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Topic: (SSC) London's hottest venues... Return to archive
September 28th, 2004 02:59 AM
MarthaMyDear Entertainment - Variety
London's hottest venues
Mon Sep 27, 8:16 AM ET
Gordon Masson, STAFF
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=sto...ottest_venues_1


LONDON -- London's resurgence of live music is prompting massive interest in the city's concert venues, with hundreds of millions of dollars being invested in the capital's theaters, clubs and arenas.

The centrally located Royal Albert Hall recently completed an eight-year £70 million ($125.9 million) refit, while its more modern regal counterpart, the riverside Royal Festival Hall complex, is undergoing a $161.9 million facelift. In the north of the city meanwhile, the 3,300-capacity Roundhouse is set to reopen in late 2005 after a $45 mil refurbishment and extension.

And those are by no means the biggest investments.

In June, the city's largest arena, Earls Court, changed hands in a $440.7 million deal. The 18,000 capacity arena, and sister venue Olympia, mostly host exhibitions and conferences, but new owners -- private property fund St James Capital and finance house Nomura Intl. -- are planning to increase the live music events schedule.

That commitment makes sense.

In the East End of the city, London Arena has been demolished, and the city's other large concert mainstay, Wembley Arena, closes soon for a $45 million refurb. Anxious not to lose out on business, however, Wembley's owners are erecting a temporary pavilion that will house 10,000 -- not far short of the proper arena's 12,000.

Still this potential gap in the east is already attempting to be plugged by ExCel Arena in London's docklands area, which is expanding its conference and exhibition business to include live music events, with hall configurations allowing audiences from 5,000 to 13,500.

The city's most extensive venue owners, however, are stock market-listed Mean Fiddler Music Group which recently added the Borderline (capacity 300) to its stable of the Astoria (2,000), the Forum (2,100), the Garage (500), the Jazz Cafe (400) and the Mean Fiddler (1,000).

But director Rob Hallett tells Variety that it's not just venue ownership that generates revenues: the company is also Britain's most prolific concert promoter.

"In the past year we've promoted Justin Timberlake (news), Usher and Britney Spears (news), not just in London, but across Europe," says Hallett. "We're involved in thousands of gigs per year, taking in anything from 300 people at the Borderline, which puts on shows every day of the year, to our own twin festivals at Leeds and Reading, to Glastonbury, which is the biggest festival in Europe."

On a smaller level, venue owner McKenzie Group has recently been the subject of a $60 million management takeover. Its London venues include the Carling Academy Brixton (4,700), the Carling Academy Islington (800) and Shepherd's Bush Empire (2,000).

And as if all that was not enough, September marked the rebirth of two legendary clubs: the Marquee (900) and the former Camden Palace (1,500).

The former, where the Rolling Stones made their 1962 live debut, makes its new home in Leicester Square, and reopened with a Jimi Hendrix exhibition, evoking some of the club's rich heritage.

"I love the location here; Leicester Square is all about entertainment, not just movies," Marquee owner Nathan Lowry says. "The Marquee has a fantastic heritage and I want this club to have that same ethos. We're looking to attract buzz bands on the cusp of breaking through to the big time, but we're also hoping more established bands will come to do warm up gigs at the Marquee."

Meanwhile, the former Camden Palace reopened as the renamed Koko. New owners, the Mint Group, bought the venue in March for more than $7.2 million and have pumped in a further $1.8 million to rebrand and refurbish the theater, which in its heyday attracted artists such as Prince, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Madonna (news - web sites) and the Eurythmics.

With numerous other clubs, students unions, halls and theaters dotted around London, belief in the capital as a touring destination has never been greater and venue owners collectively are improving facilities like never before.

[Edited by MarthaMyDear]
September 28th, 2004 07:19 PM
Soldatti Good article, thanks!