Bradford Live: Music venue to give former Odeon a new life

The former Odeon building on Godwin Street has been empty for 23 years and is due to open as a 3,800 capacity venue in 2024

A concert space rising from the ashes of a derelict 1930s Bradford cinema will be "the most exciting music venue in the country", its team promises.

The former Odeon building has been empty for 23 years, with work continuing to transform the site into the 3,800 capacity Bradford Live venue.

Its operator, the NEC Group, aims to hold 200 events a year in the building, which is due to open in 2024.

It is hoped the venue will also hold boxing, darts and other sports events.

A fire in the roof space of one of the Godwin Street building's distinctive turrets on Friday caused some "localised" damage, but the Bradford Live team said it had not impacted work on the rest of the site.

Bradford Council had previously planned to demolish the building, which hosted performances by the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other legendary artists in the 1960s, but a public outcry saw it saved.

The auditorium, which is currently a web of scaffolding during renovation work, will eventually host music, comedy, sport and corporate events

Lee Craven, Bradford Live director, said the multi-million pound construction project will secure the venue for "another 100 years".

"The building closed in 2000, so a whole generation of people here have grown up having never been inside it," he said.

"People don't realise how huge it is, it will take people's breath away."

The front of the building will have a large screen advertising upcoming concerts and events

Aside from the main auditorium, the venue will also provide smaller spaces which can be used for corporate events, weddings and graduations, Bradford Live said.

The not for profit distribution company has been restoring salvageable sections of the building's history, including the ballroom area's original art deco ceiling.

Bradford Live said it was attempting to salvage original building features, including the art deco ceiling of the former ballroom (top left)

"It will be the most exciting live music venue in the country in my opinion, people will come from all over the country to see their band here," Mr Craven said.

Bradford Live hopes it will fill a requirement for venues bigger than O2 Academies but smaller than arenas and play a key role in the UK City of Culture 2025 celebrations.

Families flocked to the Odeon cinema to watch the latest blockbuster film titles until its closure (photo courtesy of the Bringing the Beat Back to Bradford exhibition)

Mr Craven added: "There's nothing like it anywhere in the country with its size, the fan-shaped auditorium and other rooms inside."

Construction work got under way in 2021, with the venue also hoping to host business conferences, awards ceremonies, comedy shows and family entertainment once completed.

People queued around the block for tickets to the see the biggest artists of the 1960s (photo courtesy of the Bringing the Beat Back to Bradford exhibition)

Key dates in the building's history

• 22 September 1930 - The 3,500-seater New Victoria opens, one of the UK's then-largest cinemas

• 23 September 1950 - The New Victoria becomes The Gaumont

• The 1960s - The Gaumont, said to be the largest indoor concert venue in the North of England at the time, attracts stars including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Little Richard, Dusty Springfield, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Buddy Holly and Gene Vincent

• 21 August 1969 - The venue reopens as the Odeon Film Centre & Top Rank Bingo Club

• 2 July 2000 - The Odeon closes, with a campaign then gaining momentum to prevent it from being demolished

• 2013 to present - Bradford Council acquires the building, with the not for profit Bradford Live awarded the contract to turn it into a music venue once again. Bradford Live selects the NEC Group as its operating partner, with opening now set for 2024.

Source: Bradford Live

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw described the project as the "cornerstone" of a wider regeneration scheme across the city centre, including the Darley Street Market project and the One City Park office development.

"It will drive opportunity, jobs and growth across the district," said Mr Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council's portfolio holder for regeneration, planning and transport.

"Living locally, being able to see world-class artists on your doorstep will be a real privilege."

Bradford Live director Lee Craven said the new music venue is "what Bradford needs"

A National Lottery Heritage Fund-financed exhibition at the nearby Impressions Gallery is sharing the story of the building, with contributions from those who grew up watching films and attending concerts there.

"We have had memories shared of people meeting their partners in the ballroom," said Daniella Gott, gallery assistant.

"We've also had fond recollections of the Odeon cinema, people remembering watching Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future."

'I saw the Beatles three times at the Gaumont'

Adrian Hartshorn, 80, from Rastrick, West Yorkshire

"The Beatles were way down the bill the first time, hardly anybody knew them, they were just another group from Liverpool.

"Then Beatlemania hit town and everybody knew them - I remember hearing the females screaming, I couldn't hear them because they were screaming away."

"We had to queue all night for tickets - we joined on the Saturday night and they opened the box office on the Sunday morning, there was no online booking then."

"I want to go there again now, it was Bradford."

Bradford Live said the venue will be handed over to the NEC Group in early 2024, with the operators then fitting bars and beginning to test the venue.

"I don't think I'll be doing anything like this again, it's a once in a lifetime project," said Mr Craven.

"It gives you something to be proud of at the end because it's really a magnificent building."