Roundhouse (venue)
John McAslan & Partners (renovation) | |
Website | |
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roundhouse.org.uk |
The Roundhouse is a
It reopened after 25 years, in 1964, as a performing arts venue, when the playwright
The
Since 2006, the Roundhouse has hosted the
History
The Roundhouse was built as a
Within ten years locomotives became too long for the building to accommodate, and the Roundhouse was used for various other purposes. The longest period of use (50 years, beginning in 1871) was as a bonded warehouse for gin distillers W & A Gilbey Ltd.[15][16]
In 1964 the premises were transferred to Centre 42, which prepared a scheme to convert the building into "a permanent cultural centre with a theatre, cinema, art gallery and workshops, committee rooms for local organisations, library, youth club and restaurant dance-hall". This was estimated to cost between £300,000 and £600,000 (£5.67 million–£11.3 million in 2019 worth
While lying in a state of general abandonment in the 1980s, the Roundhouse was used as the main location for the science fiction horror film Hardware by Richard Stanley. Sets were built inside the structure, although the lack of proper soundproofing meant all of the dialogues had to be re-recorded.
The building was used again in 1996 to film the promotional video for the
The Roundhouse has also been used for theatre, and has had two periods of theatrical glory, with musicals such as
The Greater London Council passed the building to the Camden London Borough Council in 1983, and attempts were made to establish it as a Black Arts Centre programming music, theatre and community projects; however, it was closed as a venue due to lack of funds.[21] During this time, on New Year's Eve 1991/92, Spiral Tribe held a week-long party in the venue. During the party the generators cut out, so power had to be sourced from nearby British Rail train lines.[22][23]
Restoration
The building lay largely empty until it was purchased for £6m in 1996 by the Norman Trust led by the
The venue opened for a two-year period to raise awareness and funds for a redevelopment scheme, with former
which ran for a year, becoming the venue's longest running show, ending when the building was closed for redevelopment.The website dance.com, commenting on the redevelopment project, said:
The redeveloped Roundhouse will house up to 3,300 people standing or up to 1,700 seated. It will provide a highly flexible and adaptable performance space that will give artists and audiences opportunities and experiences they cannot find elsewhere. It will accommodate a programme of work that reflects the excitement and diversity of twenty-first-century culture. It will include a wide range of the performing arts including, music, theatre, dance, circus and digital media.[26]
The renovated Roundhouse, designed by architects
On 20 December 2006, George Michael held a free concert for NHS nurses as a thank you for the care given to his mother Lesley, who died of cancer in 1997.[27]
In 2008,
On 31 March 2009, the charitable circus group
In January 2010, the Roundhouse introduced contemporary classical music to its events repertoire when it hosted the Reverb festival,[32] which included performances by the London Contemporary Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, The Magnets, Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon and the Britten Sinfonia.[33]
For the September 2015 Apple Music Festival, Apple announced an environmental makeover gift for the venue: "making major upgrades to the lighting, plumbing, and HVAC systems; installing recycling and composting bins… offering reusable water bottles instead of plastic ones… to reduce the Roundhouse's annual carbon emissions by 60 tons, save 60,000 gallons of water a year, and divert more than 1,600 kilograms of waste from landfills".[34][35]
Roundhouse Trust
Alongside its role as an arts venue, the Roundhouse is also a registered charity and runs a creative programme for 11–25s through the Roundhouse Trust.
From 2006 to 2012 the Trust taught over 13,000 11- to 25-year-olds in live music, circus, theatre and new media. Courses are held in the Roundhouse Studios, which include a music recording suite, film production rooms, TV and radio studios and rehearsal rooms, all located underneath the Main Space.[36]
Architecture
The Roundhouse is
The 2006 renovation was supported with conservation advice and funding from
Bibliography
- Bane, M., White Boy Singin' the Blues, London: Penguin, 1982, ISBN 0-14-006045-6
- ISBN 1-900924-41-2– First edition 1986; Second edition 1995, Blues in Britain
- ISBN 0-7119-6907-8
- Martin Celmins, ISBN 1-86074-233-5
- Fancourt, L., British Blues on Record (1957–1970), Retrack Books, 1989
- ISBN 1-904555-04-7
- Christopher Hjort, Strange Brew: ISBN 1-906002-00-2
- Paul Myers, ISBN 1-55365-200-2
- Harry Shapiro ISBN 0-7475-3163-3
- Schwartz, R. F., How Britain got the Blues: The transmission and reception of American blues style in the United Kingdom, Ashgate, 2007, ISBN 0-7546-5580-6
- Mike Vernon, The Blue Horizon Story 1965–1970 vol. 1, notes of the booklet of the box set (60 pages)
Discography
- Alex Korner's Breakdown Group Featuring Cyril Davis: Blues From The Roundhouse (1957)
- The Beatles: Carnival of Light (1967)
- The Rolling Stones: Deluxe edition bonus disc of Sticky Fingers, recorded 1971, released 2015 (5 tracks)
- Greasy Truckers: Greasy Truckers Party (1972) (Hawkwind, Man, Brinsley Schwarz and Magic Michael)
- Hawkwind: "Silver Machine" (recorded 1972)
- Mott the Hoople: "Saturday Gigs" (recorded 1974) contains the line "Float up to the Roundhouse on a Sunday afternoon".
- Man: Back into the Future (recorded 1973)
- Nektar: Sunday Night at London Roundhouse (recorded 1973, released 1974)
- The Amazing ZigZag Concert (recorded 1974, released 2010) Michael Nesmith with Red Rhodes, John Stewart, Help Yourself, Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and Starry Eyed and Laughing.
