Category: Places, Everyone!

Places, Everyone!…Venue #12/50: Royal Albert Hall in London, England

The Royal Albert Hall will be celebrating its 175th anniversary soon. The stately music hall was built in the 1850s at the behest of the Royal Consort Prince Albert. Not long before that date, London had played host to an event called The Great Exhibition. This giant fair was held to celebrate innovations and success stories from the world of industry and technology. It was the precursor to what would become the World Fair. Because the Great Exhibition turned out to be such a hit, Prince Albert declared that London should construct a variety of permanent elaborate structures for public use. One such building was to be a grand music hall. It was originally going to be called by another name, but when Queen Victoria was asked to help open the building, she insisted that the name be changed to reflect the work done by her husband and thus, The Royal Albert Hall came into being.

Royal Albert Hall is a rounded, cylindrical-shaped building that is noted for its giant glass-domed roof (which remains the largest glass-domed roof in the world). It is also noted for some of the architectural flourishes it contains such as a series of decorative friezes that adorn the outer, upper rim of the hall and are meant to honour all forms of British industry. Royal Albert Hall holds from between 5000-6000 people, depending on the event. All manner of events have been held here from political speeches, to suffragette rallies, memorial concerts, classical music recitals, rock n’ roll shows, boxing matches and much, much more. When the facility first opened, audiences marveled at the spaciousness and grandeur of the concert hall, but as soon as the first musical notes were played, everyone realized that they had a serious problem on their hands. Because of the materials used to construct Royal Albert Hall, sound absorption had not fully been considered. So when the first musical notes were played, the sound echoed all around as if in a stone canyon. In time, many alterations were made in an attempt to muffle and/or redirect the sound waves that were being created. Eventually, a series of elliptical discs was installed, much like those in Aula Magna in Caracas, Venezuela (which you can find in a previously-written post here). The installation of these sound absorbing discs ended up not only being aesthetically pleasing but also served to turn the Royal Albert Hall’s famously poor acoustics into one of the best acoustical music halls in the world. If you want to get a sense of the opulence of the Royal Albert Hall, then watch this short video (narrated by none other than Mick Jagger) that the Hall put out as the COVID pandemic restrictions were easing and the public was being invited back to Royal Albert Hall to watch shows again. It is an excellent hype video that was created in a style that the Brits seem to have mastered. I am sure you will enjoy it all. The Royal Albert Hall “Welcome Back” video can be found here. 

Noise muffling discs hang suspended from the ceiling.
Noise muffling discs hang suspended from the ceiling.

In its almost 175 years of existence, the Royal Albert Hall has hosted many, many memorable events and performers. There are so many excellent videos available of iconic performances that I cannot hope to cover them all in the list I will assemble below. Using a simple Google search will uncover hundreds of videos by some of the world’s biggest stars. As for the purposes of this post, I will list ten that are noteworthy because of how the video showcases the architecture of the interior concert space, because of who the performer is and/or because of the memorable nature of the performance itself. So sit back and get ready for ten amazing performances across all genres and eras. The Royal Albert Hall is one of the world’s great concert venues and you are about to see why. The link for each video will be in the song/composition title. Here we go!

1- Nimrod by Sir Edward Elgar as performed at the BBC Proms.

“The Proms” are a multi-week celebration of classical music that has been held since 1895. These first “promenade concerts” were held outside in public garden spaces. The BBC has broadcast these concerts since the 1920s. Since WWII, The Proms have been mainly held at the Royal Albert Hall. They are, arguably, the most well known event that is continuously held at the venue. That, alone, would be reason enough to include a “Proms” performance in this list, but there is more, with reference to this particular performance. While “God Save the Queen” and “Rule Britannia” may be England’s most well known and officially recognized anthems, “NImrod” by Sir Edward Elgar ranks right up there in terms of the patriotic feelings it evokes. What also is noteworthy about this particular rendition of “Nimrod” is the use of the Royal Albert Hall’s enormous organ, which is on full display in this performance. 

Both “Nimrod” and “Rule Britannia” (which normally closes The Proms) have political overtones to them which were put to good use during WWII and the Falklands War. However, the emotions of  these compositions added much fuel to the fire during the recent BREXIT referendums that saw England vote to leave the European Union and return to their own independent nation state. The Proms held during the referendum years were accompanied by much flag waving and formal protesting, both inside and outside of Royal Albert Hall. So, The Proms are, indeed, a festival of music, but they can be much more than that as well.

A concert still from The BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall during the BREXIT referendum.
BREXIT and The Proms at Royal Albert Hall.

You can learn more about the composition “Nimrod” by Sir Edward Elgar from a previous post that you can find here.

2- Layla by Eric Clapton

No single performer has appeared more often at Royal Albert Hall than Eric Clapton. As I type these words, his appearances total well over 200!!!  The acoustical properties of the Royal Albert Hall are well suited for showcasing the crisp, cracklingly clear notes that emanate from his guitar. “Layla” is his most popular and successful solo song, so it seemed like a great choice to place in this list. Clapton has also appeared at the Royal Albert Hall with Cream, the Yardbirds and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, along with various guest collaborations with all manner of A-list rock stars. In his words, performing at the Royal Albert Hall is like “performing in my living room”.

Album cover of Eric Clapton live at Royal Albert Hall.

3- Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey

Eric Clapton may hold the record for appearances at the Royal Albert Hall by a male performer, but the record for most appearances by a female performer belongs to Shirley Bassey. Shirley Bassey was born in Wales and is regarded as one of the most famous Welsh-born people of all time. She gained fame as a singer and is most well known for singing three of the theme songs to various James Bond movies. Bassey was invited to sing for Queen Elizabeth for her Golden and Diamond Jubilees and is generally regarded as one of Britain’s most talented and charismatic singers ever. This particular performance of her hit song “Goldfinger” certainly shows her at her sassy and talented best. 

A photo of Dame Shirley Bassey at Royal Albert Hall in 1974.
Dame Shirley Bassey at Royal Albert Hall in 1974.

4- Set Fire to the Rain by Adele

When Adele first burst onto the music scene, the power and clarity of her voice was unrivaled. While on tour, Adele stopped by the Royal Albert Hall for a one-night-only performance that was recorded for a live concert DVD. This particular performance was the perfect marriage of a powerful singer with an acoustically perfect performance space. The song “Set Fire to the Rain” from her Royal Albert Hall live concert DVD earned Adele a Grammy Award for Best Live Performance of the Year. The whole concert is amazing to watch/listen to but this song, particularly so. Enjoy.

The album cover for Adele: Live at Royal Albert Hall.

5- Mr. Brightsides by The Killers

The Killers are a US rock band out of Las Vegas. However, they have always been very popular in the UK, so it is no surprise at all that their performance of “Mr. Brightside”, one of the most popular crowd sing-along songs of the past thirty bears, would play well at the Royal Albert Hall. One of the Royal Albert Hall’s most noteworthy physical features is how the audience forms a ring around the concert stage. When an artist or band really gets the audience moving, that energy flows from all directions and envelops the band below. It is a lot of fun to witness so many people being so completely in sync with the performers on stage. This video shows evidence of this happening. As always, “Mr. Brightside” is a terrific song on its own and is a real crowd pleaser everywhere I have ever seen it played. The Killers at Royal Albert Hall is no exception.

A live concert shot of The Killers performing at Royal Albert Hall.
The Killers at Royal Albert Hall.

To read more about “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, click here to read a previously-written post.

6- Deep Purple: Live with the London Symphony Orchestra, 1969

For my Deep Purple fans (and I know that you are out there), you will know that they went through a symphonic phase that is captured well in this fifty-minute concert video from Royal Albert Hall. If you like your music as a mix of psychedelic and orchestral, then this mashup is for you. It is a recreation of the lost score for keyboardist Jon Lord’s “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”. Several artists make guest appearances toward the end such as Ronnie James Dio. 

The album cover for Deep Purple and Malcolm Arnold at Royal Albert Hall, 1969.

If you want to read a previously-written Deep Purple-inspired post about their most famous song, “Smoke on the Water”, click here.

7- Oscar Winning Tears by Raye

We no longer have the vocal stylings of Amy Winehouse to enjoy. May she rest in peace. But it seems as though we may have a worthy successor on the horizon in the form of a musical dynamo named Raye. If you have never heard Raye sing before, then get ready to be impressed because what…a…voice!!!! Raye cleaned up at the most recent Brit Awards, winning six different awards. If she is new to you, then click here for a closer look at her during her NPR Tiny Desk Concert. But for now, enjoy her strong, powerful voice in the Royal Albert Hall’s great acoustical setting. She is so tickled to be there. I am sure we are watching a dream come true for Raye during this performance. It is all awesome to see. Click away; you won’t be disappointed!                

A publicity still of singer Ray standing in front of the Royal Albert Hall.
Raye in front of Royal Albert Hall

8- Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

The first time I ever came across the band Snow Patrol was when I stumbled across a YouTube video of them performing a song of theirs called “Run” at a music festival called Oxegen. What really captured my attention was a crowd of 80,000 people singing along to every word of this song. The lead singer of Snow Patrol, Gary Lightbody, just stood back and let the audience sing his hit song. He almost had tears in his eyes. (You can watch that video here.) The second time I came across Snow Patrol was for their song “Chasing Cars” at this performance from Royal Albert Hall. The video does a really good job of showing off the interior concert hall space, including the acoustical discs that are suspended from the ceiling. As per usual with Snow Patrol songs, there is a good crowd sing-along toward the end as well. I don’t always require my music to rock me or to tell me a story. Sometimes, I just need it to create a perfect, magical moment where everything nonsensical in the world melts away and what remains just feels perfect and happy and safe. “Chasing Cars” is a song that makes that happen. I have watched both Snow Patrol videos numerous times, whenever I need a pick-me-up. Enjoy. If this is your first time hearing the band, then you’re welcome, too. 

Snow Patrol at Royal Al Bert Hall.
Snow Patrol at Royal Albert Hall.

9- Interstellar Theme by Hans Zimmer

The video for this song is the only one in this list that is not a live performance. But that is OK. What the video does is showcase the venue from interior and exterior perspectives while focussing on the famous Royal Albert Hall organ. The video also intersperses clips from the movie Interstellar with computer graphics that illustrate how the song is constructed, while also serving as a tour of the Royal Albert Hall. I could listen to the Interstellar theme all day long. What a fabulous piece of music. It is made even more so by using the impressive Royal Albert Hall organ! Wow!

A photo of the red carpet gathering before Interstellar was performed at Royal Albert Hall. Stephen Hawking is in the front.
Stephen Hawking and friends at Royal Albert Hall for Interstellar.

To learn more about Interstellar, click here to read a previous post about it and Hans Zimmer.  

10- The Sun Always Shines on TV by a-ha

As a band and, as Pop songs go, I have always thought that a-ha flew a bit under the radar. This song “The Sun Always Shines on TV” is a case in point. The song really showcases the strong singing voice and range of lead singer Morten Harket. Not unlike Canada’s own Corey Hart, Harket was promoted as a pretty boy, teen idol based on how good he looked in the award winning video for their hit song “Take On Me”. But lost in the hoopla over how handsome Harket turned out to be was his multi-octave singing range. As he matures into middle age, less emphasis is being placed on his appearance, which is allowing his natural talent to shine. There are literally hundreds of other videos I could have chosen for this final spot, but I like the grand orchestral feel that this song has when played in front of a live symphony ensemble at the Royal Albert Hall. Enjoy.

a-ha at Royal Albert Hall.
a-ha at Royal Albert Hall.

If you want to read more about the song “Take On Me”, click here to read a previously-written post.

There you have it! Ten great performances that all were made better by being staged at the Royal Albert Hall. I will conclude this post with a couple of historical connections that this storied venue has. First of all, the Royal Albert Hall has been the site of many memorial concerts and Royal Galas and the like. Arguably, the most famous of these memorial concerts was the one held over one hundred years ago to honour those killed when the Titanic sank off of the coast of Newfoundland on its maiden voyage. As you may be aware, one notable aspect of Titanic lore concerns the house band playing like gentlemen in order to calm the passengers as the ship began to sink. At the memorial concert held at Royal Albert Hall, Sir Edward Elgar and six other composers acted as conductors that day for an orchestra drawn from a variety of symphony orchestras totalling almost 500 players in all. The closing composition was “Nearer My God to Thee”, which is what eye witnesses have stated was what Wallace Hartley and the rest of his Titanic bandmates were playing as the Titanic went down. 

A photo of a newspaper photograph of the Titanic Memorial concert held at Royal Albert Hall in 1915.

A second historical connection that has little to nothing to do with music concerns WWII and the Blitz. As noted off the top of this post, the Royal Albert Hall is a beautiful, cylindrically-shaped building noted for its giant glass-domed roof. Many have wondered how it was that in the heart of the German bombing campaign in England known as The Blitz, that this elegant glass-domed roof wasn’t destroyed, as so much of the rest of London was. The answer to that question is a rather unfortunate one in reality. As it turned out, the glass-domed roof was such a distinctive sight from above that German bomber pilots were ordered to leave it standing because it acted as a homing beacon for incoming pilots, allowing them to orient themselves once they were over the city. However, as much as the Royal Albert Hall helped the German war effort, it also served as a rallying cry for British soldiers. As per tradition, when soldiers are on the march, they often sing marching songs that are constructed in such a way that the lyrics and musical rhythm help keep their marching movements in sync. As often is the case with marching songs, the subject matter revolves around wives and girlfriends, or else it revolves around the enemy. Well, as it turns out, there was a WWII marching song sung by British soldiers entitled “Hitler Has Got Only One Ball”…I kid you not. In this song, Hitler’s sexual prowess is called into question by virtue of the fact that one of his testicles was claimed to be kept as a war trophy in, of all places, the Royal Albert Hall. Apparently, there were further lyrics to this song that also called into question the sexual equipment that various other Nazi officials were packing. In any case, the Royal Albert Hall served as a homing beacon for the German Air Force and a UK rallying cry, all at the same time. When the war finally ended and a thorough survey of the bombing damage was undertaken, the Royal Albert Hall was one of the very few prominent buildings in the London area to have escaped relatively unscathed. Not surprisingly, it was the location of one of Winston Churchill’s most famous wartime speeches in which he spoke on the date of American Thanksgiving to thank the US for having entered the war and coming to Britain’s aid.

