Performing arts venue in London, England
The
Roundhouse
is a
performing arts
and concert venue situated at the
Grade II* listed
former
railway engine shed
in
Chalk Farm
,
London
, England. The building was erected in 1846?1847 by the
London & North Western Railway
as a
roundhouse
, a circular building containing a
railway turntable
, but was used for that purpose for only about a decade. After being used as a warehouse for a number of years, the building fell into disuse just before
World War II
. It was first made a listed building in 1954.
[2]
It reopened after 25 years, in 1964, as a performing arts venue, when the playwright
Arnold Wesker
established the
Centre 42
Theatre Company and adapted the building as a theatre.
[3]
The large circular structure has hosted various promotions, such as the launch of the
underground
paper
International Times
in 1966,
[4]
one of only two UK appearances by
The Doors
with
Jim Morrison
in 1968,
[5]
and the
Greasy Truckers Party
in 1972.
[6]
The
Greater London Council
ceded control of the building to
Camden Council
in 1983. By that time, Centre 42 had run out of funds and the building remained unused until a local businessman purchased the building in 1996 and performing arts shows returned. It was closed again in 2004 for a multi-million
pound
redevelopment. On 1 June 2006, the Argentine show
Fuerzabruta
opened at the new Roundhouse.
[3]
Since 2006, the Roundhouse has hosted the
BBC Electric Proms
[7]
and numerous
iTunes Festivals
,
[8]
as well as award ceremonies such as the BT Digital Music Awards
[9]
and the Vodafone Live Music Awards.
[10]
In 2009,
Bob Dylan
performed a concert, and
iTunes
promoted a music
iTunes Festival
, at the venue. In line with the continuing legacy of
avant-garde
productions,
NoFit State Circus
performed the show
Tabu
during which the audience were encouraged to move around the performance space.
[11]
History
[
edit
]
The Roundhouse was built as a
turntable
engine shed
(or
roundhouse
) for the
London & Birmingham Railway
. Known as the Great Circular Engine House, or the Luggage Engine House,
[13]
it was built by Branson & Gwyther, using designs by architects Robert B. Dockray and
Robert Stephenson
. Construction started in 1846 and the building opened in 1847.
[14]
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
[17]
), and was supported by "well-known actors, playwrights, authors, musicians and others".
[16]
In 1966 the Roundhouse became an arts venue, after the freehold was taken up by the then new
Greater London Council
. The opening concert was the 15 October 1966
All Night Rave
, in which
Soft Machine
and
Pink Floyd
appeared at the launch of the
underground
newspaper
International Times
.
[18]
The first major concert took place on New Year's Eve 1966, when a night called Psychadelicamania was headlined by
The Who
. During the next decade the building became a significant venue for
UK Underground
music events
Middle Earth
and
Implosion
. Many of these were hosted and promoted by
Jeff Dexter
. Other bands playing at the Roundhouse during this period included
Gass
,
The Rolling Stones
,
[19]
Jeff Beck
,
The Yardbirds
,
Zoot Money
's
Dantalian's Chariot
,
David Bowie
,
Jimi Hendrix
,
Pink Floyd
,
[19]
Led Zeppelin
,
The Incredible String Band
,
Fleetwood Mac
,
Third World War
,
The Doors
with
Jefferson Airplane
, the
Ramones
,
The Clash
with
The Jam
,
Elvis Costello
,
Elkie Brooks
,
Otis Redding
, and
Motorhead
, who appeared at the Roundhouse on 20 July 1975.
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
Manic Street Preachers
' single "
A Design for Life
" prior to the start of redevelopment. Promotional videos for the singles "
No Matter What
" by
Boyzone
(1998), "
Handbags & Gladrags
" by
Stereophonics
(2001), and "
Burn Burn
" by
Lostprophets
(2003) were also filmed there. A scene from the comedy film
Smashing Time
set in the revolving restaurant at the top of the
GPO Tower
was filmed there in 1967. In July that year the Roundhouse hosted the "Dialectics of Liberation"
[20]
with (among others)
R. D. Laing
,
Herbert Marcuse
and
Allen Ginsberg
.
The Roundhouse has also been used for theatre, and has had two periods of theatrical glory, with musicals such as
Catch My Soul
(1969). Under administrator George Hoskins, the first phase also featured experimental theatre productions, such as the
Living Theatre
production of
1776
and other plays directed by
Peter Brook
. The once controversial nude revue
Oh! Calcutta!
opened in July 1970,
[19]
and started a run of nearly four thousand performances in London, and the anarchic "Evening of British Rubbish" with professor
Bruce Lacey
and
The Alberts
had one performance in 1967.
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
[
edit
]
The building lay largely empty until it was purchased for £6m in 1996 by the Norman Trust led by the
philanthropist
Torquil Norman
. In 1998 he set up the
Roundhouse Trust
and led its redevelopment, with a board of trustees which included musicians
Bob Geldof
and
Suggs
, and filmmaker
Terry Gilliam
.
