The Lewisham Odeon was a cinema and

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. Ty ...

located in

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. During its nearly half a century open the changes in British popular music can be seen reflected in the acts to perform there, particularly in the

1950s File:1950s decade montage.png, 370x370px, Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War, late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk.Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with co ...

, '60s, and '70s.

History

It opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace with the films ''

Westward Passage ''Westward Passage'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Robert Milton and starring Ann Harding, Laurence Olivier, ZaSu Pitts and Irving Pichel. The screenplay concerns a woman who falls in love and marries, but soon discovers ...

'' and '' The Midshipmaid''. With 3,050 seats it was among the UK's largest cinemas. An article originally published in the Observer on 16 September 1956 quotes a soldier visiting the cinema to see ''

Rock Around The Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...

'' saying "You should have seen this place last night. Jiving on the stage they were, till the cops came." It goes on to mention a boy escorted out by police, also for jiving, and ending up in a " meat-wagon" In October 1959 a pre-fame

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only B ...

, then known as Clive Powell, auditioned for pop manager Larry Parnes at the theater during The

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s and 1960s hit singles including " E ...

Show. He performed a cover of Jerry Lee Lewis' ''High School Confidential'' and was hired as a backing pianist for Parnes “stable” of singers. On Sunday, 1 May 1960,

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...

re-started his U.K. tour at the Gaumont after the car crash on the 16th April following his Bristol concert, as reported by the

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

, the following week. He sang, so that newspaper reported, ''

Over the Rainbow "Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'', in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role ...

''. The building reopened in 1962 as the Lewisham Odeon after being closed for several months due to a fire. It nostalgically re-screened ''The Midshipmaid'', and its first new showing was '' That Touch of Mink''. Over the years it hosted performances from artists such as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

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Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

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The Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and ...

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and

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Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

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, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas,

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, T. Rex,

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and

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. On 27 May 1978

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headlined there on their '' Never Say Die'' tour, with support from

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

. In 1977, 1979, and 1980

Lewisham Council Lewisham London Borough Council, also known as Lewisham Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lewisham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour major ...

rejected applications from then owners of Odeon, Rank Leisure, to convert it into a

bingo hall Bingo is a game of probability in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller, the winner being the first person to mark off all their numbers. Bingo, previously known as Housey-Housey, became increas ...

. Rank closed the cinema and venue on 14 February 1981.

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...

reported at the time that the council had hoped to retain the cinema and its planning and development committee would be meeting to consider a plan submitted by Rank to convert it into "two smaller studio cinemas and a department store". Its final concerts were two dates by

on 8 and 9 February. The building was demolished in 1991 for a road widening scheme.

References

{{Coord, 51, 27, 50.18, N, 0, 0, 43.63, W, scale:6250_region:GB, display=title Former cinemas in London Music venues in London Former music venues in London Odeon Cinemas Buildings and structures demolished in 1991 Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lewisham Demolished buildings and structures in London