If you need any further indication of the historic and cultural significance of the Royal Albert Hall to the people of England, you can find it in the lyrics of one of the Beatles most creative and original songs, “A Day in the Life”, in which the Royal Albert Hall is specifically mentioned. (You can read a post about that song here). In any case, the Royal Albert Hall was a venue that was first created to honour the accomplishments of industry and good old British know-how. It survived multiple wars, acted as a site for national memorials and served as host for many musical and sporting events that have become synonymous with British history itself. The Royal Albert Hall may have excellent acoustics and a beautiful glass-domed roof, but it has always been more than just a music venue. It is part of the lore of England and, as such, it is a hallowed cultural ground, indeed.

The link to the official website for the Royal Albert Hall can be found here.

The link to a video that will take you on a guided tour of the Royal Albert Hall can be found here.


***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

Places, Everyone….Venue #11/50: Sun City Resort and Casino, Bophuthatswana/South Africa

The title of this post gives away the answer I am seeking, but let’s play a little game anyway, shall we? I am going to provide you with a snippet of a historical timeline and you tell me where in the world this timeline took place. Here we go!  A group of white men arrive on the shores of a new land. These men have come from a foreign land. When they disembark, they do so under the banner of God. These white men firmly believe that they are representatives of God’s chosen people. They also firmly believe that all that lay before them is rightfully theirs because, as just mentioned, they are God’s chosen people. These white men establish a home base, from which they expand ever outward across this new land. They may attempt to convert the Indigenous Peoples they meet along the way as a means of eliminating resistance and easing their path forward. But, truth be told, these white men don’t really care about what happens to the Indigenous populations they encounter. What they do care about is land acquisition, firm control over all who reside on this land, as well as the accumulation of wealth. Those Indigenous populations that resist the encroachment of these white men are met (and subsequently subjugated) by overwhelming military force. Their presence will be removed from the path of progress. Once the white men have established themselves as a political force to be reckoned with, laws will be passed that are aimed to accomplish what armed force was used for previously. This is how empires are built. This is how entire populations are enslaved. Where in the world are we?

If you said that I was referring to how the U.S. west was settled well, points for you! You are correct. If you said that this timeline is from how Spanish conquistadors plowed their way through the Aztec and Inca empires well, points for you as well! If you exclaim that this timeline is obviously referring to how the French and English railroaded their way across the land that we call Canada, then guess what? You get points, too!  Points for you for guessing that this is about South American farmers being forced off of their prime farmland. Points to you for discerning  that I am referring to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Kudos…as well as points…to you for correctly guessing that colonizing countries have been wreaking havoc around the planet for centuries! In almost every case, one aspect of that drive to conquer and displace native populations has been that it always occurs in the name of God. For the purposes of this post, I am referring to South Africa.

Many European countries called the 1600s and onward as the age of exploration. It was a time when countries such as England, France, Spain and Portugal built up vast navies and set sail to the four corners of the world. Like many geographic locations around the world, the land that makes up the country that we call South Africa had been populated by Indigenous Peoples for thousands of years. The first white men to set foot in South Africa did so in the 1600s in the name of exploration and of God. Without going through the long history of South African colonization, let me focus on the 1900s. In the last century, the Dutch Reformed Church became one of the most influential political and religious organizations in South Africa. The Dutch Reformed Church espoused a belief that they alone were God’s chosen representatives on Earth. They also believed that salvation was something that was reserved specifically for them. Furthermore, living a pure and pious life that rejected all forms of modernism was the only way to ensure that salvation happened when the time came for that. Finally, they believed that no one outside of their group could experience salvation, thus, their lives held no meaning and little value beyond that which could be extracted from their forced labour. If you are reading these words and thinking that the members of the Dutch Reformed Church were crackpots and/or religious extremists and should be ignored, then you are not reading the tea leaves of history properly. The politics of racial and ethnic purity run through all manner of people from all over the world. The Nazis and the Japanese believed this in WWII. The Taliban believe it today in Afghanistan. Sir John A. MacDonald made speeches about this as Canada was becoming a country in reference to the Indigenous Peoples who lived here first. The same thinking is oozing through America as that country suffers through a religious coup that is unfolding in slow motion but unfolding, nonetheless. In South Africa, the same thing happened after WWII when the Dutch Reformed Church, which by then had evolved into the National Party, took power. By 1948, laws were enacted that established a set of policies that became known as Apartheid or “apartness” or, in other words, the formal separation of the races in South Africa and the forced segregation of all those who were not white.

You may be forgiven if you forgot that this is supposed to be a music post. But sometimes, in order to appreciate the song (or venue) being profiled, it is important to place it in the proper historical context. In this case, in order to understand why the Sun City Casino and Resort became a global lightning rod, you have to first understand a little about how South Africa became a white supremacist state under the banner of Christianity. While there is plenty to say about this, I will concern myself with how the policies of Apartheid worked to isolate Black South Africans onto small plots of land known as Bantustans.  The laws of Apartheid were set in place for the benefit of the minority white population of South Africa. The laws were created by white people for the preservation of white culture and lifestyles. In the eyes of those making the laws, the essence of the humanity of the majority Black population was basically regarded as being subhuman and not worthy of their concern, except when it came to how best to control them as a threat. The plan that was arrived at was to forcibly clear all urban areas of Black people. These displaced people would then be forcibly relocated onto ancestral or tribal homelands. These homelands were known as Bantustans. There were over a dozen Bantustans created on land that the white-run government viewed as being expendable or undesirable. Once relocated onto their ancestral Bantustan, the black population would be forced to remain there. They were only allowed to leave their restricted area to work for white-owned businesses. When they did leave, they had to carry a passbook with them at all times. Other than for work, the entire black population was forced to feed themselves, care for their own sick, educate their children, etc., all on their own. Eventually, even those minimal rights were replaced by the National Party, with an easy example being laws passed that required all education be taught using the Afrikaans language, instead of the native tongue of the people in their own Bantustan. 

For thirty years or so, the South African government was given free rein to function as they saw fit. In the global network of governments, they adopted the identity of being defenders of democracy and as being fiercely opposed to communism. At a time of Cold War tensions, this identity served the interests of western countries such as England and the United States, who, in turn, offered South Africa economic support in the form of foreign investment. That millions of Black South Africans were suffering for decades under this Apartheid regime meant nothing to the allies of South Africa. In the 1970s, two things happened at once that set the stage for what took place at Sun City Casino and Resort. The first thing was that organized resistance by Blacks against the government became more frequent. In reply, leaders such as Nelson Mandela were imprisoned, and other activists such as Steven Biko were actually killed. In the Western World, singer Peter Gabriel released a song about Biko’s death called simply “Biko”. (You can read a previously written post about that song here). That song was one of the first ways in which ordinary citizens (like me) became aware of what was happening in South Africa. Because of a rising tide of popular sentiment against the policies of Apartheid, western governments were forced to enforce economic sanctions against South Africa resulting in foreign investments being withdrawn and withheld.  

To counteract the growing global opposition, the South African government engaged in a public relations move by formally granting independence to four of the Bantustans. While this sounded good on paper, in reality it meant that the white government was formally severing all ties with Black people in those Bantustans. Those confined to the “newly independent” Bantustans lost their South African citizenship. One of those new “countries” was called Bophuthatswana. One of the pragmatic reasons that the South African government created these four “new countries” was to create a loophole from the world economic sanctions that were having a negative effect on South Africa’s economy. Foreign investment was welcomed in these four “new countries” because, technically speaking, investing in Bophuthatswana was not the same as investing in South Africa anymore since Bophuthatswana was now its own country. In order to curry further favour with Western allies, Bophuthatswana was chosen as the site where a new casino and resort would be built. That resort ended up being called Sun City. In order to overcome the punitive nature of the economic sanctions, the owner of Sun City, a man named Sol Kerzner, offered to pay headlining music acts exorbitant amounts of money to perform there. By enticing A-list celebrities to stay and perform at Sun City, it would serve as a way of legitimizing the policies of South Africa in the eyes of the world. In the beginning, this tactic seemed to be proving its worth. Music stars such as Elton John, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, Queen and many others agreed to lend their credibility to Sun City in exchange for million dollar cheques. These appearances amounted to a circumvention of the economic and cultural embargo that had been called for by no less an organization than the United Nations.

A photo father interior of the concert hall at the Sun City Resort and Casino.
Concert hall at Sun City Resort and Casino.

In the early 1980s, as famine swept through much of the African continent, the age of the global charity music concert was born. Efforts such as the Band-Aid charity single in the UK and the corresponding charity singles from USA for Africa (“We Are the World”) and Northern Lights (“Tears Are Not Enough”) ushered in a cycle of attention upon Africa. As part of this cycle of attention, a campaign began to free imprisoned African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela from prison. As the intensity of these political/cultural protests grew, former member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, Steven Van Zandt opted to launch a solo career. As part of creating songs for his new album, Van Zandt decided that he wanted to write about his disgust with those entertainers who he viewed as propping up the Apartheid regime in South Africa by appearing at the Sun City Resort and Casino. In talking about a song that he simply called “Sun City” with his record producer Arthur Baker, it was proposed by Baker that the song would garner more attention if it was presented from the point of view of a USA-for-Africa-type supergroup instead of simply by Steven Van Zandt himself. In the weeks that followed this discussion, Van Zandt approached many of his friends and acquaintances in the music world for help. In the end, over fifty people came together to form a supergroup known as Artists United Against Apartheid. Members of this group included Bruce Springtseen, Hall and Oates, Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, Hip Hop’s DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Melle Mel, Peter Gabriel, Bono, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Kurtis Blow, Gil Scott-Heron, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Run DMC, Bonnie Raitt and many, many more superstar artists from a wide range of musical genres. Sales from the song “Sun City” by Artists United Against Apartheid raised over one million dollars which, in turn, was donated in its entirety to leaders of the African National Congress. Not long after the release of “Sun City” came the actual release from prison of Nelson Mandela. National elections were held soon afterward. The National Party was soundly thrashed at the polls. Nelson Mandela became President of South Africa and the end of Apartheid was at hand.

Photo of the supergroup Artists United Against Apartheid.
Artists United Against Apartheid. *Steven Van Zandt is in lower lefthand corner.

Through all of the dramatic changes to South African society that have taken place since those heady days when Mandela came to power, the Sun City Resort and Casino has continued to operate. The “country” of Bophuthatswana (which not one single foreign government had ever officially recognized anyway) was dissolved and its citizens given their South African citizenship papers back again. You can visit South Africa and make reservations at Sun City, if you are so inclined. I think that I will pass, thank you very much. To me, Sun City will always sit as a prime example of the corrupting influences of money and religion. In a perfect world, money would be used for the betterment of all and religion would be used to offer charity to those who need it, a safe harbour for those experiencing personal storms and a checklist of values for those seeking to live life while making a positive difference in the lives of others. For what it is worth, my worldview is not limited exclusively to those who look or love like I do. All good people are welcome to experience my version of salvation. Besides being completely safe and inclusive, I can promise you that the soundtrack of our salvation will be kicking, too.

The link to the video for the song “Sun City” by the group Artists United Against Apartheid can be found here. ***There does not appear to be a lyrics video for this song. Sorry.

The link to the official website for Artists United Against Apartheid can be found here.

The link to a video/documentary about the making of the song “Sun City” can be found here.

The link to the official website for the Sun City Resort and Casino can be found here for those who are curious. 


***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

Places, Everyone!…Venue #10/50: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan

The Nippon Budokan or Budokan, as it is simply known, is a 14,000 seat venue that exists on land belonging to the former Imperial palace that sits in northeast Tokyo, Japan. Because Budokan sits in a parklike setting, there is a feeling of tranquility that surrounds the building proper. If you have ever been there or have watched events that are held there, you can attest to the peaceful nature of the exterior of this building. But the peaceful exterior of Budokan masks the true nature of what goes on within its walls. For Budokan is not known all throughout Japan as a place of quiet contemplation and meditation; it is known as an arena of combat. Budokan is unlike almost all other venues that have or will appear in this series because it was not built with it becoming a music venue in mind. Budokan was built in the early 1960s as an Olympic venue for Judo and other martial arts in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games. Since then, Budokan has been known as the main sports venue in Tokyo for all things related to martial arts, boxing and wrestling. The building itself was modeled after a famous Buddhist temple that has become known as The Temple of Dreams. That temple is purported to have been a place where Buddha appeared in a prince’s private palace in order to meditate. Thus, the ideas of quiet strength and mental toughness have been brought over into Budokan and help to create an appropriately charged atmosphere inside whenever two combatants enter the main floor area to do battle. The Budokan is topped with pagoda-style roofing, which is typical of grand buildings in Asia. The main portion of the building is cylindrical. The interior seating rises up steeply on all sides, with a fixed combat floor in the middle of the lowest level. The primary material used to construct the actual auditorium area was concrete. Because sound bounces off of concrete, and because the combat floor is surrounded on all sides by spectators, the noise of their roars and cheers tends to bounce off the walls in all directions, enveloping any participants on the floor below. Thus, the Budokan has become known for its acoustical properties, as well as its role as the centre of martial arts in Japan. The story of the Budokan would have ended there for the purposes of this series of posts if not for the arrival in Japan of an English band that you may have heard of called the Beatles. Their performance at Budokan changed the nature of how this venue could be used and helped set the stage for one of rock music’s most defining and uplifting moments. But first, let’s talk about the Fab Four.

Martial arts inside of the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.
Martial arts inside of the Budokan.

