Troxy is a

Grade II-listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. ...

Commercial Road Commercial Road is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It is long, running from Gardiner's Corner (previously the site of Gardiners department store, and now Aldgate East Underground station), through ...

in Stepney,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Built as a cinema in 1933, it closed in 1960 and became a training school for the

London Opera Centre The London Opera Centre, a school for the training of opera singers and other opera professionals, existed in England between 1963 and 1978. It was located in the former Troxy Cinema on Commercial Road in London's East End Borough of Stepney (now ...

. In the 1980s the building was used as a bingo hall, and the Troxy was converted to a live events space in 2006. The building is considered a vital part of

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the ...

's history and was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

in 1990. It has a capacity of 3,100.

History

Opened in 1933 on the site of an old brewery, Troxy cost £250,000 to build and when it first showed films had a capacity of 3,520, making it the largest cinema in England at that time. Inside the building the cinema had luxurious seating, a revolving stage, mirror-lined restaurants and customers were served by staff wearing evening dress. To add to the sense of luxury, Troxy staff sprayed perfume during film showings. The cinema showed all the latest major releases and had a floodlit organ which rose from the orchestra pit during the interval, playing popular tunes. Troxy was designed by

George Coles George Coles may refer to: * George Coles (Cambridge University cricketer) (1798–1865), English amateur cricketer * George Coles (politician) (1810–1875), Canadian politician; first Premier of Prince Edward Island * George Coles (Kent cricket ...

, the architect of many art deco cinemas in London. The first film shown at the cinema was ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'', which is now celebrated by graffiti on the side of the building. Big names from the film and music industry were regular sights at Troxy, with stars such as

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million ...

and

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

visiting it. The damage inflicted on the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have univ ...

by the Blitz in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the clearance of local slums robbed Troxy of much of its original audience as the giant cinema closed in 1960, with the last film shown on 19 November that year, featuring

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...

in ''

The Siege of Sidney Street ''The Siege of Sidney Street'' is a 1960 British historical drama film co-directed by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman. It stars Donald Sinden, Nicole Berger and Kieron Moore. The film dramatises the 1909 Tottenham Outrage - a bungled wag ...

''. Between 1960 and 1963 Troxy stood empty until the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

, Covent Garden, took over and created the

school for the training of opera singers and professionals, which was based there from 1963 to 1977. Its purpose was a rehearsal space, using an extended stage to create exactly the same dimensions as the Royal Opera House stage. The team made changes to the internal and basement areas of Troxy, creating multiple rooms for the orchestras to use as well as the stage. The Royal Opera House continued to use Troxy until 1990. The following year the building earned

Grade II Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

status with

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. In the 1980s

Mecca Bingo Mecca Bingo (formerly called Top Rank) is a British operator of bingo clubs, with 76 locations throughout the country. Mecca Bingo is owned by the Rank Group, which operates bingos, casinos and online gambling in Belgium, Spain and Britain. The ...

took over the venue and bingo sessions were held twice a day, seven days a week until 2005 when the rise of online gambling led to Mecca taking the decision to stop using the building.

Troxy today

The venue was reborn as a live events space in 2006, and has continued to be used for concerts and other events ever since, hosting prestigious awards ceremonies, gigs, film screenings including

Secret Cinema Secret Cinema is a London-based entertainment company that specialises in immersive film and television events. Founded and created in 2007 by Fabien Riggall, it began with mystery screenings at initially undisclosed venues in London, includ ...

screenings and sporting events. In 2013 it hosted the

NME Award The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine '' NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding ...

s, with the magazine's editor Mike Williams describing the Troxy as one of London's "oldest, coolest and most iconic venues". The same year Google chose Troxy as the venue for its annual Christmas party for 1,500 guests. The Troxy now hosts live concerts and gigs including some of the biggest bands to play in the capital. In June 2016 Troxy hosted the annual

Kerrang! Awards The Kerrang! Awards are an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of mo ...

for the fourth consecutive year and is also regularly used for

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

fight nights. Since it reopened, Troxy has held concerts by bands such as the

Jesus and Mary Chain Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, Flying Lotus,

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following ...

Beady Eye Beady Eye were an English rock band formed in London in 2009 by former Oasis members Liam Gallagher (vocals), Gem Archer (guitar), Andy Bell (guitar), and Chris Sharrock (drums). In 2013, former Kasabian guitarist Jay Mehler joined the band ...

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produ ...

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since th ...

Doves Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

City and Colour Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist and songwr ...

, Stereophonics,

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

and Kano. Great care was being taken to bring Troxy into the 21st century while preserving its history. The current owners have invested heavily in restoring the venue as much as possible to its original glory while making it suitable for modern audiences. Troxy was the first venue in

EMEA EMEA is a shorthand designation meaning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The acronym is used by institutions and governments, as well as in marketing and business when referring to this region: it is a shorthand way of referencing the two ...

to permanently install the JBL VTX A12 loudspeaker system. In 2009 the Troxy screened its first film for more than 50 years, showing Secret Cinema's ''

Bugsy Malone ''Bugsy Malone'' is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker (in his feature film directorial debut). A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, featuring only child actor ...

