Feature: Why the reopening of Dale End’s legendary music venue means so much to Brummies
As Dale End’s historic and famous venue’s doors were slammed shut for the last time in 2009, the whole of the Second City wept. Chances are, if you had been to a gig in the city, you’d seen it at the Academy. Its distinctive smell of sweat, the sticky carpet and the standing balcony would stay with Birmingham’s exuberant youth of a bygone era forever. The majority of everyone’s childhood years, whether at the Carling Academy or former namesakes the Hummingbird, the Top Rank Suite or the original Ballroom, where the new name originates from the heritage of the venue; were spent in this building.
The current outside of the building, as taken by Adam Yosef/I Am Birmingham. Over the years a colossal list of bands and artists have performed at this historic venue stacked with heritage, such as The Clash, The Ramones, The Buzzcocks, Bob Marley, The Misfits, Happy Mondays, Nirvana, Sonic Youth; and in more recent times, playing in the smaller rooms; Muse, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys and Snow Patrol who played the Bar Academy. With Brummie bands such as Ocean Colour Scene, who reopened the venue as the Carling Academy in 2000; UB40, Editors, The Twang, The Streets & The Beat all performing on the Dale End site, there’s no reason to not feel proud. And of course, with Metal originating in Birmingham, it meant local bands such as Judas Priest and Napalm Death all took to the stage of the Hummingbird in their hometown of Birmingham. In the past twenty-two months since The Used played the final gig at the Academy in September 2009, the venue has been sitting on Dale End, looking derelict and abandoned; with the original Carling Academy sign and lineup posters still housed on the façade. The inside had flooded and nothing had been touched since the doors were slammed shut. The venue was all set for demolition with the Oasis Market and surrounding areas; in a £550m development of Martineau Galleries. However. On Tuesday July 5 2011, Counteract exclusively broke the news that the venue was reopening as the Birmingham Ballroom. The whole of Birmingham gasped and that once exuberant youth came out once more as the internet was draped with memories and positive reflections on the regular haunt of so many reopening.
An artist’s impression of how the exterior of the Ballroom will look upon completion. “I’m so pleased it’s going to continue to be a music venue. Many happy memories of the old academy.” said Zoë Turton, while Hannah-Rebecca Joy Guscoth simply said “This is pretty awesome news.” Of course a new venue is nice, as the £4 million O2 Academy on Horsefair proved; but you can’t replace memories. It was clear for all to see that this venue had been dearly missed by those who grew up attending. What wasn’t so clear, though, was what the venue’s plans were. Would they be bringing it back to the days of a main room gig almost every night? Would it just be occasionally used? Would it be used for live music or just for club nights? Teenculture was a haunt of so many from the younger echelons of the city; with Ramshackle and Subculture being popular destinations for the adult generation of the 00s. Those questions were quickly answered with the creation of a Facebook page for the venue, with hundreds of fans showing their glee at the news and having their curiosity cured. The question on everyone’s lips being “Have you heard the Academy is reopening?”. When the venue reopens in September, the interior will be flooded – a different kind to water this time though; awash with emotion. Everyone who spent time at this legendary venue will reminisce on their memories once they see the balcony, the sofas, the downstairs bar; and when they stand in the same spot they watched their favourite bands in down the years. Many of these bands will have fantastic and fond memories of the venue. A lot of those who have previously performed will be itching to come back and see what the place looks like now, and maybe even ask to play to get a small taste of previous atmospheres. Personally, the Carling Academy holds a special place in my heart. I went to my first gig there. Drank my first pint there. Queued for my favourite band for hours and went in my first mosh pit there. I saw some fantastic bands there – The Libertines, The Strokes, Death From Above 1979, Arctic Monkeys and The Specials to name a few; with most of them in smaller capacities. Infact, without the Academy, Counteract may not exist. After seeing Dirty Pretty Things in 2006 I was inspired to write a review; and thenceforth Counteract was born. To those outside of the city, all of this may mean nothing. What’s clear for all to see though, is why this venue means so much to Birmingham. For a venue with such a past and a presence, you’d have thought it should never have closed. But maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Maybe you just don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Or maybe us Brummies are generally passionate and proud of the city we come from. So the next time someone asks you why you care so much about the Birmingham Ballroom, direct them to this feature and tell them how proud you are to come from a tight-knit community with such musical heritage and history. Leave your memories of the venue in the comment box below.
