevie.ws.
  23. "Amazon.co.jp - LIVE IN LONDON -BABYMETAL WORLD TOUR 2014- [Blu-ray] DVD・ブルーレイ - BABYMETAL". Amazon.com.
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