Photo uploaded. I made a rare excursion into Newcastle today and fully expected to see the scaffolding already up. So far, however, nothing seems to have taken place – at least on the outside. I guess that inside the usual asbestos stripping etc must be in progress.
What a pity that the Paramount/Odeon was not considered worthy of restoration as it would have made a fine multi purpose auditorium (there is sufficient space at the rear to deepen the stage). It would have been far superior to the barren looking City Hall and the ‘slugs on the riverbank’ known as The Sage…..
There were indeed live shows at the Odeon and two names which come to mind are Adam faith and Dusty Springfield. The Hippodrome, Dovecote Street also had ‘one night stands’ but the main venue in the town was the ABC Globe and the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones used to play there.
Joseph Seal, the famous Resident Organist of the Regal Kingston upon Thames became ABC’s Controller of Live Entertainment and his signature can be seen at the foot of a memo, a scanned image of which I have uploaded to the photos section, from early 1969 relating to a forthcoming live show week at the ABC (Ritz) Huddersfield.
Re Vic Mancini: We ‘lent’ ABC Derby a projectionist (from base ABC Huddersfield) when it tripled. Obviously, he was going to be working overtime, and I asked this particular operator to ring me weekly for details of his shifts at Derby. Prior to his secondment I said that I would , to be going on with, include an extra two shifts in week 1 until we got up to speed (at this time the payroll system was geared to the convenience of London and not those out in the field).
Mr Mancini rang me, and in his usual obnoxious, gruff, belligerent manner, asked “What are you doing about *******’s overtime, mate?” and, before I could explain that what I had arranged for week 1 was just an interim measure, he retorted" Two shifts – what the hell bloody use is two ruddy shifts, mate? Get stuffed!“ to which I replied "Mr Mancini, you may be the Zone Engineer, but do NOT speak to me like that!” and the old so and so climbed down…….
As I said this the Huddersfield Chief knocked at the office door and could not help but overhear my irate tone and said “You just did right speaking to Mancini as you did as he’ll walk all over you if you let him!”
Did you , as a young man, once take a number of interior shots of the Haymarket, Newcastle whilst I was there? If so, it would have been on a Sunday afternoon.
If I am correct, then they will be the only ones of a professional standard taken in full houselights and with the tabs closed. Would it be possible to obtain copies, please?
Better still, perhaps you could upload them to the Haymarket’s photo section as the existing shots do not give people a true indication of how nice an auditorium (albeit rather old fashioned) it really was.
My apologies if I have mistaken you for someone else.
Four photos uploaded of the auditorium in the houselights taken a few days before closure.
Unfortunately, the cable for the tabs had just ‘given up the ghost’. Steve Veasey, ABC Furnishing Manager, had ordered new curtains and a pelmet for the Haymarket in 1980 but the latter failed to materialise for some unknown reason.
The fountains were only partially illuminated latterly and many of the elaborate light fittings had been removed during a 1976 re-dec. Furthermore, most of the trough lighting had also been disconnected.
By and large, though, the photos give a hint of what the place had looked like in its heyday.
Also at each side of the painted over wall decoration below the fountains there were, prior to a 1976 re-dec, two copper poles at the top of which were Egyptian style torches ( the ‘flames’) which someone in officialdom deemed should be removed…….
Two photos uploaded of the place in its pre – modernisation form. The one taken from the circle in 1954 shows the screen set well back from the proscenium. The house tabs, sadly, are drawn back and not visible here but they were the heavy theatrical style with appliqued stripes and looked rather splendid illuminated by the footlights.
I understood that the facade was to be incorporated within the new development (Student Accommodation) and it is a shame that this will not now materialise as the arched stained glass window used to look rather spectacular when illuminated and flanked by the two ‘Palladium’ fin signs at night time.
Image of Special Presentation ticket uploaded to the photos section: ‘Half a Sixpence’ 17th April 1968, seat number P 25 which was on the fourth row of the Centre Circle.
