Brixton Academy Explained

Brixton Academy
Former Names:Astoria Variety Cinema
Odeon Astoria
Sundown Centre
Fair Deal
Brixton Academy
Carling Academy
Address:211 Stockwell Road
City:London, UK
Mapframe-Zoom:12
Owner:Academy Music Group
Capacity:4,921
Cost:£250,000

Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South West London, in the Lambeth district of Brixton.

Opening in 1929 as a cinema, the venue was converted into a discotheque in 1972, then reborn as a concert hall in 1983. It is owned by the Academy Music Group (AMG), and has become one of London's leading music venues,[1] hosting over 50 live albums,[2] and winning the NME Best Venue 12 times since 1994.[3] It has been home to several notable performances, including The Smiths' last gig (December 1986), Leftfield's June 1996 concert which set a decibel record for a live gig at 137db, and Madonna's gig in 2000, which was watched by an online audience of 9 million.

In December 2022, two people died and others were seriously injured following a crowd crush at the door. As a result the venue was closed, with reopening subject to meeting council licensing conditions. It reopened on 19 April 2024.

History

The venue started 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 The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits and the Police for rehearsal. The venue was also used for video shoots for Wham! (Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go) and Culture Club.[9] Parkes would go on to write a book about his experience of running the venue, Live At The Brixton Academy: A Riotous Life in the Music Business, which was published in 2014.[10]

In 1995, Parkes sold the theatre to Break for the Border. Under its new ownership (McKenzie Group),[11] 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[12] and hosts a range of live acts and club nights. With the sale, the venue's title was changed to Carling Academy Brixton. In 2008, naming rights were purchased for £25.5 million by the O2 brand, owned by the Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica.[13]

Being one of the biggest non-arena music venues in London, the academy has been used by many very successful acts. It has also been voted venue of the year 12 times since 1994 in the annual NME Awards.[14] In addition the venue has won the Music Week Award for Venue of the Year several times including 2009.[15]

2022 Asake concert crush

A crowd crush outside a performance by Asake on 15 December 2022 seriously injured four people,[16] two of whom died in the following days.[17] [18] The Guardian cast doubt on early reports that people were trying to force their way in without a ticket.[19] The newspaper also questioned the management of the building and its entrances.[20] As a result of the crowd crush, Lambeth councillors met in the early hours of 22 December 2022 and decided to suspend the academy's operating licence following the "severity of events" and "risks to public safety" from "a lack of crowd control at the front doors". The licence was suspended until a full hearing on 16 January 2023,[21] when it was suspended for a further three months.[22]

The BBC reported that security staff were said to accept bribes to allow people in without a ticket.[23] In April 2023 the Metropolitan Police stated that they had no confidence in the holder of the venue's licence and that they were applying for the licence to be revoked.[24] In September 2023, the police stated that they were not opposed to the venue reopening, but simply opposed to AMG operating it.[25]

On 15 September 2023 Lambeth Council announced that the venue was permitted to re-open after the incident,[26] providing they meet new licensing conditions including strengthened doors, a new security contractor and additional safety procedures. A full list of the conditions is published online by Lambeth Council.

The venue reopened on 19 April 2024.[27]

Notable performances

The Smiths played their last gig here in December 1986[28] 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.[29]

The Ramones played their final European show at the venue on February 3, 1996, before touring for the last time in South and North America.[30]

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.[31]

Artists such as The Clash, Deborah Harry, The Prodigy, Arcade Fire, Nine Inch Nails and Bob Dylan have all played five consecutive nights at the venue. In 2002, Iron Maiden played three consecutive nights as a part of charity event "Clive Aid 2002". The band set the record for merchandise and ticket sales.[32] The Mighty Boosh broke this record in 2008, with their second live show Boosh Live, playing seven consecutive nights.[33] 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.[34]

Leftfield set the world's decibel record for a live concert in 1996 when they reached 137db.[35] 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.[36] They returned in 2000 using a different sound system.

Albums recorded at Brixton

See also: Live at Brixton Academy (disambiguation).