'', complete with live music and custard pie fights. The venue marked its 80th birthday in 2013 by showing ''

'', the first film it had showed in 1933. Robbie Williams performing at Troxy

The venue has also hosted a number of prestigious award ceremonies and televised events with

Plan B Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan. Plan B may also refer to: * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency contraception drug Film and television * Plan B Ent ...

and

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

both awarding accolades to their managers at the venue.

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...

presented about the

London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Opening Ceremony with

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

at Troxy and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

hosted its Brexit debate at the venue attended by a host of celebrities including

Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English author, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Sel ...

Sandie Shaw Sandie may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Sandie Clair (born 1988), French professional racing cyclist * Sandie Fitzgibbon, Irish former camogie player * Sandie Jones (1950/1951–2019), Irish singer * Sandie Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker (187 ...

and

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and music ...

. In November 2016, Troxy hosted a

Brits Icon Brit, Brits or BRIT may refer to: People Nicknames * British people, people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies, and their descendants * Brit Hume (born 1943), American TV journalist * ...

concert fronted by

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

. A new truss had to be installed above the circle to house the incoming production. This involved working with a structural engineer to test the weight load of the ceiling to make sure it could be done safely. As well as a TV audience of 2.35 million, the BRITS Icon event raised Troxy's profile in the UK music media. In 2017, Troxy was used as the filming location for

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

's talent contest, ''Sing: Ultimate A Capella''.

DICE Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing ...

has been running its ticketing operations since 30 August 2018.

The Troxy organ

One of the unique attractions of Troxy is its

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

organ, the largest Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ in Europe, which was restored to its original condition in 2015 as the culmination of a six-year project at a cost of £275,000. The Wurlitzer has 1,728 pipes measuring between to and is housed in four separate rooms. It has four keyboards, one pedal board and 241 stop keys. The organ was originally in the Trocadero Cinema in Elephant and Castle, the sister theatre of Troxy, which opened in 1930. It was much larger than the original Wurlitzer at Troxy, which did not survive intact after the venue closed as cinema. The Trocadero was pulled down in 1963 but the organ had been purchased by the

Cinema Organ Society The Cinema Organ Society (COS) was founded in 1952 by Hubert Selby and Tony Moss for those interested in organ music as entertainment. The aim of the society is to preserve and promote the presentation of these wonderful instruments for the enjoy ...

three years previously and escaped the demolition. It was announced it was being moved to Troxy in 2009, bringing the instrument back to the sort of venue it was originally designed for. Rated as one of the finest in the world, the Wurlitzer's console can be moved around inside Troxy depending on the occasion. The use of the

is offered to anyone using the venue for their function, and special events are held so people can hear it played.

Awards

Troxy has won many awards over the years. In 2013 it was named Venue of the Year at the Eventex Awards and won bronze in the Unusual Venue category at the M&IT Awards in the same year. 2014 was a busy year for awards as Troxy was overall winner of the Eventia Best Venue Team and was named overall winner of Best Venue Team at the Live UK Music Business Awards, which it repeated in the same category in 2016. Also in 2014 Troxy was highly commended in the Best Venue Space category at the Event Magazine Awards, an event it hosted. Troxy was a finalist for Best Venue at the Evcom Live Awards 2015, and a finalist in the Best Venue Category at the Event Production Awards in the same year. In 2016 Troxy was awarded the Mark of Excellence in the London Venue Awards and named winners of the Best Venue Teamwork Theatre/Concert Hall at the Live UK Music Business Awards. It was also crowned Best Awards Venue at the inaugural Awards Awards. Helping make 2016 a year to remember was being names the bronze winner for Use of Venue at the EVCOM Live Awards. In October 2017, Troxy was also crowned 'Best London Event Venue – 500 to 1,000 attendees' at the London Venue Awards.

Transport

Troxy is close to

Limehouse station Limehouse is a National Rail and connected Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Limehouse, London, England. It is served by regional services operated by c2c to and from Fenchurch Street, and by light metro services provided by the DLR t ...

which is served by

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...

(DLR) and National Rail services.

c2c Trenitalia c2c Limited,Companies House extract company no 789726 ...

trains, to and from

Fenchurch Street Station Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street, is a central London railway terminus in the southeastern corner of the City of London. It takes its name from its proximity to Fenchurch Street, a key thoroughfare in th ...

, to

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness (; also called Shoebury) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. east of the city centre. It was an urban district of Essex from 1894 to 1933, when i ...

and Grays in Essex stop at

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...

. Limehouse Station is in zone two, and sits between

Shadwell Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has mea ...

and

Westferry Westferry is a station on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), at the junction of Limehouse Causeway and Westferry Road in Limehouse in London Docklands, England. The station is located in Travelcard Zone 2. To the west is Limehouse station, ...

stations on the DLR. Troxy is located on the A13, also known as Commercial Road. The building is served by the following bus numbers; 15,115, 135, D3, N15, N550, N551

References

External links

* *Present-da
Photo Gallery
{{Coord, 51.5128, -0.04405, display=title Art Deco architecture in London Former cinemas in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Theatres in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Stepney Grade II listed cinemas 1933 establishments in England 1933 in London