As you know, Beatlemania swept North America in the mid-1960s as John, Paul, George and Ringo burst onto the music scene, dominated the music charts and changed rock n’ roll history in the process. The band toured extensively in 1964 and ‘65. Everywhere they went, they were met by screaming mobs of fans, mostly young girls, who were completely and totally enthralled with the band and the music they were making. However, if you know your Beatles history, you will know that the band stopped touring for good in 1966 after a disastrous US tour that included John Lennon’s famously misconstrued quote about the Beatles being “more popular than Jesus”. By the time the 1966 world tour began, manager Brian Epstein had died, and the lads in the band were discovering how difficult life as a band could be when they were forced to deal with business matters, as well as remain creative and productive as a group. Up until 1966, life had been overwhelmingly positive for the Beatles. But in 1966, that began to change. One of their first tastes of dissatisfaction and public negativity arose over plans that were made to have the biggest band in the world perform at Tokyo’s shiny new venue known as Budokan. The news that a foreign rock n’ roll band was going to perform at Budokan was met with a fair degree of outrage and some actual protests. The reason for this had nothing really to do with the band itself. Instead, it is a testament to how important martial arts are to the cultural fabric of Japan. It is not an exaggeration to say that martial arts are viewed with almost a religious-like zeal. The cultural history of Japan is filled with stories of warriors known as Samurai. Martial arts, both the combat aspect along with the mental training involved, are held in high regard. Thus, when it was announced that the Beatles were to perform at Budokan, it was akin to inviting foreigners to play the devil’s music in a holy shrine. Into this charged atmosphere strode the Beatles. In the links below, you can watch this entire concert unfold. There are several local acts that perform as openers for the band, and then, as if by magic, the Beatles appear on the tiny Budokan stage, slightly elevated but still near the bottom of the cylindrical bowl and all heck breaks loose! The power of Beatlemania overcame the resistance to change held by martial arts purists and Budokan transformed into a music venue right before our eyes. It is one of the more interesting concerts I have ever seen. One thing that became known right from the opening notes of the opening song was that the acoustical properties of Budokan help to amplify the voices of fans as much as they do the artists performing on stage. At times it is almost impossible to even hear John and Paul trying to sing. The Beatles’ performance showed the people of Tokyo that their venerated martial arts venue could also host music concerts without taking anything away from the lustre of the building as the home of combat sports in Japan. Because of that performance by the Beatles, future opportunities opened up for other artists and bands to appear there. One of those appearances proved to be the reason why Budokan ended up becoming equally famous as a concert venue in the eyes of the music world. That concert was held in 1976. The band in question was America’s Cheap Trick. The live album recorded there is universally regarded as one of the best live albums of all time. It was a concert that saved a band’s career. This is Cheap Trick at Budokan.

A concert photo of The Beatles breaking down barriers at Budokan in 1966.
The Beatles breaking down barriers at Budokan in 1966.

The story of Cheap Trick at Budokan is one that I have told before in a previous post that you can read here. However, the short strokes of the story are as follows: Cheap Trick was essentially the anti-Beatles of their day. The Beatles were hitmakers right from the beginning and only soured toward the end of the decade, as internal pressures mounted and the first bits of negative press began to emerge. Their ascendency to the top of the charts was watched by millions. Their every move was filmed and chronicled. As very young men and musicians, they learned and grew in the public eye until it all became too much and the band broke up. Cheap Trick formed in the decade following the death of the Beatles. However, their musical journey was, in many ways, the complete opposite of that of the Fab Four. The band toiled in relative anonymity for several years. They opened for bands such as Styx and ZZ Top but never made much headway on the charts with their own music. Touring is a necessary step for new bands. Playing everywhere, all of the time helps to hone their skills as individual musicians; it tightens their playing as a group, and it helps audiences get to know who they are. Unfortunately, it costs money to tour. Many new bands such as Cheap Trick know that there is a limit to how long they can afford to tour before debts become too great and begin to overwhelm the small revenue streams that may open up from gate receipts and the sales of band merch. Cheap Trick was reaching the point where they had released several albums, and they had a few minor US hits such as “Surrender”, but they just weren’t able to get over the financial hump in America. The end seemed near for the band. They were going to have to call it quits, strictly because of the high cost of making music in the US. Then a funny thing happened. For reasons that even the band cannot quite explain, they managed to earn a gold record from sales in Japan, of all places!  Being the clever boys that they were, the members of Cheap Trick stopped touring in America and took flight for Japan. To their great surprise and relief, they were greeted at the airport in Japan by thousands of screaming Japanese fans. It was Beatlemania all over again, except it was for a relatively unknown American band called Cheap Trick. As the band is quoted as saying, they arrived in economy class seats on the airplane from the States and have flown First Class ever since. From the moment Cheap Trick arrived in Japan, they were mobbed by fans everywhere they went. The band was forced to hole up in hotels. They couldn’t leave without running the risk of being swarmed by fans who wanted a piece of the band…any piece…hair, shirts…anything would do. At the time, Cheap Trick’s record label came up with the idea of recording a series of live concerts at Budokan by the band and other label mates. Thus, the idea for recording Cheap Trick at Budokan came to fruition even though the band had a new album in the can and ready to go called The Dream Police. No one expected the live Budokan album to be anything special, so there was no worry about the launch of The Dream Police album being affected or delayed in any way. The thinking was that the band was going to be performing anyway, so recording the concert and making any money from the recording was seen as being bonus money for a band that needed extra cash. The concert went ahead. The frenzied atmosphere that had enveloped the band at the airport and their hotel and on the streets of the city followed them to the inside of the Budokan. The live recording captured the excitement of Cheap Trick’s live show in a way that their studio albums had never really been able to do. As it turned out, Cheap Trick was a great live band. The album recorded there captured that great performance in combination with the overly enthusiastic response from the audience. When the album was released and American audiences began hearing the mania that accompanied “I Want You to Want Me”, for example, the band was suddenly seen in a  whole new light. As mentioned earlier, from that point on, they never traveled in economy class again. Also, the album Cheap Trick at Budokan was so well received that the phrase “Live at Budokan” has become synonymous with great live music recordings. 

A photo of the album cover for Cheap Trick Live at the Budokan
One of the best live albums of all time for a reason!

In the links below I have a gift for you, should you care to accept it. For most of the posts in this series, it is my intention to always provide you with a series of videos that show actual performances from whichever venue I happen to be profiling. So far, whenever I have looked for such videos to share, I have had to be content with linking to videos that show only one song at a time. That is fine. It is standard fare for services such as YouTube. However, when it came time to do likewise for the Budokan, I discovered that almost all music-related videos that appear when I type in “Live at Budokan” are actual full length concerts!!! Thus, in the links below, you can watch the whole Beatles concert in 1966. There are concerts by Eric Clapton, Ozzy Osbourne, Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne and many, many more. *You can watch Cheap Trick at Budokan in its entirety but on YouTube the concert is broken down into individual song videos, played one after the other, which is a bit of a drag. I will link to those “full concert” videos to whet your appetite. I have linked to “Surrender” and “I Want You To Want Me” in the paragraph above. Feel free to take the rest of the day off. Enjoy the shows. If you wish to see what else is available, simply go to YouTube and type “Live at Budokan” into the search bar and have fun! I thank whoever it was that saw fit to release so many complete Budokan concerts for free. It is a very kind and generous act, for sure. That’s it for now. If you have ever been lucky enough to have traveled to Japan and have been to Budokan, I would love to hear your thoughts about it all in the comments below. Thanks for reading my words. I will see you all again next time from somewhere in the world where great music is played. Take care, bye for now.

The exterior of the Nippon Budokan.

The link to the official website for Nippon Budokan (shown to the right) can be found here.

The link to the live concerts from Budokan for the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Ozzy Osbourne, Alanis Morissette and Avril Lavigne can be found by clicking on their names.

The link to the official website for the city of Tokyo can be found here.


***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

Places, Everyone!…Venue #9/50: Aula Magna in Caracas, Venezuela

Between my career as an elementary school teacher and my joy-filled role as a father, I have spent a great deal of time reading aloud to children. I have always maintained that children are not given the credit they deserve for being able to understand complex issues and articulate their feelings on topics that become important to them. I have had the pleasure of engaging in many, many intelligent and intellectually-fulfilling conversations in our classrooms on a wide range of subject matter. A child’s capacity for problem-solving and for empathy is vast, especially if they are given access to information in ways that are interesting and informative on a level that speaks to them. This is partially why I love reading aloud to children so much. Any book, fiction or nonfiction, has the potential to be a launchpad into discussions that lead to deeper levels of understanding about the world around us. This was especially so when it came to reading to my own children. My eldest daughter has loved books her entire life. We read to her right from the moment she was born. Because she was drawn to stories and language and creative illustrations, my daughter always seemed to have a book in her hands as she grew into toddlerhood and beyond. Because my wife and I believed in reading and literacy so much, reading stories to our daughter became an integral part of her bedtime ritual. To be honest, those evenings reading with her before bed are some of my most cherished memories of being her father. Because she had a voracious appetite for stories, we quickly moved on from smaller books with simpler text and were reading chapter books by the time she was in Kindergarten. One of the first “classic” books we read was a coffee table-sized gorgeously illustrated version of Peter Pan that she was given as a gift from a friend of ours. From there, we plowed through series after series….Magic Tree House, Rainbow Magic, Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter (when that was still OK to say out loud), Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series and so many more. Reading with my daughter was always a pleasure for a storytelling language-lover like me because her curiosity demanded interesting books be read. Thus, I was often as interested in the stories we were reading as she was. This was especially true of a new series we discovered that was written by a lady named Blue Balliett. Her series was a trilogy of “Art mysteries”. In each book, three childhood friends used their knowledge of math and science and the Arts to solve mysteries in Chicago. Her first book was the award-winning Chasing Vermeer, which was about a stolen Vermeer painting and the whole notion of art forgeries. In that story we got to learn all about Vermeer’s style of painting, how art museums acquire the work they display, how private collectors and art dealers went about their business and much, much more. It was a thoroughly engaging read for us both. The sequel to Chasing Vermeer was called The Wright 3. This story dealt with a mystery at a historic Chicago home called Robie House that was designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In this book we learned all about the mathematics of FLW’s design style, as well as trends in architecture that were changing the way that modern buildings are designed and constructed. The final book in the trilogy was called The Calder Game. This book was my introduction to the kinetic sculptures of Alexander Calder. I have to be honest and state that, prior to reading this book with my daughter, I knew absolutely nothing about Mr. Calder and his innovative sculptures that often contained parts that moved via air currents like a perpetual motion machine of sorts. I mention all of this because Alexander Calder and the theme of education are both part of the story of today’s live music venue known as Aula Magna or “Great Hall” that is the centerpiece of the campus at the Central University of Venezuela in the city of Caracas. There is much to celebrate about Aula Magna and much to be concerned about as well. Without further delay, let’s go exploring. 

Photo of the book jacket for The Calder Game by author Blue Balliett.

The story of Aula Magna is one that combines form and function in ways that make this venue one of the most acoustically pleasing concert halls in the world. In order to understand and appreciate the magnitude of what has been accomplished here, it is relevant to note that the Aula Magna has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site because of the design innovations that integrated Art with the science of sound. In particular, there is a portion of the UNESCO World Heritage designation that is set specifically aside to acknowledge a series of artistically designed acoustic panels that were created by the afore-mentioned sculptor Alexander Calder. These colourful panels have become known as Calder’s Clouds. They are hand painted wooden cloud shaped panels that are suspended from the ceiling at various levels and at various angles which help to distribute sound evenly to all areas of the inner auditorium. Not only are Calder’s Clouds helpful from an acoustical point of view, but their vibrant colours help create a Wonka-like fantastical environment for audience members as they sit in the interior of this great hall. Alexander Calder worked in partnership with Venezuelan architect Carlos Raul Villanueva. Villanueva was an architect who, at the time that the Aula Magna was constructed in the early 1950s, was at the forefront of a modernist approach to building design. In the past, many buildings were designed in ways that focussed on their interiors as separate and distinct spaces from their exteriors. Under Villanueva’s leadership, many buildings in Venezuela were designed in ways that allowed interior and exterior spaces to flow together and feed off each other, as it were. This integration of the interior to the exterior can be seen dramatically in how the campus area surrounding the Aula Magna was created to complement its colourful, vibrant interior. The Aula Magna is accessible through several entrances. These entrances are located on different pedestrian walkways and concourses that surround the building. These walkways and concourses all are at different levels and are all surrounded by lush plant life and the art of prominent Venezuelan artists. The whole idea is to combine the functionality of moving pedestrian traffic safely and efficiently with the artistic creativity that allows one to be transported to whole new worlds at the same time. The Aula Magna has been the scene of many concerts, dramatic plays and, of course, university commencements over the years. Famed conductor Leonard Bernstein conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra there and claimed that the Aula Magna possessed the best acoustics in the Americas. At the time that Aula Magna opened to the public, it was viewed as being something that perfectly promoted the best of Venezuelan art, architecture and education on a world stage. It is not for nothing that it was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Aula Magna with Alexander Calder's acoustic "clouds". Quite the trippy place.
Aula Magna with Alexander Calder’s acoustic “clouds”. Quite the trippy place.

