O2 Academy Newcastle
 |
|
| Former names | Carling Academy Newcastle |
|---|---|
| Address | Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1SW United Kingdom |
| Operator | Academy Music Group |
| Type | Music venue |
| Capacity | 2,000 |
The O2 Academy Newcastle (sometimes styled as O2 Academy Newcastle) is a music venue in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened on 14 October 2005 as the Carling Academy, and was renamed for Telefónica Europe's O2 mobile network brand in 2008. The venue is operated by Academy Music Group.
The O2 Academy has two rooms and can host up to 2,000 people for a show. Major bands and solo musicians that have performed in the main room since 2005 include Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Katy Perry, The Libertines, Sam Smith, McFly, Blondie and Amy Winehouse. The upstairs room, officially known as O2 Academy2, is smaller and hosts performances by lesser-known bands. The venue has also hosted club nights, including Dirty Pop, Ikon Live and Alpha.
The O2 Academy Newcastle building first opened in 1927 as the 1,870 seat New Westgate Picture House, showing its first movie - the silent film The Monkey Talks - in October of that year. In 1959 the venue was renamed the Majestic Ballroom, and hosted performances by The Beatles and The Who in the 1960s. It was then a Gala Bingo hall for over twenty-five years until the chain relocated the club to Byker.
Academy Music Group first declared their interest in taking over the building from Newcastle City Council at the end of 2004, and an entertainment licence was granted in March 2005 despite protests from local residents concerned about the noise and anti-social behaviour. The official acquisition was announced the following month, with the venue confirmed as the latest member of the Carling Academy chain of venues.
...
Wikipedia