I have not found the actual photo (it was in a desk drawer at the Haymarket long after the death of Doug Parkin) but I have found a link to – presumably – the same image :–
Thompsons' owned and operated two of my local cinemas (Darlington was within my catchment but the Regent closed when I was a small boy), namely Shildon Hippodrome (once a GB house) and the very ‘posh’ Durham Palladium. They owned their own ice cream company, ‘Erimus’ (the factory was close to the new Thompsons' cinema, Middlesbrough Majestic on Longlands Road) and I preferred it to the ‘Eldorado’ brand sold at the Essoldos in Shildon and Bishop Auckland……….
The ‘block’ design signage which once comprised the name ‘Essoldo’ (and briefly ‘Classic’) was taken down by ABC when they acquired the building at an exorbitant cost in 1974 – it was said that this was financed by their sale of the huge ABC Stockton.
The standard ABC ‘lozenges’ replaced the old sign whilst the blocks were stored in the intake room (of all places) for a long time until , one day, some ABC ‘bright spark’ said “You know what? These blocks , seven of them, could be adapted to read A B C 1 & 2 – with EMI occupying the lowest block!”
Brilliant! More money wasted by that company who could have worked that one out in the first place……
The bargain basement ‘Cannon’ outfit , however, were much, much, more inept. They saw fit to remove the three blocks which said ‘ABC’ and erected their horrible standard ‘Cannon’ sign leaving ‘1 & 2’ below and detaching the lowest block. They obviously did not have the intelligence to simply adapt the 7 blocks to read ‘Cannon'plus their corporate logo (such as it was) within the lowest block………
World Premiere of ‘Happy Go Lovely'in 1951 :–
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/film-chiefs-in-conference/query/westover+cinema+bournemouth
Image uploaded.
Their conversions might have been cheap but I never considered them cheerful……
Photos uploaded.
Photo uploaded. I made a rare excursion into Newcastle today and fully expected to see the scaffolding already up. So far, however, nothing seems to have taken place – at least on the outside. I guess that inside the usual asbestos stripping etc must be in progress.
What a pity that the Paramount/Odeon was not considered worthy of restoration as it would have made a fine multi purpose auditorium (there is sufficient space at the rear to deepen the stage). It would have been far superior to the barren looking City Hall and the ‘slugs on the riverbank’ known as The Sage…..
There were indeed live shows at the Odeon and two names which come to mind are Adam faith and Dusty Springfield. The Hippodrome, Dovecote Street also had ‘one night stands’ but the main venue in the town was the ABC Globe and the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones used to play there.
Joseph Seal, the famous Resident Organist of the Regal Kingston upon Thames became ABC’s Controller of Live Entertainment and his signature can be seen at the foot of a memo, a scanned image of which I have uploaded to the photos section, from early 1969 relating to a forthcoming live show week at the ABC (Ritz) Huddersfield.
Re Vic Mancini: We ‘lent’ ABC Derby a projectionist (from base ABC Huddersfield) when it tripled. Obviously, he was going to be working overtime, and I asked this particular operator to ring me weekly for details of his shifts at Derby. Prior to his secondment I said that I would , to be going on with, include an extra two shifts in week 1 until we got up to speed (at this time the payroll system was geared to the convenience of London and not those out in the field).
Mr Mancini rang me, and in his usual obnoxious, gruff, belligerent manner, asked “What are you doing about *******’s overtime, mate?” and, before I could explain that what I had arranged for week 1 was just an interim measure, he retorted" Two shifts – what the hell bloody use is two ruddy shifts, mate? Get stuffed!“ to which I replied "Mr Mancini, you may be the Zone Engineer, but do NOT speak to me like that!” and the old so and so climbed down…….
As I said this the Huddersfield Chief knocked at the office door and could not help but overhear my irate tone and said “You just did right speaking to Mancini as you did as he’ll walk all over you if you let him!”
Although, as I recall, the Dick Emery Show in 1976 was presented at ABC Great Yarmouth the previous year ie 1975.
Did you , as a young man, once take a number of interior shots of the Haymarket, Newcastle whilst I was there? If so, it would have been on a Sunday afternoon.
If I am correct, then they will be the only ones of a professional standard taken in full houselights and with the tabs closed. Would it be possible to obtain copies, please?