However, the story of Aula Magna is not all bright colours, fantastical designs and crystal clear sounds. The story of many countries in South America is one that involves political unrest. It is difficult to find a South American country that, at one time or another, hasn’t fallen victim to political upheaval of one sort or another. Venezuela is no different. That country has seen its share of coups and military strongmen over the decades since the Aula Magna opened its doors. What has contributed to the increasingly sad saga of Aula Magna has much to do with the fact that it was built as the centerpiece of the Central University of Venezuela in that country’s largest city, Caracas. If you have ever attended a university almost anywhere in the world, then you know that they are often hotbeds of revolutionary political thought. Universities are filled with young idealists who often possess a vision for the world that is at loggerheads with how the gears grind in the real world of high finance, military might and politics. There are many instances all throughout history, all throughout the world, of military coups happening in countries in which elected officials are replaced with political appointees. In many cases, one of the first acts of these military juntas is to round up/eliminate political opposition. This often leads to the imprisonment/execution of artists and educators, union leaders and political opponents…in short, anyone viewed as being capable of inspiring a future uprising. With those types of people out of the way, all that remains to be done is to eliminate education, restrict personal freedoms and, just like that, you have an enslaved population at the mercy of leaders who exploit their labour and their country’s resources to line their own pockets. In Venezuela, there has been a succession of leaders who have engaged in political acts that were viewed as contravening their own national constitution. Regardless of the name of the leader or the political party they represent, the end result has been a marked destabilization of the entire country. As part of this unrest, investments in public education have been curtailed to the point where the entire education system is nearing collapse. Part of the reason for these funding cuts is a worldwide trend by rightwing government leaders who do not believe in the public investment of tax dollars for the mere sake of improving life at the community level. It is all big business models that rule the world. If an investment has the potential to turn a profit, then it is an investment worth making; otherwise, it is not. Secondly, the Central University of Venezuela has been the epicentre of many opposition protests. It is thought that the only thing that is truly protecting the university from being completely shut down is the UNESCO World Heritage designation that acts like a shield surrounding the Aula Magna and the adjacent campus space. Because the eyes of the world are watching over Aula Magna, in a sense, the various Venezuelan government leaders have had to adopt tactics that are more subtle yet still very effective in showing their contempt and disdain for those at the university. What is happening, as you read these words, is that for the better part of the last two decades, almost all government funding that was given to the university and to the upkeep of Aula Magna has been cut off. The only reliable funding source Aula Magna has had for years is revenue gained through concerts and from the tourism industry. As a result, Aula Magna is falling into a state of disrepair. Already some of the exterior concourses and walkway structures have collapsed due to their exposure to the weather and their lack of maintenance over long periods of time. There are many who fear for the safety of the multitude of art works that line the exterior plazas, as well as for the Calder Clouds that give the interior space such beautiful acoustics and such vibrant imagery. As I write these words, this situation remains ongoing. From what I have read, the United Nations is prepared to intervene with the financial resources to begin the appropriate repairs, but according to the terms of their charter, they cannot intervene unless invited to do so by the government of Venezuela. To date, the government has declined to request that assistance. 

A photo of sculptor Alexander Calder.
Sculptor Alexander Calder.

One of the reasons that I became an educator was that I firmly believed that the work we all did was important. An informed citizenry is one of the best protections we have as a society to keep the forces of fascism and violence and greed at bay. It is easy to look around the world at some of the usual hotspots and say that such events could never happen here to us. But not all descents into fascism and depravity happen in a blitzkrieg fashion. Sometimes, those who seek control above public service play the long game in such a way that the tightening of the noose goes almost unnoticed. For me, one of the most alarming developments in the Western World is the consistent constriction of the free flow of information in our society. Having access to information that we require in order to understand our world is vital to democracy surviving. However, we are finding ourselves increasingly at the mercy of media conglomerates who tell us what we will see rather than what we decide to see for ourselves. Furthermore, we are also at the mercy of right-wing governments who have been starving our public education systems of funding for years now. Destroying public education is always one of the first steps that all dictators throughout history have taken. Don’t let the fact that there are not jackboots in our streets yet fool you into a false sense of complacency. We are not that far removed from the Venezuelas of the world. We still have time, but not as much as you may think. Support progressive governments and political parties when it comes time to vote. Support public education and libraries and independent book sellers and artists. Read to your children and in front of your children so that they learn to view reading and being literate as the important life skills that they are. 

I began this post by talking about the utter joy that I derived from a lifetime spent reading to and with children. In my own home I can attest to the windfall profit that has been realized from my investment of time. I have a daughter who loves to read. While many teenagers use their phones to watch mindless YouTube and TikTok videos, my daughter reads newspapers online. She is well informed. She is becoming increasingly political. She is not fooled by the peddlers of division and discord. But, more than that, she reads because it brings her pleasure and inner peace. Being literate and educated is an integral part of the fabric of her being. Stories are important. Education is important. The politics of deprivation begin by the forceful silencing of the voices that tell stories and of the stories, themselves. It is happening to Aula Magna in Venezuela. Let’s not let the same thing happen here.

The link to the official website for Aula Magna in Caracas, Venezuela can be found here. *Note: This is the UNESCO World Heritage site.

The link to the official website for Alexander Calder can be found here.

The link to the official website for Carlos Raul Villaneuva can be found here.

The link to a video (in Spanish) that gives a guided tour of Aula magna and some background on Calder and Villanueva can be found here. ***If you read this post first you will easily be able to follow the video along. I feel wiser for being able to do so.

The link to a live performance of a band called UHF can be found here. Even though the lyrics are in Spanish, the sound quality is excellent and gives you an idea of the acoustical properties of Aula Magna.

The link to the official website for author Blue Balliett can be found here.

The link to an article that I wrote that chronicles the reading journey that my daughter and I shared, including a complete list of the books and book series that we read, can be found here on the website of Happy Hooligans.


***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

Places, Everyone!…Venue #8/50: The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England

The history of modern music is filled with moments that acted as the spark that helped to inspire those who launched whole new eras and genres of music. For instance, there are many stories written about nice young English lads named John Lennon and Eric Clapton and others who were bored with the music scene in the UK at the time and longed for something, anything different and exciting. Their experiences watching singers such as Big Mama Thornton, Little Richard, Muddy Waters and the like caused them to take up music in the belief that they had found what they were looking for and that they could do it, too. Such revelatory moments weren’t confined to the 1950s and 60s either. There are also many stories written about young girls such as Kelly Clarkson, P!nk, and even Beyoncé and their subsequent reactions after hearing the incendiary Jagged Little Pill album by Alanis Morissette for the first time. If someone like Alanis Morissette could stand up for herself in the world of men and sing forcefully about it, so could they. And they have! All of these singers, and many more, have had long, successful careers because they found validation from others who told them that what they felt in their hearts had value and was important. There is even a famous quote about the significance of these important musical moments. It’s centred on a very young Lou Reed, John Cale and the other members of the Velvet Underground in New York City. The quote goes something like “The Velvet Underground’s first album only sold around 10,000 copies. But each of those people went out and started their own band”. While I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that statement, I can say that there is something magical that happens every once in a while when a perfect set of circumstances aligns to change history. Today’s story chronicles one such moment when the perfect band arrived at the perfect time and performed in front of an audience that was absolutely thirsting for what that band brought to the stage that night. It is a moment that was as seismic for the music world of the 1970s, 80s and beyond as anything witnessed by the John Lennons and Eric Claptons of the world back in the 1950s. It was the evening that brought a brand new band called The Sex Pistols to The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. That concert, as the history books all say, changed everything going forward from that point on. Here is the story of that venue, that performance and the ripple effects of it that are still being felt by music lovers today.

The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England.
The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England.

The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England was a unique performance venue in part because it was one of the very few such venues that came into being as a result of a political movement, as opposed to an Arts-related reason.  The Lesser Free Trade Hall was built way back in the mid 1800s on the site of an infamous historical event known as the Peterloo Massacre.  The Peterloo Massacre was an incident in which police and armed cavalry officers rode into a crowd of hundreds of protesters and killed almost twenty while injuring dozens more. The protestors had gathered in an attempt to change the voting laws of England which, at the time, stated that only those who owned land could vote. Since only men could own land and not all men did so, it meant that only a fraction of the population could actually affect the laws of the land. One of the lightning rod issues at the time was something called The Corn Laws. These laws regulated the price of corn, wheat, etc., all of which inflated the price of bread, putting it well beyond the means of many common English families. Thus, much in the same way as bread was one of the surface sparks that ignited the French Revolution, access to bread became a rallying point for many citizens of England, especially in the working class areas of northern England, such as Manchester. In time these protests yielded changes to manhood suffrage (so that all men in England could vote, regardless of their status as a landowner or not)  and eventually, decades later to women’s suffrage (so that women could be recognized as people and have the right to vote, too). In addition to being a gathering point for protests about voting rights and unjust laws, The Lesser Free Trade Hall became the home to the trade unionist movement. As time went on, the LFTH was also the scene of political speeches by politicians who leaned in the direction of labour groups, or else sought the support of trade unions for their own political aspirations. Thus, Prime Ministers such as Benjamin Disraeli and Sir Winston Churchill all gave important political speeches to Manchester citizens from within the walls of The Lesser Free Trade Hall.

A commemorative historical plaque regarding The Peterloo Massacre.
A commemorative historical plaque regarding The Peterloo Massacre.

However, as is often the case with community spaces such as this, there came a time when the union dues being paid by trade unionist members started to fall behind what was needed for the upkeep of a rapidly aging building. The decision was made to open the hall up for social events such as weddings and funerals, as well as for concerts and other Arts-related performances. Consequently, after almost a full century of being a trade union office, The Lesser Free Trade Hall opened for business as a concert venue. As it turned out, The Lesser Free Trade Hall became an important concert venue that helped serve the interests of many northern music lovers in the UK. Manchester is located almost four and a half hours north of London, sitting almost equi-distance between Liverpool and Sheffield. Because all of these cities exist so far outside of the London sphere of influence, the area developed its own sense of cultural identity. All through their existence, the northern towns and cities have always felt hard done by in relation to their peers in London. The socio-political dynamic is not unlike how the people of the Canadian prairies feel about Toronto. Whether it was jealousy or resentment or whatever, but there was always a feeling of isolation and of being left to one’s own devices when it came to living in a northern town in England. So, whenever a popular band agreed to appear in Manchester, it tended to be a big deal for music lovers from there but also from the surrounding towns and cities as well. The Lesser Free Trade Hall got the odd, popular band like KISS and even the Velvet Underground, but the most famous concert performance prior to 1976 was given by Bob Dylan. A live bootleg recording was made of a concert given by Bob Dylan in 1966 (not long after he had “gone electric”) in which an audience member was captured shouting at Dylan and calling him “Judas!”  Needless to say, Bob Dylan stuck to his musical guns and survived that public scolding, but history has noted that it famously happened at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England.

Judas aka Bob Dylan at The Lesser Free Trade Hall.
Judas aka Bob Dylan at The Lesser Free Trade Hall.

This brings us to the famous Sex Pistols gig of 1976. If you know your music history at all, then you will recognize that after 1969, the music world experienced a change of sorts. The whole Summer of Love feeling of optimism had ended. The Vietnam War was reaching its messy conclusion. The Watergate scandal in the U.S. and the effect that it had on the nature of how politics worked was unfolding on prime time TV. The Beatles had broken up. The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Rod Stewart and many others had fled England because of the income tax situation there. Everywhere one looked, there seemed to be a pessimistic void. This same feeling of doom and gloom applied to the city of Manchester as well. This is not to say that there still wasn’t live music. There was. The problem was that after the heyday of the 1960s in terms of new, innovative and meaningful music, the early 1970s music seemed cheesy and leaden by comparison. Prog. rock and its Tolkinian epic fantasies seemed like too much work for audiences to get excited about. Not everyone wanted to get stoned in their basements or flats; many still wanted to go out on a Friday night and party. But where were those good time bands? Where was the energy and the passion and the defiance that effects change and makes things better? Well, like it or not, the musical saviours the world over arrived in the form of punk rockers. In the US, it was bands like The Ramones who started thrashing about with lightning speed in the mid 1970s. In the UK, it all started with a band called The Sex Pistols. The story of that night in 1976 when The Sex Pistols played at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester was one of those rare moments in history when the conditions were ripe for change and change was what happened as a result. The repercussions of that concert were felt in Manchester and around the world for generations. Here is how the concert came to be and why it holds such a significant place in the timeline of the history of modern music.   

In that atmosphere of depression and despondency existed many young people who would go on to become extremely important figures in the world of music. Not unlike the world in which a young John Lennon found himself before seeing Little Richard play, many Manchester teenagers were impatiently waiting for something, anything to happen there, too. The story goes that one day two friends who eventually became known by stage names as Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley were sitting around complaining about the state of Manchester’s music scene while flipping through the pages of the New Musical Express magazine. It was while doing so that they came across the NME article that introduced The Sex Pistols to the world beyond London. From what the article mentioned, Shelley and Devoto thought that this band sounded exactly like the type of band that Manchester needed to inject some energy into its lifeless scene. So, they borrowed a car and made the long trek down to London and found Malcolm McLaren, the manager and creator of The Sex Pistols, and asked if the band would be interested in coming to Manchester to play a gig. To their surprise and relief, McLaren thought the idea was a good one and agreed to have the band appear. In time, Devoto and Shelley would come together to form a band of their own called The Buzzcocks (you can read about them here). But initially, they felt unprepared to open for The Sex Pistols and contented themselves with organizing the concert. When the evening of the concert arrived, legend has it that only 40 or so people actually showed up. However, in that crowd were the two members of the future Buzzcocks, along with a teenager that the world would come to know as Morrissey (You can read about Morrissey and his band The Smiths here, here, here and here), future members of Joy Division/New Order (You can read about these bands here, here, here, here and here), a young man named Mick Hucknall who was in several bands but is most well known for fronting Simply Red, along with a music entrepreneur named Tony Wilson who, at the time, was a television reporter for Granada TV but who, in time, founded Factory Records in Manchester, opened a nightclub called The Hacienda and, in doing so, helped launch the Alternative music scene in “Madchester”, as well as the EDM/House Music/Rave scenes that came to sweep the world. Wilson’s impact on the world’s music scene was captured in a riproaring movie called 24 Hour Party People. In any case, in the audience of four dozen or so were the people who would pick up the torch that was held high by The Sex Pistols and would carry it forward based on the inspiration they all received that night at the Lesser Free Trade Hall.

The Sex Pistols on stage at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976.
The Sex Pistols on stage at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976.

When The Sex Pistols came on stage that night, they did so with much passion and delivered a blistering set that started out with cover songs but ended with the introduction of original material, some of which would end up on their famous album called Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols.  Initially, the idea that Malcolm McLaren had was to put together an anti-band. He wanted The Sex Pistols to have no talent and become famous anyway in spite of it as a way of mocking the music industry and thumbing his nose at the British public. But a funny thing happened on the way to realizing that dream: The Sex Pistols actually possessed a modicum of musical talent and could play reasonably well. That fact caught the attention of those in attendance right away. The music was quite good, and the performance earned the respect of those who witnessed it right out of the gate. But what really made The Sex Pistols who they were was the magnetic, charismatic, theatrical nature of front man John Lydon who went by the stage name of Johnny Rotten. Lydon sneered at and stared down everyone at The Lesser Free Trade Hall that night, leaving no doubt as to who was in charge and in control. The Sex Pistols brought it full force and blew that room of four dozen people completely away. Nothing was ever the same for them after that again.