[24]
[25]
The venue opened for a two-year period to raise awareness and funds for a redevelopment scheme, with former
Battersea Arts Centre
director
Paul Blackman
as its director. Shows promoted at this time included the
Royal National Theatre
's
Oh, What a Lovely War!
, dancer
Michael Clark's
comeback performance, percussion extravaganza
Stomp
,
Ken Campbell's
24-hour-long show
The Warp
and the
Argentine
De La Guarda's
Villa Villa
[19]
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
John McAslan & Partners
in association with engineering company
Buro Happold
,
[19]
reopened on 1 June 2006, promoting
Fuerzabruta
. Since 1996 the renovations had cost £27m.
[25]
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,
Michael Boyd
, artistic director of the
Royal Shakespeare Company
, transferred his RSC Histories Cycle to the Roundhouse, rearranging the performing space to match the Courtyard Theatre in
Stratford upon Avon
, where the cycle had first been staged.
[28]
On 31 March 2009, the charitable circus group
NoFit State
began presenting
Tabu
,
[11]
utilising the open space at the Roundhouse.
[29]
On 26 April 2009,
Bob Dylan
and his band performed at the Roundhouse as part of his 2009 UK tour,
[30]
and in July 2009 the
iTunes
Music Festival (supported by
Apple Computer
) was held at the venue.
[31]
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
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
The Roundhouse is
Grade II* listed
. It was declared a National Heritage Site in 2010, when a Transport Trust Heritage Plaque was presented by
Prince Michael of Kent
.
[25]
It is regarded as a notable example of mid-19th century railway architecture. The original building, 48 metres (157 ft) in diameter, is constructed in yellow brick and is distinctive for its unusual circular shape and pointed roof. The conical slate roof has a central smoke
louvre
(now glazed) and is supported by 24
cast-iron
Doric columns
(arranged around the original locomotive spaces) and a framework of curved ribs. The interior has original flooring and parts of the turntable and fragments of early railway lines.
[37]
The 2006 renovation was supported with conservation advice and funding from
English Heritage
and with grants from the
Heritage Lottery Fund
and the
Arts Council England
.
[38]
The project added seven layers of soundproofing to the roof, reinstated the
glazed roof-lights
, and added the steel and glass New Wing, which curves around the north side of the main building, to house the box office, bar and cafe, an art gallery foyer and offices.
[3]
[39]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Bane, M.,
White Boy Singin' the Blues
, London: Penguin, 1982,
ISBN
0-14-006045-6
- Bob Brunning
,
Blues: The British Connection
, London: Helter Skelter Publishing, 2002,
ISBN
1-900924-41-2
? First edition 1986; Second edition 1995,
Blues in Britain
- Bob Brunning
,
The
Fleetwood Mac
Story: Rumours and Lies
, London: Omnibus Press, 1990 and 1998,
ISBN
0-7119-6907-8
- Martin Celmins,
Peter Green
?
Founder of
Fleetwood Mac
, London: Sanctuary, 1995, foreword by
B. B. King
,
ISBN
1-86074-233-5
- Fancourt, L.,
British Blues on Record (1957?1970)
, Retrack Books, 1989
- Dick Heckstall-Smith
,
The Safest Place in the World: A personal history of British Rhythm and blues
, Quartet Books Limited, 1989,
ISBN
0-7043-2696-5
? Second Edition:
Blowing The Blues ? Fifty Years Playing The British Blues
, Clear Books, 2004,
ISBN
1-904555-04-7
- Christopher Hjort,
Strange Brew:
Eric Clapton
and the British blues boom, 1965?1970
, foreword by
John Mayall
, Jawbone, 2007,
ISBN
1-906002-00-2
- Paul Myers,
Long John Baldry
and the Birth of the British Blues
,
Vancouver
GreyStone Books, 2007,
ISBN
1-55365-200-2
- Harry Shapiro
Alexis Korner
: The Biography
, London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 1997, Discography by Mark Troster,
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
[
edit
]
- 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
- Motorhead
:
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)
- Shpongle
:
Live In Concert
(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 Bohmer
:
Live at The Roundhouse, London
(2022)
- Tinlicker
:
Live at The Roundhouse
(2023)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"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
. 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
. 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"
.
roundhouse.org.uk
. Roundhouse Trust
. Retrieved
19 March
2022
.
- ^
Rose, Steve (29 May 2006).
"What goes around ..."
The Guardian
. London
. 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.
- ^
United Kingdom
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
. London
. Retrieved
18 April
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
Pigott, Nick
, ed. (August 2010). "Headline News: Camden roundhouse becomes heritage site".
The Railway Magazine
. Vol. 156, no. 1312. London. p. 6.
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
. London
. Retrieved
3 April
2010
.
- ^
Karen (7 October 2009).
"iTunes Festival 24 July 2009"
. 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
.
- ^
"Reverb festival"
.
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
.
- ^
Cannon, Jon (2006).
Shared Interest
. English Heritage. pp. 10, 50
. Retrieved
18 April
2010
.
- ^
"The Roundhouse"
. John McAslan & Partners
. Retrieved
17 April
2010
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Roundhouse
.