Cornwall Coliseum

Cornwall Coliseum was a sport and entertainment venue located in St Austell, Cornwall, England. It hosted exhibitions, tennis tournaments and many concerts by leading musicians, but lost its importance with the opening of the Plymouth Pavilions in 1991.

The Carlyon Beach area began to develop as a popular recreation area in the 20th century, with one of the visitors being the Prince of Wales. During a visit he suggested that a sports club could be constructed on the beach for wealthy locals and in the early 1930s the building, known as the Riviera Club opened to the public. The complex featured a spa with swimming pool, tea rooms and tennis courts where Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson were reputed to have visited.

During the outbreak of World War II, the complex project's development, still not yet fully completed, was put to a halt. The beach was used for military operations in this time, however in the 1950s the complex re-opened and continued developing as a leisure and entertainment centre. In the early 1960s the complex, owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Lovett, had become a large concert venue, with a capacity of over 2000 seats and featuring a bar. The main auditorium area was previously the two indoor tennis courts. The complex became known as the New Cornish Riviera Lido, although the music venue still kept the Riviera Club name.

In the 1960s, the venue became increasingly popular, where the venue would bring in some major musical artists of the time including The Pretty Things, Chris Farlowe, Them, The Poets, Procol Harum, Herman's Hermits, The Kinks and DDDBMT. Each performance generally sold out, and the complex became a premier venue in the area.

The owner Mr. Lovett soon decided to run dances in the venue, however by the end of 1966 Newquay was becoming increasingly popular, with the Blue Lagoon and a number of smaller club/venues. The venue would enjoy a resurrection in the 1970s as punk and new wave peaked commercially, and was a popular venue on the new wave circuit. Through the 1970s and 1980s, various major acts of the era would perform at the venue, including The Ramones, The Clash, The Jam, The Cure, The Who, Eric Clapton, Black Sabbath, Cliff Richard, Iron Maiden, Rainbow, Slade, Bon Jovi, Simple Minds, Deborah Harry, T'Pau and Glen Campbell who recorded a live album there in 1981, as well as many comedy and light entertainment acts. During this period, the site was extended and featured a roller disco, amusement arcade, Wimpy restaurant and box office.

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