Birmingham’s oldest venue. It was designed by Joseph Hansom and Edward Welch and modelled on a classical temple, hence the columns on the outside. It opened in 1834.
Its debut as a rock and pop venue came in the late 1950s and 1960s. Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath and numerous bands and solo artists have appeared there. It closed in 1996 for a make over and refurbishment and re-opened in 2007. It is now one of the city’s more “posher” venues and tends to attract the more sedate kind of acts, although it was the site of an Ozzy Osbourne homecoming concert!