That initial performance proved to be just the beginning of a highly successful relationship between The Sex Pistols and the city of Manchester. Malcolm McLaren thought that the show went so well (considering the negative reaction the band usually got when they played in London) that he asked Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto to organize a second show in six weeks time. The two friends did so, but this time, they were ready with their own band The Buzzcocks, who opened for The Sex Pistols, while debuting as a band. The Buzzcocks gave it their all for twenty minutes and were warmly received. They went on to have a good run of their own as a band before both men left for other projects, with Shelley going solo and Devoto forming the influential band called Magazine. The Sex Pistols put on a second well-received show. This time they introduced a new song that would go on to become one of the biggest punk rock hits of all time called “Anarchy in the UK”. (You can read more about The Sex Pistols here, here and here). But the good times continued from there when TV reporter Tony Wilson approached Malcolm McLaren and offered them a chance to appear on a music show he hosted on Granada TV. They agreed, and that performance became the band’s first live television appearance. All in all, The Sex Pistols made three memorable appearances in Manchester and changed that city and the rest of the world forever.

he Sex Pistols live on Tony Wilson's music show on Granada TV.
The Sex Pistols live on Tony Wilson’s music show on Granada TV.

The history of modern music shows very clearly that every generation seems to bring with it the desire for new ways of performing and new ways of watching/listening to live music. Country music continues to grow today in part because of those role models who first appeared on The Grand Ole Opry show. The 1960s UK rock explosion happened because young men like John Lennon got to see authentic Blues and Soul as performed by the original music masters themselves such as Chuck Berry. Without Cher and Madonna and Alanis Morissette, the chances of there being no Taylor Swifts or Beyoncés of the world would be greatly increased. Everyone needs their own role models who allow them to believe that the dreams they hold in their hearts and minds can be made real. For bands such as Simply Red, The Smiths, The Cure, Joy Division, New Order, The Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, The Fall, The Happy Mondays (who you can read about here), there is a strong possibility that none of these bands would have come to fruition if not for that concert by The Sex Pistols in 1976 at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. When you go to a concert, you never know when something magical is going to happen that changes everything. The wonderful thing about it all was that you didn’t even have to have been there to feel the impact that the concert had. My own personal musical awakening started in university when I became aware that bands such as The Cure, New Order and Joy Division even existed. Discovering that music helped to turn me into the lover of music I have become. None of that might have happened if not for The Lesser Free Trade Hall concert in 1976. The only unfortunate thing about it all is that eventually The Lesser Free Trade Hall became too costly to maintain and it closed its doors. On the spot where it once stood is now a hotel. Unlike The Cavern Club in nearby Liverpool, there is no LFTH museum or replica site to visit in Manchester. The fortunate thing is that there is plenty of archival footage of that concert, which I shall share in the links below. Lots of people claim to have been there that first night, but only forty or so actually were. Lucky for us, most of those people went out and started their own bands. We are all the better for it that they did.

The link to an excellent documentary called I Swear I Was There about The Sex Pistols concert at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976 can be found here. ***If you are a fan of this era, I highly recommend this documentary. 

The link to the trailer for the movie 24 Hour Party People can be found here.

The official website for The Sex Pistols can be found here.

The official website for The Buzzcocks can be found here.

The official website for New Order can be found here.

The official website for Oasis can be found here.

The official website for The Happy Mondays can be found here.

The official website for The Smiths can be found here.

The official website for the city of Manchester, England can be found here.

***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

Places, Everyone!…Venue #7/50: The Wiener Musikverein in Vienna, Austria

The Wiener Musikverein translates into The Vienna Music Association and is the name given to the concert hall in the centre of Vienna that is home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Commonly referred to simply as Musikverein, this concert hall was built on land donated by Emperor Franz Josef I in 1863. This land was located on a portion of the city known as Vienna Ring Road. At one time in its history, Vienna was a walled city. Within the walls sat the original buildings that made up what was known as Vienna. In time, as the population grew, more room was needed so the walls came down and the city grew outwards. In the spot where these walls had once stood was built a roadway delineating the old city core from the newer portions of the city. It was on the Vienna Ring Road that Emperor Franz Josef I donated his land and the new concert hall was built. The Musikverein opened in 1870 and is said to have among the best, if not the best acoustics of any live performance venue in the world.

A drawing of the Vienna Ring Road
A drawing of the Vienna Ring Road.

The period of time from the mid-1700s until the late 1800s was a glorious time in the history of the Arts and, specifically, in the history of classical music. In the centre of it all was the city of Vienna, Austria. Vienna was home to composer Joseph Haydn, who many credit with being the father of modern chamber music. In his wake came the likes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss, all of whom settled in Vienna by the mid-point in their careers. In addition to the many symphonies, concertos and operas that were created in the city during this period, new music-related businesses were established such as those used to publish music manuscripts, as well as those dedicated to the creation of new musical instruments. One further development in the history of music that allowed Vienna to bill itself as The City of Music was the fact that it was during this time that public performances became more open and affordable to the general public. Prior to this, composers often created their musical masterpieces for the sole enjoyment of the aristocracy and, as such, most concerts were given in castles and other such regal abodes. But now, with the Arts thriving as never before, the need for public performance halls grew. And so it was that in the 1860s, pressure grew on Emperor Franz Josef I to act as a Patron of the Arts and spearhead the creation of a new performing arts space near the centre of the city. That concert hall became the Musikverein.

The Musikverein in Vienna.
The Musikverein in Vienna.

Around this time, many concert halls were built in major cities across Europe such as Berlin and Copenhagen. All of these new concert halls were architecturally similar in design. They borrowed liberally from the design elements used in ancient Greek temples. Thus, The Musikverein and all other new concert halls were built in a rectangular box-like shape. Some had pillars on the sides, as Greek temples do. Most also featured doorways and window openings that had an arch-like design element. The Musikverein, in particular, is actually two performance spaces in one! There is a concert hall known as the Grosser Musikvereinssaal or Great Hall or the Golden Hall which seats approximately 1700 people. There is also a smaller concert hall that was built specifically for the playing of chamber music called the Brahmssaal or Brahms Hall in honour of Johannes Brahms.  The Brahmssaal holds 600 people. The most amazing aspect of the whole Musikverein complex is that it was built long before the science of acoustical engineering was understood. The man responsible for the construction of the Musikverein was a Dutch architect named Theophil Hansen. Mr. Hansen had no formal training in acoustical design. Instead, he created the interiors of each performance space based solely on intuition as to how he thought sound would travel and be reflected within the space. Luckily for patrons and for generations of musicians, Hansen’s design intuitions proved correct. The placement of viewing boxes at certain levels, working in combination with the materials used to construct the building and its interiors, along with ornamentation placed along the ceiling all had the effect of sending sound off in all directions, giving the interior spaces a full, rich, deep soundscape. With so many sound waves bouncing back and forth and from side to side, the effect of sitting inside the Musikverein is not all that different from listening to music with good headphones on. The ear hears every note…by design, as it were! 

There have been many great and noteworthy performances held in the Musikverein over the years. The most well known are those given by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Initially, in the early 1800s, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra did not exist. Instead, when someone such as Mozart wished to give an orchestral performance, he would cobble together as many musicians as he would need in a random, ad hoc manner. However, as time went on and the frequency with which top flight concerts were being held increased, it became apparent that a more formal orchestral organization was needed. After much discussion and debate in Viennese Arts circles, the idea of creating a formal, permanent concert-calibre orchestra was approved. The result of this all was the creation of The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. There are a couple of interesting notes about how this orchestra was formed and how it functions to this day. First of all, only the most skilled musicians are permitted to audition for a spot in the orchestra. In order to qualify to audition, a musician must have gone through a period of training and apprenticeship as a member of the orchestra for the Vienna State Opera. Once a musician has played with the Vienna State Opera for a minimum of three years, they are allowed to apply to audition for the Philharmonic Orchestra. Once accepted as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, this new musician would find themselves as part of one of the most democratically-run organizations of any sort in the world. All matters of concern to the orchestra are put to a vote of all members. As well, there are standing committees that function throughout the year to deal with specific concerns. Even the acceptance of new members is put to a vote of the whole orchestra.

Nothing says Vienna than a good waltz.
Nothing says Vienna than a good waltz.

There have been many performances at the Musikverein given by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, but the most well known is the annual New Year’s Eve concert. You can watch one of those performances by clicking here. As you watch this short clip, take note of how the interior of the Golden Hall is organized, where people are sitting relative to the stage, how the ceiling looks and so on. There is a reason that sound travels so well in this space. The secret can be found in its design. 

Erhard Buschbeck: the man whose slap was the most harmonious part of his concert.
Erhard Buschbeck: the man whose slap was the most harmonious part of his concert.

In addition to the annual New Year’s Eve concerts, the Musikverein has been the scene of some infamous events, too. One of the most well known events of this sort happened at the turn of the century. As the 1800s drew to a close, the Arts scene in Europe was enjoying unprecedented success and acceptance. It was definitely a golden age for the Arts. As such, there grew a school of thought that said that with so many artists, writers, poets and composers enjoying so much critical and commercial success, that there never was a better time than then to push the envelope and try new things. Consequently, within only a few years of each other there was the Paris riot that occurred during a performance of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (which you can read about from a previous post here) and a similar riot in Vienna at an event that has become known as the SkandalKonzert (Scandal Concert) or as it is also referred to, The Slap Concert. This particular concert was put on by a group of up and coming Viennese composers and poets. Like Stravinsky in Paris, this concert exposed listeners to avant garde music for the very first time. Instead of traditional melodies and harmonies, these composers used discordant sounds to compose their symphonies. The Vienna audience, schooled as they were in the classical sound, were completely unprepared to endure what they considered to be such monstrous noise. At one point, about two-thirds of the way through the setlist, members of the audience arose from their seats and demanded that the composers be taken away to “an insane asylum”. One of the concert organizers demanded that the audience members sit down and quiet down. When they refused to do so, the concert organizer named Erhard Buschbeck slapped one of the patrons across the face. A witness to the assault later claimed that the sound of the slap was “the most harmonious sound of the evening”. Needless to say, lawsuits were filed and it was a long time before any of the composers on that evening’s bill performed at the Musikverein again.  

A second note of infamy that is attached to the history of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concerns the role it played during WWII. As many of you may know from history, one of the very first political moves of aggression made by the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler was to absorb Austria into the Third Reich. The rationale behind this was that Austria and Germany shared a similar cultural history. In fact, many Austrian citizens had German ancestry in their own family histories, and therefore many Austrians openly viewed Hitler’s ambitions in a positive light. As Germany consolidated its hold on Austria, life in Vienna changed for everyone. This included the members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Investigations conducted after the war ended revealed that almost half of all VPO musicians had become active members of the Nazi Party. This percentage was higher even than that found within the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to that, all Jewish members of the Philharmonic were forced out, with a majority of those ending up in concentration camps. In 2013, seventy-five years after the Anschluss which unified Austria with Nazi Germany, an official investigation was conducted into the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s role promoting Nazi ideology during WWII and in the deaths of its Jewish members. Official apologies were issued as a result of this investigation, and all honours bestowed upon Nazi Party officials were formally revoked and stricken from the official records, based on a vote of the current membership of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as it existed in 2013. In fact, the very first New Year’s Eve concert performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was in 1941 at the behest of German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, who believed that the pairing of entertainment with politics made the Nazis’ messages easier to communicate. After the war, there was much debate among the Philharmonic’s membership as to whether to continue with these concerts or not. It was decided that the concerts would continue. The thinking behind this decision was that it was important to remember how easily the Arts were transformed from something that uplifts us all to something that was used as an instrument of evil. Consequently, each New Year’s Eve concert is not just a celebration of the year that was; it is a reminder of the history that has brought everyone to that very moment in time. The need for all of us to “never forget” is as true today as it ever was in the past. 

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and its Nazi past is a source of shame for the organization.
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and its Nazi past is a source of shame for the organization.

The history of nations, organizations and even performance venues such as Vienna’s Musikverein can be complicated. In purely technical terms, the Musikverein is a grand and glorious building that houses some of the world’s best acoustics. It is home to an orchestra that has, as members, some of the finest musicians on the planet. Its annual New Year’s Eve concert is one of the world’s most beloved and popular traditions. It is broadcast/streamed live on a worldwide level that matches that of the US and their ball drop in Times Square. And yet…much has happened within the walls of this building that will forever bring shame to this jewel in Vienna’s cultural crown. I would like to think of the Musikverein as a place where Beethoven’s music rang out, especially his Ode to Joy. But I, like you, would be doing a disservice to those who suffered as a result of its association with the barbarism of the Nazis if Beethoven’s and Mozart’s genius was all we associated with the Musikverein. Unfortunately, as beautiful a building as the Musikverein is, it is not a place I would ever wish to visit. Instead, I will watch the highlights of the 2024 New Year’s Eve concert and remember the history of all that this event evokes because it is important to do so. I will never forget and nor should you.

The link to the official website for the Wiener Musikverein can be found here.

The link to a performance of “The Theme to Jurassic Park” as conducted by John Williams and played by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra can be found here.

The link to a performance of Mozart’s most famous music by Vladimir Horowitz can be found here.

The link to a performance of Johann Strauss by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra can be found here.

The link to a video news report about the links between the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nazi Party can be found here.

The link to a documentary entitled Music in Nazi Germany can be found here. This documentary describes the link between classical music and German propaganda. Even if you only watch the first two minutes of it, you will see a commentator make reference to the fact that “In Auschwitz One (concentration camp), we have half of the Vienna Philharmonic sitting there”.