- Pink Fairies: Live at the Roundhouse 1975 – released in 1982
- Man: Maximum Darkness (recorded 1975)
- UFO Lights Out 1976 (bonus tracks only)
- Man: All's Well That Ends Well (recorded 1977)
- The Damned: The Captain's Birthday Party recorded 1977 – released 1986
- Motörhead: What's Words Worth? (recorded 1978)
- M People: "One Night in Heaven" 1993
- Opeth: The Roundhouse Tapes (recorded 2006)
- The Dresden Dolls: Live at the Roundhouse (recorded 2006)
- The Stranglers: Rattus at the Roundhouse (recorded 2007)
- Fat Freddy's Drop: Live at Roundhouse (recorded 2008)
- David Gray: Draw the Line 2009 (bonus CD only)
- Oasis: Time Flies... 1994–2009 (Disc 4: iTunes Live: London Festival, recorded 2009)
- Ultravox: Return to Eden Live at the Roundhouse (13 April 2010)
- The King Blues: Live at the Roundhouse (recorded 2011)
- Linkin Park: iTunes Festival: London 2011 (EP) (recorded 2011)
- Adele: iTunes Festival: London 2011 (recorded 2011)
- City and Colour: City and Colour: Europe 2011 (Live in London) [The Roundhouse 18.10.11] (recorded 2011)
- Ed Sheeran: iTunes Festival Day 2 2012
- Devin Townsend: The Retinal Circus (recorded 2012)
- Lady Gaga: Live at iTunes Festival (Artpop: Disc 2, recorded 2013)
- Sam Smith: Sam Smith Live from the Roundhouse (released 2014)
- Franz Ferdinand: Live 2014 at the London Roundhouse (recorded 2014)
- Status Quo: Aquostic! Live at the Roundhouse (recorded 2014)
- Europe: The Final Countdown: 30th Anniversary Show (Live at the Roundhouse) (recorded 2016)
- Biffy Clyro: MTV Unplugged (Live At Roundhouse, London) (recorded 2017)
- Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets: Live at The Roundhouse (2020)
- Ben Böhmer: Live at The Roundhouse, London (2022)
- Tinlicker: Live at The Roundhouse (2023)
References
- ^ "The Roundhouse - The Space". The Roundhouse. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ "The Roundhouse". Historic England. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ a b c "The history of Roundhouse". roundhouse.org.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ "Archive 1966–1986". international-times.org.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ "The Doors: The Doors Are Open – The Roundhouse, London (1968)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ "The Greasy Truckers Party (1972)". gsd.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 7 September 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ "About Electric Proms". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ "About the iTunes Festival". itv.com. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
- ^ Oates, Joanne (30 August 2007). "GCap strong contender for BT Digital Awards". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ "The 2006 Vodafone Live Music Awards". vodafonemusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ a b Tabu my Fear and Yours (programme). No fit State (2009). Reg charity no: 1102850. pp. 1–10.
- ^ George Measom, The official illustrated guide to the North-western railway, Publ. 1859 W.H. Smith, page 20
- ^ Francis Whishaw, Railways of Great Britain and Ireland, p. 39, online
- ^ "1847–1960: trains, wines and spirits". www.roundhouse.org.uk. Roundhouse Trust. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
- ^ Rose, Steve (29 May 2006). "What goes around ..." The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- ^ a b Cooke, B. W. C., ed. (October 1964). "Notes and News: Camden's round-house". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 110, no. 762. Westminster: Tothill Press. pp. 800–1.
- Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2018). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ Brian Morton (21 October 2016). "The Roundhouse at 50: From gin joint to cultural tonic". BBC Arts. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d e James, Anthony (1 May 2007). "A House of fun London's Roundhouse reopened and reborn" (PDF). theatreprojects.com. p. 45. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ "1967". Dialectics of Liberation. 30 July 1967. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ "1980S - 2000: DERELICTION", Roundhouse website.
- ^ ""It was like something out of Mad Max." Spiral Tribe's Week Long Rave". roundhouse.org.uk.
- ^ "Free Party People - 31st December 1991-2nd January 1992 New Year's Eve: Spiral Tribe and Circus Normal at The Roundhouse, Camden, London". 21 April 2022.
- ^ Rose, Steve (29 May 2006). "What goes around ..." The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ ISSN 0033-8923.
- ^ "The Roundhouse". londondance.com. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
- ^ "I was there: George Michael concert for nurses". 50.roundhouse.org.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ "RSC The Histories". rsc.org.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ "Theatregoers' Choice Awards. List of shows". whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ Williams, Richard (28 April 2009). "Bob Dylan at the Roundhouse". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ Karen (7 October 2009). "iTunes Festival 24/07/09". wordpress.com. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ Silverman, Laura (4 March 2010). "How to sell classical music to the masses". The Times. London. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- Time Out. London. January 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ "Apple Music Festival". Apple Music Festival. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ "Apple is giving London's Roundhouse a big makeover for the Apple Music Festival". Business Insider. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ [1] Archived 30 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Historic England. "The Roundhouse (1258103)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
- ^ "The Roundhouse". John McAslan & Partners. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
External links
- The Roundhouse official website
- 50 years of the Roundhouse website
- Made in Camden's web site
- John McAslan and Partners
- The Round House and Open Space theatre companies records are held by the Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre and Performance Department.