Videos recorded at Brixton

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Visitor Information: O2 Academy Brixton. April 2012. LondonTown. https://archive.today/20121208192306/http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Entertainment/The_Brixton_Academy/df29/ . 8 December 2012.
  2. Web site: A Brief History of Brixton Academy. southlondonclub.co.uk. 17 August 2017 .
  3. Web site: VO5 NME Awards 2017: 9 Things You Might Not Know About London's O2 Academy Brixton. NME. Rhian Daly. 8 February 2017.
  4. Visvardi . Aikaterini . 31 March 2016 . The Sound of Music . Vicinity Magazine . . 89 . 23 December 2020. https://archive.today/20201223032808/https://issuu.com/vicinity_magazine/docs/vicinity_magazine_issuu/89 . 23 December 2020.
  5. Book: Allen, Carl . 15 April 2016 . London Gig Venues . . . 978-1445658209.
  6. Book: Parkes . Simon . Rafaeli . J.S. . 23 January 2014 . Live at the Brixton Academy: A Riotous Life in the Music Business . London, England . . 978-1847659934.
  7. Book: Gimarc, George . 2005 . Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970–1982 . . . 0879308486.
  8. Web site: I Bought the Brixton Academy for £1 . Parkes . Simon . Thomas . Justin . 27 January 2014 . . 23 December 2020. https://archive.today/20201223025944/https://www.vice.com/en/article/3bw8xn/i-bought-the-brixton-academy-for-1 . 23 December 2020.
  9. Web site: Bray . Elisa . 2014-01-23 . The week in music: Riotous story of how Brixton became a rock fans' . 2023-07-16 . . en.
  10. Book: Parkes, Simon . Live At The Brixton Academy: A Riotous Life in the Music Business . . 2014 . 9781846689550 . London.
  11. Web site: MBO to boost Academy roll-out . . 30 August 2004 . . 23 December 2020. https://archive.today/20201223034747/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12420162.mbo-to-boost-academy-roll-out/ . 23 December 2020.
  12. Web site: MKG Announce Carling Academy Liverpool. . 14 May 2003 . Entertainment Technology Press . 23 December 2020. https://archive.today/20201223035100/http://www.etnow.com/news/2003/5/mkg-announce-carling-academy-liverpool . 23 December 2020.
  13. Web site: O2 replaces Carling as Academy venues sponsor . . 6 November 2008 . . 23 December 2020. https://archive.today/20201223033321/https://www.marketingweek.com/o2-replaces-carling-as-academy-venues-sponsor/ . 23 December 2020.
  14. Web site: Profile. August 2005. Academy Music Group. 8 November 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070719234234/http://www.academy-music-group.co.uk/aboutus.php. 19 July 2007.
  15. Web site: Blackwell saluted as best of last 50 years. Music Week. Cardew . Ben. 9 April 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090425023029/http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1037465 . 25 April 2009.
  16. News: Suspected crush outside Asake gig at Brixton O2 Academy . 16 December 2022 . BBC News . 16 December 2022.
  17. News: Brixton Academy: Woman dies after Asake concert crush . 17 December 2022 . BBC News . 17 December 2022.
  18. Web site: 2022-12-19 . Security guard Gabrielle becomes second to die after Brixton Academy crowd crush . 2022-12-19 . The Independent.
  19. News: Witnesses to Brixton concert crush say many fans outside had tickets . The Guardian. 18 December 2022 . Heather . Stewart.
  20. News: Asake concert crush: what happened on the night at London venue . Matthew . Weaver . Heather . Stewart . 21 December 2022 . The Guardian.
  21. News: 2022-12-22 . Brixton Academy licence suspended after fatal crush . en-GB . BBC News . 2022-12-22.
  22. News: Salisbury . Josh . Brixton O2 Academy has licence suspended for three months after fatal crowd crush left two dead . 17 January 2023 . Evening Standard . 16 January 2023.
  23. News: Meisel . Anna . Kiteley . Patrick . Brixton Academy security guards regularly 'took bribes' . 17 January 2023 . BBC News . 17 January 2023.
  24. News: Warren . Jess . Met wants Brixton venue licence revoked over crush . 25 April 2023 . BBC News . 25 April 2023.
  25. News: Cafe . Rebecca . Met Police 'does not want O2 Brixton permanently closed' . 13 September 2023 . BBC News . 13 September 2023.
  26. Web site: Council . Lambeth . 2023-09-15 . Love Lambeth . 2023-09-16 . Love Lambeth . en-GB.
  27. News: Phillips . Jacob . Brixton Academy reopening tonight for first time since fatal crush . 19 April 2024 . Evening Standard . 19 April 2024.
  28. Web site: 30 Years Ago: The Smiths Play Their Final Concert. Zaleski . Annie . 12 December 2016 . Diffuser.fm . 23 December 2020. https://archive.today/20201223045734/https://diffuser.fm/smiths-final-concert/ . 23 December 2020.
  29. Web site: Morrissey jealous of neck brace . . 20 July 2009 . . 23 December 2020. https://archive.today/20201223050046/http://archive.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2009/07/20/morrissey_jealous_of_neck_brace/ . 23 December 2020.
  30. Web site: 25 Years Ago Today - the Ramones Play Their Last U.K. Show (Listen 2/3/96 Audio) .
  31. Web site: 9 Million Watch Madonna Webcast . . 28 November 2000. . . 23 December 2020. https://archive.today/20201223041715/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/9-million-watch-madonna-webcast/ . 23 December 2020.
  32. Web site: Record-breaking three Brixton Academy shows. ironmaiden.com . 15 February 2022. 15 February 2022.
  33. Web site: New 'The Mighty Boosh' exhibition to showcase unseen tour photography and Noel Fielding illustrations. NME. https://web.archive.org/web/20161022171415/https://www.nme.com/news/tv/new-the-mighty-boosh-exhibition-to-showcase-unseen-878866 . 22 October 2016. 28 July 2016. Moore . Sam.
  34. Web site: The xx announce record-breaking seven Brixton Academy shows. The Guardian. https://web.archive.org/web/20161126064714/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/25/the-xx-announce-record-breaking-seven-brixton-academy-shows . 26 November 2016. 25 November 2016.
  35. Web site: The loudest bands of all time . . 2 July 2020 . . . 23 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201223000000/https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/x-lists/the-loudest-bands-of-all-time/ . 23 December 2020. Alt URL
  36. Web site: Leftfield Bring the House Down . 6 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150412102906/http://www.turbosound.com/docs2/latest_news/EFEFuplZVkmVomoILp.shtml . 12 April 2015 . Turbosound. MUSIC Group IP Ltd. . November 2010.
  37. Web site: Faith No More: Live at the Brixton Academy (Video 1990). 18 September 1990. IMDb.
  38. Web site: 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.
  39. Web site: LIVE IN LONDON -BABYMETAL WORLD TOUR 2014-. 20 May 2015. Amazon.
  40. Web site: Sea Girls Shares New Single 'Hometown' And Launches New Documentary 'Homesick At Night For Brixton'. Udiscovermusic. 18 November 2021. 3 March 2022.