***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

Places, Everyone!…Venue #6/50: The Moulin Rouge in Paris, France

There are many live performance venues from around the world that are products of their time. One of the most famous examples of this is the French nightclub and cabaret known as The Moulin Rouge in Paris, France. The Moulin Rouge opened in 1889 during a period in French history that has come to be known as La Belle Epoque or The Beautiful Era. La Belle Epoque was a period of time that existed from the end of the Napoleonic Wars in the mid/late 1800s to the start of WWI in 1914. It was an era marked by peace, prosperity and great innovations in the Arts and Sciences. Artists such as Matisse, Monet, Renoir, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec and Rodin all flourished. Art Nouveau became the prominent architectural style used in the construction of new buildings and new public spaces. Venues such as the Paris Opera House hosted composers such as Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel and Richard Strauss II. In science, Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur were winning Nobel Prizes for their groundbreaking work on how germs and bacteria inhibited good health and how radiation worked. The Eiffel Tower was constructed to act as the symbol of the great World’s Fair in 1889. With the World’s Fair set to open amid a backdrop of cultural growth and economic prosperity, a greater number of Parisians were enjoying a higher quality of life. This meant that not only were cultural events being aimed at the ultra rich, as had always been the case in the past, but now, doors to the most prestigious spaces were opening for the nouveaux riches as well. Recognizing that there was money to be spent and more people doing the spending, businessmen Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller decided to open a series of entertainment venues in the downtown core. One such cabaret was called the Olympia, but the most famous of their venues became known as the Moulin Rouge.

Historical plaque for The Moulin Rouge.
Historical plaque for The Moulin Rouge.

The Moulin Rouge was built in an area of Paris known as Montmartre. The cabaret, which is still in operation to this very day, was decorated in red and crowned with a red windmill on its roof. The story behind the symbolism of the windmill in French culture is worth exploring as it will shed a lot of light on why the Moulin Rouge was built in the first place and what type of entertainment allowed it to succeed and survive. The story goes that prior to the growth of Paris in terms of urbanization, much of the land that existed outside of the city core was used for farming. Windmills were used by farmers as a source of cheap energy to power the machinery that turned wheat into flour for bread. In the early 1800s, as the Franco-Prussian War was ongoing, Russian Cossacks approached Paris by attacking through Montmartre. A family named Debray owned one of the farms that found itself on the front lines of the advancing Cossack army. In the battles that followed, all but one of the Debray brothers were killed. After the war ended, the sole surviving brother decided that he could not successfully run the large family farm on his own. So instead, he sold off much of the land but kept the area near where his home and the family windmill stood. In order to make some money, he decided to renovate the building which housed the windmill.  He turned that new space into a public house/pub or guinguette, as the French called it. Other farmers noted the success that the last Debray standing had with his windmill-inspired guinguette and started to emulate him. In doing so, the conversion of windmills into dance hall style drinking establishments became a trend that helped many farmers survive the transition from an agrarian-based economy to one that was more industrialized and mechanized. Thus, when Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler were still in the planning stages for their new Parisian cabaret, they thought their establishment would be better received if they could incorporate a historical connection to the area’s past in the design of their building. So, they built a non-functional but historically symbolic red windmill on the top of their roof. The name “Moulin Rouge” translates to the “Red Mill” in English.

One of the many Moulin Rouge-themed "posters" created by artist Toulouse-Lautrec.
One of the many Moulin Rouge-themed “posters” created by artist Toulouse-Lautrec.

The official account of how the Moulin Rouge came to be decorated as it is states that the colour red symbolizes the blood spilled by the brothers Debray and the other farmers who gave their lives defending French soil from the Cossacks. However, there is another, less polite reason for the Moulin Rouge to be bathed in red. If you are familiar with the song “Roxanne” by The Police (You can read a post about it here), then you will be able to recall that it is a song about a French prostitute named Roxanne that is sung by a man who wants her to not turn on the red light announcing that she is “open for business”, as it were. Areas of major cities where organized prostitution exists have, for many years, been known as “red light districts”. Not that I would know from firsthand experience, but the idea is that the turning on of a red light outside of a brothel or other such building was meant to indicate that the women inside were ready to receive gentlemen callers or customers, if we were being honest about it all. This is not to say that because the Moulin Rouge was decorated mainly in red that it functioned as a high class brothel. However, the cabaret did become famous for the scantily clad nature of many of its female dancers. One of the most famous dances in history, the can-can, was born within the walls of The Moulin Rouge. (You can read a post about that here). The high kicking nature of the can-can was such that the bare legs, bottoms and other such areas of the dancer’s bodies were often on full display for the customers who paid exorbitant sums of money for such salacious entertainment. In fact, the famous French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec exchanged his services as a painter to create a series of iconic posters that advertised the temptations that awaited those who paid to enter the Moulin Rouge. In return for his paintings/posters, Toulouse-Lautrec was said to have been given his drinks and meals for free, along with the occasional companionship of one of the sultry Moulin Rouge dancers. For quite some time during the first half of the 1900s, many of the most famous and highest paid French female performers were dancers from the Moulin Rouge. The dancer Jane Avril was one who was immortalized in many of the posters created by Toulouse-Lautrec.

Movie poster for Bad Luhmann's 2001 film entitled Moulin Rouge.
Movie poster for Bad Luhmann’s 2001 film entitled Moulin Rouge.

While the Moulin Rouge was opened in 1889 to coincide with the World’s Fair, the original building was destroyed in a fire and has been rebuilt and renovated several times since. The building that houses the Moulin Rouge today still sits on the exact same spot and welcomes paying customers through its doors for cabaret dance shows that feature scantily clad dancers who, if the scene calls for it, will doff their costumes. That this style of show still exists at a nightclub that caters mostly to tourists these days has caught some patrons off guard. Many who pay hundreds of Euros per ticket for a chance to enjoy champagne and a good meal while watching a show do so with visions of the Baz Luhrmann version of the Moulin Rouge in their heads. As you may recall, the 2001 Academy Award-winning movie Moulin Rouge starred Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. That movie capped off a trilogy of movies by Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom and Romeo and Juliet being the other two) in which Luhrmann used modern song lyrics as regular dialogue to help tell his story. The movie Moulin Rouge was a sexy affair, but it did not contain the nudity for which the real life Moulin Rouge is famous. Thus, if you have never been to Paris and plan to go one day in hopes of attending a show at the Moulin Rouge, do so with the knowledge that there will be strong, healthy bodies revealing themselves while you sip your champagne. Just sayin’!

Not all iconic music venues are large concert venues. The Moulin Rouge is an intimate cabaret that mostly features dinner theatre style entertainment. A few A-list performers such as Elton John, Frank Sinatra and Madonna have given solo performances from the stage of the Moulin Rouge, but those types of concerts have been the exception rather than the rule. For the most part, if you were to ever darken the red doors of the Moulin Rouge, you would be welcomed into a space crammed tightly with dinner tables, most of which are positioned with good visual access to the stage. With the stage lights lit and so many bodies on stage and in the seats, it can get warm inside of the Moulin Rouge. Not surprisingly, it can seem loud at times as well, depending on what is transpiring on stage. But yet, the allure of the Moulin Rouge and the sexualized energy it contains continues to draw in record crowds a full century after the guinguette known as the Red Mill first opened its doors. I guess that Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller were correct in their prediction that showcasing healthy bodies in the City of Light was a winning financial formula. And while the era known as La Belle Époque has long since come and gone, the continued success of the Moulin Rouge proves that some things in our society never seem to change. 

The link to the official website for the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris, France, can be found here.

The link to the video for the trailer for the film Moulin Rouge can be found here.         

The link to a short video that shows you what to expect if you were to visit The Moulin Rouge can be found here.


***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

Places, Everyone…Venue #5/50: The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California

I have no scientific research to back up what I am about to say but I am sure that it must have been quite the revelation to the first cave people waaaay back in the day when they discovered that the same sounds that they made out in the open air sounded different within the confines of the stone walls of their cave dwelling. Further to that bit of speculation, I wonder who the first smart person was who came to understand that they could manipulate those sounds to make them louder or to have them reverberate like an echo? It really must have been a monumental intellectual step forward for humans to understand that sound could have meaning and could be used in a purposeful way.

I have always harboured an interest in acoustics. My first inclination that this was something I found interesting was when I used to go to church on Sundays with my parents as a child. Even from a young age I was aware that the physical construction of the church helped to make the sound of the organ and the choir bigger and grander. The space where the choir and the organist sat was in an area with high, vaulted ceilings that reached to the Heavens. I wasn’t particularly enamoured with the content of the hymns that we sang but I do recall enjoying the glorious sound of organ notes in concert with voices that filled every available nook and cranny inside our church. So even as a child, I knew that music worked to fill the spaces in which it produced and that higher, rounded ceilings had something to do with spreading the sounds around in such a way that it seemed they were coming from everywhere all at once. By contrast, my first experience with poor acoustics happened when I attended one of the very first rock concerts of my adult life. In 1983 I saw Pat Benatar perform at that old barn known as Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. As much as I adored Pat Benatar and was blown away by the power of her voice, I found myself completely distracted by the poor acoustical setup of the arena we were in. Maple Leaf Gardens was designed with flat walls on all four sides and an arched roof over top. The stage for Pat Benatar was placed at one end of the building where one of the hockey nets would approximately sit if the ice was in and the Leafs were playing. Because the wall directly across from the stage was a solid brick/cinder block wall, whenever Pat Benatar’s drummer hit his drums, the sound carried across the floor and smashed hard against the wall opposite to it. It sounded like blasts from a cannon all throughout the concert. What made it worse was that there was a delay of a second or two before the sound wave hit the back wall. So there was a continuous thump of the drums and a bang against the back wall a split second later…thump/BANG!  Thump/BANG!  Thump/BANG again and again. I did enjoy the show and I still love Pat Benatar but her concert was a reminder to me that the design of concert or performance spaces matters in terms of the quality of the acoustics that we, as an audience, need in order to truly enjoy music when it is performed live. This brings us to the focus of today’s post, The Hollywood Bowl.    

With a barn door as a stage, this is how recitals were given on the spot where the Hollywood Bowl would come to be built.
With a barn door as a stage, this is how recitals were given before the Hollywood Bowl was built.

The Hollywood Bowl is the largest natural amphitheatre in California. It is nestled at the base of the famous Hollywood Hills that Bob Seger sang of in his song “Hollywood Nights”. Not unlike the cave people of olden times, I imagine that once upon a time, someone must have stood at the foot of those stone hills and noticed that there was a natural amplification process at work. There are photos of plays being performed and recitals given in the exact spot where the Hollywood Bowl now sits, long before it was ever built. In those days, people used old barn doors laid flat on the ground as a stage. The natural amphitheatre provided by the stone backdrop took care of the sound system for those performers. And so it was after WWI had concluded that a group of women who were interested in the Arts in the greater Los Angeles area got together and began creating a proposal to buy a piece of land and erect a proper performance space for the citizens of L.A.  The process came to fruition when a woman named Christine Stevenson (heiress to the Pittsburgh Paints fortune) purchased several acres of land in a spot known as Beachwood Canyon. With the land deal secured, plans were made to build a proper stage with a shell-type design to act as a backdrop and to aid in the acoustical flow of sound forward from the stage toward an audience who would sit facing the Hollywood hills in the background. Frank Lloyd Wright was one of a series of architects who worked on the construction of the shell. Lloyd Wright’s design would just be the first in a series of upgrades and retrofits that have continued up to this very day. The first staged production at the Hollywood Bowl was Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in 1922. For most of the first half century of its existence, the Hollywood Bowl was used primarily as a performance space for classical music recitals and for the staging of classic plays. Frank Sinatra became the first “Pop star” to ever perform at the Hollywood Bowl as a featured act when he appeared in the 1950s. 

A photo of Los Angeles Arts patron and promoter Dorothy Chandler.
Dorothy Chandler.

And speaking of the 1950s, the Hollywood Bowl almost closed down due to lack of revenue and the need for renovations. It was at that time that a lady named Dorothy Chandler stepped up to lead fundraising efforts that eventually saved the building. Dorothy Chandler was a strong feminist and a champion of the Arts. Chandler was the wife of the editor of the L.A. Times and had her own role in using the newspaper to promote other strong women and to promote the Arts as well. You may have heard her name before because it graces a building known as The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion which is where the Academy Awards have often been held. In any case, Dorothy Chandler suffered no fools when it came to saving the Hollywood Bowl and then modernizing it so that it would be able to attract newer and more consistent audiences going forward into the second half of the century. For a while, a reflecting pool was installed in front of the stage. It was eventually removed. The seating area has been tweaked in recent times to incorporate flexibility when it comes to the experience you can have while watching a show. There are regular theatre style seats that all face forward toward the stage. But there are also sections of four seats together where the front two seats can be turned around and a small table installed between them so patrons can enjoy a small meal and some wine during the show. In keeping with trends across the state of California, the Hollywood Bowl has worked hard to become as environmentally friendly a public space as possible. A simple example of this is that shuttle buses are provided for every event held at the Hollywood Bowl. These shuttle buses depart from various points all over Los Angeles. The idea is to reduce the amount of vehicular traffic needed to attend events at the venue and to cut their carbon footprint to as small a number as possible. The way people come and go from the Hollywood Bowl is an example of the type of future that people who care about the environment talk about when it comes to reducing the use of single owner vehicles by investing purposefully in public transit that functions well. The Hollywood Bowl really promotes recycling and water conservation, too. When you get a chance to click on their website below, you can find all the information about how forward thinking they are environmentally speaking. 

Once Frank Sinatra appeared at The Hollywood Bowl and Dorothy Chandler became involved in a fundraising and promotionals capacity, the types of acts that performed there grew and became more varied. While the Hollywood Bowl remains the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and many of the events held there revolve around classical music, the scope and range of artists who have played there has grown exponentially. Jazz greats such as Miles Davis and Oscar Petersen have made beautiful music at the Hollywood Bowl. The Beatles played there as part of their first tour of America in 1964. The 1960s also saw Los Angeles area bands such as The Doors record live albums there. Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, The Who, Stevie Wonder, The Kinks, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Willie Nelson, The Rolling Stones and many more artists and bands from that era graced the Hollywood Bowl’s stage. My favourtie band Radiohead played multiple sold out shows there in the early 2000s. So did Morrissey, Alicia Keys, Linkin Park, along with comedy acts such as Dave Chappelle, Jerry Seinfeld and the gang from Monty Python’s Flying Circus all played there. Basically, the list of performers who have performed at the Hollywood Bowl, under the stars, with the famous “Hollywood sign” in the background is almost endless and includes everyone from The Muppets, to live musical renditions of movie scores such as Encanto and 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars with John Williams conducting, to cultural acts from around the world, to rappers, rockers, violinists, opera singers and theatrical productions of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a full century later. 