Better still, perhaps you could upload them to the Haymarket’s photo section as the existing shots do not give people a true indication of how nice an auditorium (albeit rather old fashioned) it really was.
My apologies if I have mistaken you for someone else.
3 more images uploaded.
3 images uploaded.
Image uploaded to photos section.
Uploaded to the photos section are the following:–
3 Roadshow shots. ABC 1 (former Stalls) with tabs open. Entrance foyer. ABC 2 (former Rear Circle: 3 shots).
Four photos uploaded of the auditorium in the houselights taken a few days before closure.
Unfortunately, the cable for the tabs had just ‘given up the ghost’. Steve Veasey, ABC Furnishing Manager, had ordered new curtains and a pelmet for the Haymarket in 1980 but the latter failed to materialise for some unknown reason.
The fountains were only partially illuminated latterly and many of the elaborate light fittings had been removed during a 1976 re-dec. Furthermore, most of the trough lighting had also been disconnected.
By and large, though, the photos give a hint of what the place had looked like in its heyday.
Also at each side of the painted over wall decoration below the fountains there were, prior to a 1976 re-dec, two copper poles at the top of which were Egyptian style torches ( the ‘flames’) which someone in officialdom deemed should be removed…….
Photo uploaded showing the queue for ‘Jaws’ December 1975.
Article re the Court’s destruction by fire:–
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/history/memories/14694067.The_day_Darlington_s_first_purpose_built_cinema_came_to_a_fiery_end/
Photo uploaded of the building whilst still the Scala Cinema
Two photos uploaded of the place in its pre – modernisation form. The one taken from the circle in 1954 shows the screen set well back from the proscenium. The house tabs, sadly, are drawn back and not visible here but they were the heavy theatrical style with appliqued stripes and looked rather splendid illuminated by the footlights.
I understood that the facade was to be incorporated within the new development (Student Accommodation) and it is a shame that this will not now materialise as the arched stained glass window used to look rather spectacular when illuminated and flanked by the two ‘Palladium’ fin signs at night time.
Image of Special Presentation ticket uploaded to the photos section: ‘Half a Sixpence’ 17th April 1968, seat number P 25 which was on the fourth row of the Centre Circle.
I have not found the actual photo (it was in a desk drawer at the Haymarket long after the death of Doug Parkin) but I have found a link to – presumably – the same image :–
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rustythespian/5867145226/in/photolist-7dBJW6-7dm5Bk-7dBKie-7dFCWh-6ERBtp-7dC9XT-5uSWKH-7eotMk-9WsDSj
Photo uploaded which must have been taken soon after closure in 1969 as the sign is intact on the front of house.
Thompsons' owned and operated two of my local cinemas (Darlington was within my catchment but the Regent closed when I was a small boy), namely Shildon Hippodrome (once a GB house) and the very ‘posh’ Durham Palladium. They owned their own ice cream company, ‘Erimus’ (the factory was close to the new Thompsons' cinema, Middlesbrough Majestic on Longlands Road) and I preferred it to the ‘Eldorado’ brand sold at the Essoldos in Shildon and Bishop Auckland……….
The ‘block’ design signage which once comprised the name ‘Essoldo’ (and briefly ‘Classic’) was taken down by ABC when they acquired the building at an exorbitant cost in 1974 – it was said that this was financed by their sale of the huge ABC Stockton.
The standard ABC ‘lozenges’ replaced the old sign whilst the blocks were stored in the intake room (of all places) for a long time until , one day, some ABC ‘bright spark’ said “You know what? These blocks , seven of them, could be adapted to read A B C 1 & 2 – with EMI occupying the lowest block!”
Brilliant! More money wasted by that company who could have worked that one out in the first place……
The bargain basement ‘Cannon’ outfit , however, were much, much, more inept. They saw fit to remove the three blocks which said ‘ABC’ and erected their horrible standard ‘Cannon’ sign leaving ‘1 & 2’ below and detaching the lowest block. They obviously did not have the intelligence to simply adapt the 7 blocks to read ‘Cannon'plus their corporate logo (such as it was) within the lowest block………