Hammersmith Apollo
Template:Infobox music venue The Hammersmith Apollo, located in Hammersmith, London, England, opened in 1932, and was known as "Gaumont Palace Hammersmith" until 1962. In this year, the venue was re-named the Hammersmith Odeon - the name many people still use for the venue, often shortened to "Hammy-O". The venue was later refurbished and re-named the Labatt's Apollo following a new sponsorship deal with Labatt's. Musical Theatre Star Michael Ball was the last person to play Hammersmith when it was named 'Odeon' and the first person to play Hammersmith when it was named 'Apollo'. This was during his sell out 1993 Tour.
Later, it was again re-named The Hammersmith Apollo, and played host to a number of stage productions, notably Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Doctor Dolittle, both starring Phillip Schofield. In 2002 the venue was again re-named, this time to the Carling Apollo after another brewery struck a deal with the owners, US-based Clear Channel Entertainment (spun off as Live Nation (Venues) UK Ltd in 2005).
In 2006, the venue reverted back to its former name, and is currently known as the Hammersmith Apollo.
Performances
It is as the Hammersmith Odeon that the venue is best known internationally, especially since Motörhead's 1981 live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith. Many rock and pop stars have performed at the Hammersmith Odeon, including Radiohead, Kate Bush, Queen, Tori Amos, The Cult, The Tubes, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, The Cure, Tool, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Iggy and the Stooges,Status Quo, Elkie Brooks, Metallica, Marillion, The Who, Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Rush, Genesis (band),Dire Straits, Venom, ABC, Nik Kershaw, Dream Theater and Duran Duran. David Bowie performed his final concert as Ziggy Stardust at the venue in July 1973. Bruce Springsteen's performances there in 1975 are also well known, as is Neil Young's performance there in the same year, when part of the venue caught fire. Johnny Cash performed at the venue in 1966. In late 1964 and early 1965 the Beatles played 38 shows over 21 nights. Special guests on the bill included the original Yardbirds featuring Eric Clapton. Also, Frank Zappa recorded parts of his 1979 album, Sheik Yerbouti, at the venue.
Randy Rhoads performed one of his first shows with new musical soulmate Ozzy Osbourne on the Blizzard of Ozz tour in 1980.
Venom accidentally burned Hammersmith's ceiling during performance, which event can be clearly seen in the 7 dates of hell concert video (during Countess Bathory). As a result, Venom was banned from Hammersmith for a year.
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed three sold out shows at this venue on his 1984 About Face solo tour which was documented on the concert video David Gilmour Live 1984.
Queen played several concerts at the Hammersmith, including their Christmas concerts in 1975 and 1979. In fact, the Hammersmith Odeon hosted the 4-night Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, a benefit concert to raise money for Cambodian residents who were victims of the tyrannical reign of dictator Pol Pot of which Queen played the first night.
Many bands have released live CDs or DVDs of concerts held at the Apollo, like pop-star Sophie Ellis-Bextor or Robbie Williams, and Kylie Minogue & Girls Aloud released DVDs of their concerts at the Apollo in 2004 and 2005 respectively, and a DVD of a Bruce Springsteen concert held there in 1975 was released as part of the Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition package; later the CD Hammersmith Odeon London '75 was released. Melodic death metal band In Flames also released a DVD that featured footage of a December 2004 performance there. Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard's show Glorious was also released as a DVD.
In the early 1960s, many of the top American stars performed at the Odeon, including Tony Bennett with Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Woody Herman and the Herd.
The Hammersmith Apollo is seen in the American romantic comedy film Just My Luck where McFly perform in which, in the movie, is the Hard Rock Cafe. It is also the location in The Football Factory where the Chelsea fans board the bus for Liverpool away.
Musical Theatre Star Michael Ball has performed at the Hammersmith Apollo on five occasions- each time selling out. His concerts in December 1993 and December 1994 were recorded by BBC Radio 2. He has also recorded his 2003 and 2007 concerts for DVD release.