A photo of the seating area found at the Hollywood Bowl.
Watch a show and drink some wine.

Acoustics matter. The Hollywood Bowl has been renovated multiple times in an effort to create the crispest, clearest acoustical environment possible. At present, it is as lovely an outdoor space to watch a concert as possible, with the clearest acoustical properties of any place imaginable. That it is the centre of a vibrant and expanding environmental revolution is a tremendous bonus and an example of what is possible when we truly try to think of how our actions today affect our future tomorrow. I guess it is possible for us, as humans, to have nice things after all.

As is always the case with the posts in this series, it is my hope to provide for you as complete an introduction to the Hollywood Bowl as possible within the confines of our shared computer screens. In the first few links that I will post, I will give you the chance to visit the official website of the Hollywood Bowl, find out how the shuttle bus programme works and show you a short video on the whole history of the space. Following that, I will give you links to a series of videos that capture noteworthy performances. By no means are these the only noteworthy performances that have taken place there nor are they just performances by bands that I happen to like. In each case there is something about the performance that I want you to take note of so that your awareness of the venue can grow. This may be how it looks inside or outside, how the acoustics function and so on. So sit back and get ready because we are going on a virtual road trip to the Hollywood Bowl. All aboard!!!

The link to the official website for the Hollywood Bowl can be found here.

The link to a video of a news report that chronicles the history of the Hollywood Bowl can be found here.

The link to a video that shows a fan taking the shuttle bus from the L.A. Zoo to the Hollywood Bowl and back again can be found here.

Now here come the music videos. Please note that most do not have lyric versions that match the non-lyric video from the Hollywood Bowl. Sorry. If you want to see the performance as it happened inside of the Hollywood Bowl then, watch both versions so you can follow the song but also see the Hollywood Bowl. If I can find versions that do both, I will include them. Here we go.

Video : Hey Brother by Avicii.

The reason I am starting with this video….and believe me, there are 1000s of them on Youtube (just Google “Live at the Hollywood Bowl”)…is that the first two minutes or so show fans of electronic dance music DJ Avicii coming to his show at the Hollywood Bowl. It is a real behind-the-scenes look at The Hollywood Bowl. This video will give you a sense of what it feels like to approach the venue, how the ticket entry process works, what the seating area looks like before it is filled up and so on. Once the actual performance starts, if you’re not a fan of this type of music, feel free to bail at that point. For what it is worth, I like the song and enjoyed watching so many people having the time of their lives. Click on the song title above to activate the video link. ***The lyrics version is here.

Video : She Used To Be Mine by Sara Bareilles. ***I dedicate this song to my girls.

The reason for this video is to give you a sense of the acoustical properties that are present at the Hollywood Bowl. Sara Bareilles is a wonderful, wonderful singer. Her voice is crystal clear wherever she sings. However, this video gives you a special opportunity to hear it because it was recorded during the recent COVID pandemic. As you know, many public spaces were closed because of limits placed on crowd sizes. This put a huge dent in the revenue streams of all musicians and music-based acts. In order to carry on, the Hollywood Bowl hosted a series of audienceless concerts, where only the performer and their band were allowed to be in the venue. This is the case for this video by Sara Bareilles. It is just her singing in an empty venue. It is kind of eerie in one sense but it allows for her voice to soar without being absorbed by the bodies of the audience that normally would be there. “She Used To Be Mine” is a beautiful song, too, which is a bonus in this instance. Enjoy the sound of Sara Bareilles with “She Used To be Mine”. ***The lyrics version is here.

Video : In The End by Linkin Park.

I have always been a sucker for live recordings that feature the audience belting out the song along with the singer or band. This is arguably my favourite sing-along video ever! What makes it more than a simple audience participation video are the circumstances that surrounded it happening in the first place. For years Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington had been co-lead singers for the rock band Linkin Park. As the band achieved success, Bennington was very public about how hard he found the fame and the pressure of it all. His open dialogue about the toll it was taking on his mental health resonated with many who felt he was a role model in this subject area. So, when it all became too much and Chester Bennington committed suicide, fans of the band were shaken to their core. A few months after his death, a “celebration of life” concert was held at the Hollywood Bowl. The song “In The End” was the final song of the night. Fans were invited to sing along as the evening’s “most favourite special guests”. They took on the role of singing Bennington lines from the hit song. It is as cathartic and joyous a performance as I can remember seeing. If there was ever a doubt that bands and fans form a community, let it be put to rest here. And remember, it all happened at the Hollywood Bowl and it is always ok to ask for help. ***The lyrics version is here.

Video : Twist and Shout by The Beatles from 1964.

The video and sound quality are not the best but, this video stands as a historical record of what Beatlemania was like as it was all unfolding. The screams from the audience are as prevalent as the music itself. Enjoy. ***The lyrics version is here.

Video : The Doors: Live at the Hollywood Bowl.

There have been many live albums recorded from the stage of the Hollywood Bowl. This was one of the first and stands as one of the most famous. The Doors were an L.A. band so performing here was a sort of homecoming for them. They gave it their all, that is for sure. This is the whole concert!!! There are many concerts shown on Youtube in their entirety. Feel free to check that out for yourself to see if your favourite artist has concert footage available. In any case, here is the complete Doors concert that was used to record their epic album The Doors: Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Enjoy. ***No lyrics version for this entire concert.

Video : A Day in the Life as covered by Jeff Beck.

As you may know, “A Day in the Life” is a song made famous by The Beatles. Jeff Beck was a contemporary of the Fab Four. He was an extraordinary guitarist. He was especially noted for his love of the Blues. In this performance, Beck delivers a cracklingly crisp and clear instrumental cover of this timeless track. The acoustics of the Hollywood Bowl make this a real treat to listen to. What a great player Jeff Beck was. This video is a joy! Enjoy. ***The lyrics version of The Beatles song is here.

Video : How Soon Is Now by Morrissey.

I could do this all day! “How Soon is Now” is one of the most famous songs in the last forty years. *(I wrote about it in a post that you can read here if you are so inclined). In any case, Morrissey does an excellent job here, even without Johnny Marr being on hand. As you can tell from the reaction of the audience, the song was well-received. ***The lyrics version is here. This is the Breakfast Club lyrics version in case that holds meaning for you.

Video : The 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky as performed by the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra.

I will end the videos with this performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. The Hollywood Bowl is their home base so it is only fitting to give them the final video. I also wished to close with this video so as to belie the impression that I may be giving that the Hollywood Bowl only showcases chart-topping musical acts. That couldn’t be further from the truth. If you were to take a quick glance back to their website and the list of upcoming events, you would see a wide assortment of music genres represented. There truly is something for everyone at the Hollywood Bowl, including lots of oohs and aaah in this video as fireworks light up the sky above the concert shells. Pretty cool!

Thanks for hanging out with me during this post. I have never been to the Hollywood Bowl but I will be adding it to my “one day” list for sure. If you have been lucky enough to go there, please share your experience in the comment box below. As always, thanks for being here and for reading my words. Your presence is appreciated. Bye for now.

***As always, all original content contained in this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

Places, Everyone!…Venue #4/50: The Apollo Theatre in New York City

In 1989 Spike Lee directed one of my all time favourite movies called Do the Right Thing. This movie was set in one specific Brooklyn neighbourhood on the hottest day of the summer. The action throughout the entire film is restricted to one city block, the people living there, the business owners and their employees who work there and finally, to the NYPD officers who only seem to be there whenever there is trouble. Ninety-five percent of the people who live on this block are black. However, none of the business owners nor police officers are black. As the movie unfolds, the temperature outside becomes oppressive. Soon enough, tempers flare as racial tensions build to the point of exploding. One of the main grievances aired by the black characters in this movie is lack of cultural acknowledgement. The movie begins with Samuel L. Jackson as a radio DJ playing the powerful, forceful beats and words of “Fight the Power” by the legendary Hip Hop group Public Enemy. There is one line from this song in particular that has always stood out for me and which holds great importance for this movie. It is a verse that begins by invoking the names of two great white cultural heroes, Elvis and John Wayne and counters with the line  “Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps”. Cultural representation is important. It just is. When there is a systemic, organized, deeply entrenched societal mechanism in place that denies whole cultures the chance to see themselves represented proudly, then the message being given is that the existence of that cultural group doesn’t matter. Furthermore, the existence of the individual members of that group don’t matter, either. To prove my point, I want you to stop and watch a scene from Do the Right Thing. This scene is set in an Italian pizzeria that has operated on that block for a long time. The owner is a man named Sal who is played by Danny Aiello. Cultural representation matters to Aiello’s character, Sal. But, as you shall see, he uses cultural representation as a power strategy to perpetuate the message that only certain cultural groups really matter. This one scene is a microcosm of how racism exists in this one Brooklyn neighbourhood, as well as in the rest of the world. Please watch this clip by clicking here now.  ***NSFW due to profane language.      

As WWI began, the area of New York City that is known as Harlem had a different demographic makeup than it came to have throughout most of the rest of the century. Back then, the area north of Central Park was home to a population that was mostly white and Jewish. In 1914, to be exact, a man named Sidney Cohen opened a burlesque theatre in the place where the Apollo Theatre now stands. Because of racial segregation laws that existed at the time, Hurtig and Seamon’s New Burlesque Theatre (as it was called) prohibited people of colour from attending and from performing inside the walls of the theatre. Burlesque shows remained the order of the day all the way until the start of the 1930s, when new mayor Fiorello La Guardia acted to “clean up” New York City by shutting down burlesque performance spaces. In 1934, Mr. Cohen reopened the theatre under a new name called The 125th Street Apollo Theatre. Not only did Cohen change the programming offered at his theatre because of Mayor La Guardia’s edict, he was also aware of the changing demographic nature of Harlem. The white, Jewish population was leaving the area and moving further downtown. In their place, African Americans began moving into the area. Affordable housing initiatives made it possible to live in NYC, even if the median salaries of African Americans tended to be lower than those of white workers. As a consequence of this demographic change that was taking place all around the neighbourhoods where the theatre sat, Sidney Cohen began to offer programming that focussed more on revue-style shows that offered singing and dancing and comedy and short skits. While it is technically accurate to describe the building (that became known simply as The Apollo Theatre) as an entertainment and Arts performance space, the truth is that The Apollo Theatre evolved into being much, much more than that. The Apollo Theatre became the showplace for genres of music such as Jazz, Blues, Bebop, Gospel, Soul and R&B…genres that were referred to by many as being “black music”. The theatre’s stage became a safe place for performers of colour to perform. Many black performers appeared at the Apollo Theatre because, unlike a majority of other performing arts venues in America, the Apollo Theatre not only welcomed them on its stage but celebrated the great skill of these performers and gave them a safe place to be. As important as anything else was the fact that the Apollo Theatre opened its doors to audiences of colour. The theatre was a classy and well appointed venue where black audiences could come to a show in a safe setting and see performers who looked and sounded exactly like they did. It was cultural representation put into practice. Sometimes a theatre is just another bricks and mortar building. But the Apollo Theatre quickly became much more than that. It became known as the cultural soul of America. The Apollo Theatre has earned this designation honestly. 

A photo that shows the interior of the Apollo Theatre as seen from the performer's point of view on the stage.
The interior of the Apollo Theatre as viewed from the stage.

Right from the very first moments that the new 125th Street Apollo Theatre opened its doors in 1934, efforts have been consistently made to showcase performers of colour. The initial performers were jazz musicians such as Benny Carter and his Orchestra. Bill “Mr. Bojangles” Robinson appeared not long after and put on displays of dancing for an adoring crowd. However, the most popular bit of programming there began in 1934 (and which continues to this day). It was something called Amateur Night.   The purpose of Amateur Night was to provide amateur black performers with the opportunity to perform in a safe place on a public stage before a discerning audience of real people who didn’t suffer fools lightly. If a performer measured up, then the audience would shower them with applause. If a performer was on the lower side of competent, then they would be booed off the stage. Winners of Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre would win a $25 cash prize, along with an invitation for a return engagement at a future date. The list of those who have been winners on Amateur Night is extraordinary! The very first winner was a young woman who went by the name of Ella Fitzgerald. Subsequent winners included luminaries such as Sarah Vaughn, Pearl Bailey, Dionne Warwick and James Brown. 

A photo of Ella Fitzgerald singing ive at The Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
Ella Fitzgerald at The Apollo.

When network television programming began in the 1950s, a TV show was developed that was called Showtime at the Apollo. This show basically served to televise the Amateur Night festivities as they took place inside the theatre. Performers who won during the televised Amateur Night shows included Ronnie Spector, Gladys Knight and a young man named Jimi Hendrix. It is said that Showtime at the Apollo, along with Soul Train, were the two TV shows that helped to popularize black music and black performers and made the presence of both more welcome across America in the decades that followed. 

A screenshot of the TV show title for Showtime at the Apollo.
As it appeared on our television screens.

In the early 1960s, two great cultural vehicles for black performers joined forces when the “Motortown Revue” from Detroit appeared at The Apollo Theatre. Motown legends such as Little Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Commodores and The Four Tops all graced the stage of the Apollo Theatre for the first time. The 1960s also saw the birth of a phenomenon known as the Live at the Apollo record albums. The most famous of these were two albums recorded by the man himself, James Brown.  

A still of James Brown performing live on stage at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
James Brown at the Apollo Theatre.

The 1970s saw some troubled times come to the Apollo Theatre and to Harlem, in general. The economy was in decline. New York City experienced a period of visible poverty, lawlessness and urban decay. The Apollo Theatre closed its doors for a period of time, not opening again until the 1980s. 

In the decades that have followed, the cultural importance of the Apollo Theatre has been acknowledged and the building has become a protected heritage structure. The list of black performers who played on the stage of the Apollo Theatre reads like a directory of the most famous people of colour in American history. Here are just a few of these great artists and people: Miles Davis, Big Joe Turner, Sister Rosetta Thorpe, Thelonious Monk, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, The Drifters featuring Ben E. King, John Coltrane, Sidney Poitier, Count Basie and his Orchestra, Nipsy Russell, Chris Rock, Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Washington, Lena Horne, Ray Charles, The Shirelles, B.B. King, The Delfonics, The Spinners and on and on it goes! Martin Luther King, Barack Obama and Malcolm X all gave speeches from the Apollo’s stage. The names I have listed represent the best of black Arts and culture and yet, this list is just the very tip of a very great iceberg. 

