different venues to go into my documentary

1. Researching Into Different
Venues to Discuss in my
Documentary

2. Researching Into PastVenues
in the Northeast
Using blog’s like Ready Steady Gone, and simply google, I have
managed to found a list of venues upon venues which I could
potentially talk about. Just some of the venue’s I have found include:
• Club A’Gogo
• Downbeat
• QuayClub
• Greys Club
• Mayfair Ballroom
• La DolceVita
• Guys & Dolls
• Majestic Ballroom
• Cavendish Club
• El Cubana

3. The Mayfair
Ballroom,
Newcastle
The Mayfair Ballroom opened on September 12th 1961 and
for 38 years was one of the most popular venues in the city.
Over the years, the venue would host the likes of disco
nights to bingo, raves to ballroom dancing, but will always
be remembered as a rock venue, due to hosting acts like
The Who, Pink Floyd, Queen, Black Sabbath,The Clash
,Iron Maiden, Metallica, and many, many more.
On October 4th 1968 a relatively unknown band under the
name the NewYardbirds took to the stage, later becoming
Led Zeppelin, making their UK debut right here in the
Northeast.
The ballroom was situated below Newgate Street in
Newcastle City Centre, before finally closing its doors in
1999, later being demolished to make way forThe Gate
Complex.

4. La DolceVita,
Newcastle
While the venue was only open for four years, La DolceVita
hosted some of the biggest stars from around the world,
including Dusty Springfield andTom Jones. Opening on
February 6th 1963, the club was the idea of three Wallsend
brothers – David, Marcus and Norman Levy.
The venue included a large cabaret lounge with seating for
500 people, and was quickly known for its glamour and
sophistication.
The Kaye sisters were the first act to perform there,
followed by Matt Monro and Alma Cogan.
After being taken over by the Bailey group in 1965, the
Bailey Organisation opened Sloopy’s disco above La Dolce
Vita. Soon in the seventies La DolceVita went into decline
in, as well as having several name changes before finally
shutting down as a venue in 2002.

5. El Cubana,
Sunderland
In 1957, after a long period of planning, friends Cliff
Balbatch, Brian Farquhar, Alan Rolfe, Alan George and Eric
Punson, all becoming the committee, rented a place in
North Bridge Street to open up a club. Punson soon
realising a committee would not work, he resigned just as
the club opened.
Around 1960, then Prime Minister Harold McMillan
changed the law, making it possible to run a club as a
proprietary club, meaning the club owners could pay
themselves wages.This was when Balbach and Punson felt
it was the right time to re-attempt to open a club.
In 1961, Balbach, Punson, along with his brother David,
transformed 13Toward Road into the El Cubana, which was
a teenage club with a dance floor area painted black, and
beneath in the basement sat a dimly lit cellar, consisting of
a lounge and coffee bar. Months later after obtaining a
liquor licence, the La Cubana Nightclub opened above the
El Cubana, both having a Spanish theme.

6. El Cubana,
Sunderland
El Cubana in the early days ran two sessions – 7pm till
10:30pm, then 11pm till 2am. Jack WrightAgency and Ivan
BirchallAgency supplied the groups playing at the club, the
biggest being the Spencer Davis Group who played at the
club the very same night they hit number one in the charts
with Keep on Running.
Other acts who performed there include Alan Price, John
Miles, Brian ferry, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & theTrinity
Sound.
The big groups performed a 30-minute spot (for free), just
so they could say they had played at the El Cubana in
Sunderland and the Cavern in Liverpool.

7. The Locarno,
Sunderland
With its majestic ballroom,The Locarno, also known asThe
Mecca, was one of the most popular venues in Sunderland,
and with big names like David Bowie and Pink Floyd
performing there, I’m not surprised why!
First opened on June 30th 1964, the club first opened as a
Locarno Ballroom which were the flagships of the Mecca
Empire, the project costing £300,000, including its bowling
alley beneath the venue.
Just some acts who performed there were Rod Stewart,
The Who, Queen,Thin Lizzy, and Led Zeppelin.
The club had several names changes over the years, such
as the Mayfair and the Palace, before shutting its doors for
good in April 2003, the being demolished in 2012.

8. The Rink,
Sunderland
The Rink arguably had its heyday in the 1950s when the
resident band wasAl Flush and his Orchestra, Saturday
nights being the most popular with long queues
forming early. During the early 1960s many famous pop
groups performed at the venue, one of those being the
Beatles, who took to the stage on May 14th 1963.The
late 19760s and early 1970s saw the demise of big dance
bands and brought about the introduction of DJs toThe
Rink as well as appearances from big names, including a
young David Bowie. At this point disco was popular and
small night clubs were considered the, meaning the
venue wasn’t getting in the bigger crowds as much as it
used to.The Rink eventually changed its name to
Fusion, before closing in 1984

9. Cellar,
South Shields
The Cellar Club may be best remembered as the venue that
on February 1st 1967 hosted one of Jimi Hendrix’s very few
performances in the Northeast (This was the New Cellar
Club) which opened on December 2nd 1966, advertised as a
£50,000 disco club for 18 to 25 year olds, holding no
resemblance to the original Cellar Club in which it replaced.
The Cellar, also known as the Cellar Jazz Club, opened in
1956 by Gladys Hogg.The Cellar was housed in a terraced
building and started its life as a jazz club, running for many
years, but in later years the music changed over to R&B,
soul or simply whatever was popular at the time, with jazz
still being played on a Monday evening.
The New Cellar Club officially opened on December 2nd
1966, and unlike the old Cellar, there was a stage for the
band and the DJ.

10. Images andVenues I
have decided to use
The venue’s I have decided to focus on in my documentary
are:
• Sunderland Empire, Sunderland
• The Rink, Sunderland
• The Mayfair, Newcastle
• O2 Academy, Newcastle
I have chosen these venue’s as upon researching, these are
the venue’s with enough existing footage, meaning I can talk
in more depth and always have images or video footage to
talk over.

11. The Rink, Sunderland

12. Sunderland Empire

13. The Mayfair, Newcastle

14. O2 Academy, Newcastle