The current outside of the building, as taken by Adam Yosef/I Am Birmingham. Over the years a colossal list of bands and artists have performed at this historic venue stacked with heritage, such as The Clash, The Ramones, The Buzzcocks, Bob Marley, The Misfits, Happy Mondays, Nirvana, Sonic Youth; and in more recent times, playing in the smaller rooms; Muse, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys and Snow Patrol who played the Bar Academy. With Brummie bands such as Ocean Colour Scene, who reopened the venue as the Carling Academy in 2000; UB40, Editors, The Twang, The Streets & The Beat all performing on the Dale End site, there’s no reason to not feel proud. And of course, with Metal originating in Birmingham, it meant local bands such as Judas Priest and Napalm Death all took to the stage of the Hummingbird in their hometown of Birmingham. In the past twenty-two months since The Used played the final gig at the Academy in September 2009, the venue has been sitting on Dale End, looking derelict and abandoned; with the original Carling Academy sign and lineup posters still housed on the façade. The inside had flooded and nothing had been touched since the doors were slammed shut. The venue was all set for demolition with the Oasis Market and surrounding areas; in a £550m development of Martineau Galleries. However. On Tuesday July 5 2011, Counteract exclusively broke the news that the venue was reopening as the Birmingham Ballroom. The whole of Birmingham gasped and that once exuberant youth came out once more as the internet was draped with memories and positive reflections on the regular haunt of so many reopening.
An artist’s impression of how the exterior of the Ballroom will look upon completion. “I’m so pleased it’s going to continue to be a music venue. Many happy memories of the old academy.” said Zoë Turton, while Hannah-Rebecca Joy Guscoth simply said “This is pretty awesome news.” Of course a new venue is nice, as the £4 million O2 Academy on Horsefair proved; but you can’t replace memories. It was clear for all to see that this venue had been dearly missed by those who grew up attending. What wasn’t so clear, though, was what the venue’s plans were. Would they be bringing it back to the days of a main room gig almost every night? Would it just be occasionally used? Would it be used for live music or just for club nights? Teenculture was a haunt of so many from the younger echelons of the city; with Ramshackle and Subculture being popular destinations for the adult generation of the 00s. Those questions were quickly answered with the creation of a Facebook page for the venue, with hundreds of fans showing their glee at the news and having their curiosity cured. The question on everyone’s lips being “Have you heard the Academy is reopening?”. When the venue reopens in September, the interior will be flooded – a different kind to water this time though; awash with emotion. Everyone who spent time at this legendary venue will reminisce on their memories once they see the balcony, the sofas, the downstairs bar; and when they stand in the same spot they watched their favourite bands in down the years. Many of these bands will have fantastic and fond memories of the venue. A lot of those who have previously performed will be itching to come back and see what the place looks like now, and maybe even ask to play to get a small taste of previous atmospheres. Personally, the Carling Academy holds a special place in my heart. I went to my first gig there. Drank my first pint there. Queued for my favourite band for hours and went in my first mosh pit there. I saw some fantastic bands there – The Libertines, The Strokes, Death From Above 1979, Arctic Monkeys and The Specials to name a few; with most of them in smaller capacities. Infact, without the Academy, Counteract may not exist. After seeing Dirty Pretty Things in 2006 I was inspired to write a review; and thenceforth Counteract was born. To those outside of the city, all of this may mean nothing. What’s clear for all to see though, is why this venue means so much to Birmingham. For a venue with such a past and a presence, you’d have thought it should never have closed. But maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Maybe you just don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Or maybe us Brummies are generally passionate and proud of the city we come from. So the next time someone asks you why you care so much about the Birmingham Ballroom, direct them to this feature and tell them how proud you are to come from a tight-knit community with such musical heritage and history. Leave your memories of the venue in the comment box below.
Founding editor of Counteract. Freelance travel and music journalist.
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