A photo of a poster for upcoming Apollo Theatre shows. Guests include Sam Cooke, James Brown, Little Eva, Gladys Knight as well as Ike and Tina Turner.
Can you imagine seeing these folks in their prime?! Wow!

I will end this post with two final points. The first is that those who manage the Apollo Theatre today do so under the auspices of an organization known as The Apollo Theatre Foundation. The mandate of the A.T.F. is to not only preserve the building as a performing arts space for artists of colour, but to help take the legacy of the Apollo Theatre and the cultural lessons that can be found in its history and bring those into the mainstream of today’s cultural conversations. As one aspect of accomplishing this mission, the A.T.F. has agreed to be part of a network of educational initiatives known simply as the Master Class Programme. The Master Class series encompasses many types of professions that pair industry experts with students and apprentices. However, there is one Master Class programme that was designed specifically through a collaboration between the Apollo Theatre Foundation and NYU and their music and theatre arts departments. For a few years, the A.T.F.’s “master teacher” in this course was singer/songwriter Pharrell Williams. The idea behind the course was that Pharrell, as he is simply known, would use his vast knowledge of the music industry and the recording process to help mentor a select group of NYU performing arts students. I mention this because one of my favourite YouTube videos of all time came as a result of Pharrell’s Master Class series. I want to share this video and the story behind it with you now. In 2017, the class was assigned a project in which they had to take an original song from the earliest stages of writing all the way through the process of recording it using professional studio equipment. In this video that I will share with you, the class is presenting their finished recordings, one by one, to Pharrell with the expectation that he will provide professional feedback. The student whose turn is featured in the video is a young lady, unknown at the time, called Maggie Rogers. Rogers is now an award-winning indie-folk singer whose career was launched from this video in much the same way that all of those Amateur Night winners had their careers launched from the stage of the Apollo Theatre. In any case, in this video, Maggie Rogers is a shy, unassuming young student. But the second her music begins to play, it is apparent that she has a legitimate hit on her hands. The song she plays for Pharrell is called “Alaska”. It is excellent. Pharrell knows that it is excellent right from the get-go. The two of them have an interesting dynamic all throughout the video because Rogers is truly shy and humbled to be in Pharrell’s presence and keeps stealing glances at him to gauge his impressions of her song. Regardless of his reaction, Maggie Rogers bops to her own tune while Pharrell smirks to the camera. It is an authentic moment of game-recognizing-game. In the end, Pharrell lauds her performance and the rest becomes history. However, what is also noteworthy about this clip and why it is doubly impactful is that Maggie Rogers is white,

A photo of NYU student Maggie Rogers as she shares her song "Alaska" with mentor Pharrell Williams as part of the NYU/Apollo Theatre Master Class series.
Maggie Rogers and Pharrell Williams.

The whole point of that scene from Do The Right Thing that I had you watch off of the top of this post is that it is one thing to be proud of one’s cultural background, but it is not healthy to build a wall around your cultural worldview and exclude other influences. There is no personal growth available in that scenario. We can clearly see that when we watch Danny Aiello’s character and his open disdain for his black customers as noted in many things such as how quickly he wipes the counter after his black customer has taken away his slice of pizza. The Apollo Theatre Foundation recognized that it is one thing to preserve and promote the cultural history of the theatre, but it is another thing altogether to do so in an exclusionary, blacks-only manner. If the end goal of it all is racial harmony and equality, then one of the mandates of the Foundation going forward must be to bring in artists from other races and cultural groups. Thus their involvement in a Master Class series that is taught by a black performer in Pharrell but done  in a racially inclusive environment. I will link to the Maggie Rogers/Pharrell Williams video below.  

The Apollo Theatre is open as you read these words. You can book a tour of the facility and/or see a show. The seats are comfy. The environment is welcoming and celebratory. If you were ever to visit the Apollo Theatre one of the things that you would notice is a wonderful mural that adorns one wall as you enter the building. This mural features the faces of many of the famous entertainers that I have mentioned throughout this post. In doing the research for this post I came across an anecdote from Smokey Robinson who, during his first ever visit to the Apollo Theatre as a member of the Motortown Revue, stood before this mural upon the wall. For Robinson, other than at Motown, this mural was the first time he had ever seen black artists like himself honoured and respected in such a way. The mural touched his heart. As he looked at the mural he swore to himself and to those around him that one day his face would be on that mural. In order to be yourself, sometimes you have to see yourself. Representation matters. It truly does. 

A photo of a college of famous black performers that is located in the lobby of the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
The lobby wall at the Apollo Theatre. This is what a young Smokey Robinson saw. Representation matters.

The link to the official website for the Apollo Theatre in New York City can be found here.

The link to the video for the song ”Alaska” by Maggie Rogers from the Master Class series hosted by Pharrell Williams can be found here. ***The official lyrics video is here.

The link to a video for the song “I Can’t Stand Myself” by James Brown Live at the Apollo can be found here.

The link to a video of Count Basie and his Orchestra at the Apollo Theatre in 1950 can be found here.

The link to a video for the song “Passionfruit” by Drake can be found here.


***As always, all original content contained in this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com  

Places, Everyone!…Venue #3/50: The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England

There are many places around the world that are referred to as being “ground zero” for this or for that. Well, The Cavern Club on Mathew Street in Liverpool, England can certainly and rightfully lay claim to being “ground zero” when it came to Beatlemania! While it is true that the songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met at a church picnic in Liverpool and that the band, itself, first played regularly as a musical unit in Hamburg, Germany, it was at The Cavern Club that they officially left the Quarrymen and the Silver Beatles behind and became The Beatles as we know them. 

The Cavern Club was actually first used as a storage cellar in a warehouse in downtown Liverpool. It was put into use as a bomb shelter during The Blitz. Its final non-musical use was as a storage area for fresh fruit. In the mid-1950s, the cellar was purchased by a man named Alan Synter who was hoping to turn the space into a jazz club modeled after one that he liked in Paris called Le Caveau De La Huchette. The cellar was designed to have a series of arches acting as doorways and as the ceiling of the club. The idea was based on the notion that arches were the best shapes for evenly distributing the weight of the main building above it that rose several stories into the air on Mathew Street. The cellar was made of stone and bricks. One of the unforeseen consequences of using bricks to line the ceilings and walls of the cellar was that because they were porous, they absorbed the aroma of the fruit being stored there. Once the cellar became The Cavern Club and regularly began hosting standing room only crowds, the heat generated by the bands and audiences would cause the walls to sweat. This, in turn, would act as a catalyst to spread the stored up aroma of fruit on to the audience. Thus, many a young worker or student returning to work or school after a lunch time show would have their whereabouts easily determined due to a phenomenon that became known as the scent of “Cavern perfume”.

As mentioned, The Cavern Club was initially used to host jazz performances as the 1950s drew to a close. But soon other types of music were featured there including something called skiffle. Skiffle bands were the precursor to blues-based or country-based rock n’ roll bands. One of the most prominent skiffle bands to stand upon the stage of The Cavern Club was a group of teenagers who called themselves The Quarrymen Skiffle Band. The lead singer of that band was a boy named John Lennon. The Cavern Club usually featured live music continuously throughout the day. At the time of their first gig, The Quarrymen Skiffle Band were complete unknowns within the Liverpool music scene. That first gig was more of an audition. The band was allowed a short two-song set to be performed in between the official sets of two other older, more established skiffle bands. The Quarrymen took the stage. They played a traditional skiffle song as their opening number. Then John Lennon launched into a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel”. The Cavern Club owner was incensed that these boys would bring rock n’ roll into his club and handed them a note, mid-song, warning them to cut it out immediately. John Lennon’s stunt cost The Quarrymen Skiffle Band the chance to play at The Cavern Club anytime soon thereafter. However, later that year, in 1957, The Quarrymen Skiffle Band would be hired to play at another event. This time it was to be a church picnic. It was while at that picnic that John Lennon and his mates played for a church congregation that included a young man named Paul McCartney. At the end of their set, McCartney introduced himself to Lennon and informed him that he knew how to play the guitar, too. Lennon offered his guitar to McCartney and invited him to play. McCartney obliged. Afterwards, Lennon asked McCartney if he wanted to join the band. Thus, one of the most iconic musical partnerships in history began at the conclusion of a Quarrymen’s Skiffle Band set.

A photo of George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney just before The Beatles became famous.
The best was yet to come for these lads…Harrison, Lennon and McCartney.

While Lennon and McCartney were discovering how much they had in common with each other in terms of musical influences and songwriting styles, The Cavern Club was changing hands. Alan Synter knew that a new wave of music was sweeping the nation and he wanted no part of it. By the time that Synter had sold The Cavern Club in 1959, The Quarrymen Skiffle Band had been forgiven and had played several times. First, it was just John Lennon and his original bandmates. Soon thereafter, future Beatles drummer Ringo Starr appeared there with another skiffle band. Finally, as 1959 began, Paul McCartney made his Cavern Club debut as a member of Lennon’s Quarrymen Skiffle band. Not long after that, with new ownership in place, one of Liverpool’s top bands, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes took to the stage to play a sold out show. They were the first band with rock n’ roll dreams to have the courage to drop the skiffle part of their act and appear on stage as who they felt they were meant to be. As part of that show, Ringo Starr reappeared again as drummer for Rory Storm. They played some original tunes but also many covers of imported rock n’ roll songs from the U.S. This combination of rock and blues helped form a new musical hybrid called Merseybeat. Soon, other Merseybeat bands such as Gerry and the Pacemakers made their first appearances. 

On Feb. 9, 1961, The Beatles first played The Cavern Club as themselves. The members of that version of the band included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best. While many bands were viewed favourably by the audiences that now were flocking to The Cavern Club on a daily basis, it was The Beatles that became the most popular of them all. They were hired in the capacity of being a house band of sorts. This arrangement meant that The Beatles often played lunchtime shows multiple days a week. It was at one of these lunchtime shows that The Beatles were watched for the first time by future manager Brian Epstein. His family owned a record shop a short distance away. When customers of this store started speaking about this hot new band playing at The Cavern Club, Epstein just had to go and see them for himself. After watching their show and being suitably impressed, he offered to become their manager. The Beatles accepted the offer and soon they were signed to a record contract and were in the studio producing their debut album. The Beatles continued to play those lunchtime shows right up until they released their debut single, “Love Me Do”, in 1962. Once their music hit the national airwaves, Beatlemania began in earnest. Soon it became too unsafe for The Beatles to perform at The Cavern Club any longer because of concerns regarding crowd control, inside and outside of the building. The Beatles’ last performance at The Cavern Club was on August 3, 1963. Ringo Starr was now playing drums for The Beatles. In less than a year from that moment, The Beatles would be flying to America, Beatlemania would be at the height of its intensity and the world of modern music would be forever changed.

A photo of The Beatles playing a lunchtime show at the original Cavern Club.
The Beatles playing a lunchtime show at the original Cavern Club.

Because of the success of The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Rory Storm and other Merseybeat performers, Liverpool became a prime stop for touring bands from the rest of England and from around the world. Acts such as Little Richard, Big Mama Thornton, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Queen and a very young Elton John would all stand upon the stage of The Cavern Club and soak in its sweet perfume. However, as time went on The Cavern Club began to require renovations that proved to be too costly to perform. So, in 1973 the building that housed The Cavern Club was demolished. The cellar was left intact as a shell of its former self. It was filled in with rubble and paved over as a parking lot. American singer Suzy Quatro was the final performer to stand on the original Cavern Club stage. Her show was on November 2, 1972.

When John Lennon was killed in New York City in 1980, the site of the former Cavern Club once again served as ground zero for those wishing to mourn his death. Public opinion strongly supported the idea of excavating the old Cavern Club site and redeveloping the area with the plan being to reopen the old club. However, architects and engineers stated that the damage from the initial demolition was too great and that the structural integrity of the numerous archways had been compromised. Some good did come from the disappointing news, however. 5000 of the original bricks used to construct the cellar in the first place were removed, cleaned up and sold as a fundraiser for the Strawberry Fields Children’s Hospital. The remaining salvageable bricks were removed, restored and used in the creation of a new development a short distance down Mathew Street. Before the new Cavern Club opened, almost two hundred musicians who had played on the original stage of the club were invited to sign their name on a portion of the original back wall of The Cavern Club. That wall was taken down and placed in the new facility and stands as one of LIverpool’s most sought-after tourist attractions to this day. Since the new Cavern Club has opened, both Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney have visited. The surviving members of The Quarrymen Skiffle Band reunited for a short set on the fortieth anniversary celebrations held in 1997. Modern bands such as Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys have performed there as well. If you were to ever find yourself in Liverpool, it is relatively easy to have a terrific Beatles experience in this new shiny development that sits a stone’s throw away from ground zero in the story of The Beatles. I will have all the links below.

A photo from the new Cavern Club that shows the wall of autographs made by the musicians who played at the original Cavern Club.
The autographed back wall from the original Cavern Club as it sits in the new Cavern Club today.

For now, I wonder how hard it would be to find and acquire one of those charity bricks that were rescued from the demolition site? I am not a fanatical collector of music memorabilia but having a Beatles brick from the place where they got their start would be pretty special. If you have ever been to Liverpool to see the new Cavern Club complex and/or to experience all of The Beatles-related tours, museums and other special sites, let me know how it was in the comments below. In the meantime, thanks for coming along with me to Mathew Street. It was a pleasure to show it to you via this post. Have a great rest of your day. Bye for now.

The link to the official website for the new Cavern Club complex can be found here.

The link to the video for a performance by The Beatles at the Original Cavern Club in 1962 can be found here.    

The link to a video that gives a short yet detailed history of the connection between The Beatles and The Cavern Club and those charity bricks can be found here. 

The link to the official website for The Beatles can be found here.

The link to the official website for the city of Liverpool, England can be found here.


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