The Ritz Ballroom in York Road,

Kings Heath Kings Heath (historically, and still occasionally King's Heath) is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, four miles south of the city centre. Historically in Worcestershire, it is the next suburb south from Moseley on the A435 road, A435 Alces ...

, Birmingham, West Midlands, was a 1960s music venue, known for the number of artists it hosted, who went on to become international successes, especially those on the roster of

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein ( ; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was an English music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1961 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put hi ...

. Operated by Joe Regan and his wife Mary, the venue used a former cinema. Acts which appeared there included

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. In March 2013, the building, by then used as shop, was destroyed by fire.

The Regans

The Regans - known as "Ma and Pa Regan" - operated three other concert venues in the area: * The Plaza, Handsworth, Birmingham * The Plaza,

Old Hill Old Hill is a small village in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England, situated around north of Halesowen and south of Dudley. It is part of the West Midlands conurbation. History ''Kelly's Directory of Staffordshir ...

* The Gary Owen (also known as the Kavern),

Small Heath Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman t ...

Mary was responsible for selecting and booking the acts. She was also a

PE teacher Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing primary, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United States it is informally called gym class or ...

at Coleshill. At the time of Joe's death, in 2004 aged 92., the couple had two children, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Building history

Originally opened as the Ideal Cinema, the building then became a

snooker hall A billiard hall, also known as a pool hall, snooker hall, pool room or pool parlour, is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly serve alcohol and often h ...

, before reopening as The Ritz Ballroom. Some time in the late 1960s or 1970s, the Regans converted the premises 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 ...

, after which it was derelict for some years. Its final use was as a

Cash Converters Cash Converters International Limited (also simply known as Cash Converters or Cashies) is an Australian ASX-listed, globally franchised retail and financial services company. The company specialises in the buying and selling of second-hand g ...

shop. In the early hours of 27 March 2013, the building was destroyed by fire, caused by an electrical fault. The remaining walls were demolished in January 2015.

Notable performances

* * * * * * *

References

{{Reflist History of Birmingham, West Midlands Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands Music venues in Birmingham, West Midlands Collapsed buildings and structures in the United Kingdom 2010s fires in the United Kingdom 2013 disasters in the United Kingdom 2013 fires in Europe Buildings and structures demolished in 2015 Demolished buildings and structures in the West Midlands (county)