From Wikipedia
Bingley House 1830, demolished to build Bingley Hall in 1850
Bingley Hall in Birmingham was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre now stands on the site.
The precursor of Bingley Hall was an “Exhibition of the Manufactures of Birmingham and the Midland Counties” in a temporary wooden hall built in the grounds of, and attached to, Bingley House on Broad Street in central Birmingham (which once belonged to banker Charles Lloyd and was visited by Samuel Taylor Coleridge) and opened on 3 September 1849 for visitors to the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival. This exhibition was visited by Charles Darwin, and also on 12 November by Prince Albert and may have contributed to his ideas for the Great Exhibition of 1851 at the Crystal Palace.
Bingley House was built about 1760 as Byngas Hall and was the home of James Farmer, whose daughter married Charles Lloyd. The house and its land were bought by a railway company in order to build the railway tunnel for the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway. The house was demolished.
In December 1849, the first Birmingham annual cattle show and poultry show were held in a temporary hall on the corner of Lower Essex Street and Kent Street, but the following year the 2nd shows were held in the new Bingley Hall.
Bingley Hall was built by Messrs Branson and Gwyther (architect J. A. Chatwin),for £6,000 in six weeks in 1850, using steel columns surplus to the construction of Euston railway station. It was built in the Roman Doric style using red and blue bricks (the Staffordshire blue bricks being diverted from building the Oxford Street viaduct). Covering one and a quarter acres internally, it measured 224 feet (68 m) by 221 feet (67 m), used 11,700 feet (3,600 m) of 21-inch (530 mm) glass, and had ten entrance doors.
During its life, it was used as a venue for the Birmingham Dog Show, cattle shows, chrysanthemum shows, circus, boxing, cinema, and in its later days for popular music concerts. It had a cycle track used for competitions. It was used as a huge meeting space. Gladstone held a political meeting in November 1888, following Joseph Chamberlain’s split from the Liberal Party over Irish Home Rule, and spoke for two hours. The speech was recorded by the journal Political World on an Edison phonograph shipped from New York – the first political speech recorded. Chamberlain himself spoke there before an audience of some 10,000 people in November 1903, during his campaign for fiscal reform. The hall was used repeatedly for meetings and conversions by various non-conformist religions, including the Elim Pentecostal Church in 1930, led by George Jeffreys.
The hall was damaged by fire at the Midland Caravan, Camping and Leisure Exhibition in January 1984 and demolished, its functionality having been replaced by the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) just outside the city in Solihull. The International Convention Centre and Symphony Hall now stand in its place.
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Our aim to build a complete list of gigs at Bingley Hall. Here’s a start but we need your help!
Yardbirds, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beak, Mick &Tich 26/01/68
The Jam 08/12/81
The Jam 20/03/82
There Are Currently 41 Comments for this Post
January 26th 1968.
Major concert at Bingley Hall which lasted for ten hours. Artists: Eric Burden and the Animals, Dave Dee et al, Yardbirds etc.
Hytesenemic Lighting by ‘LX84′ (Nigel Bruen) covered 650,000 sq ft of moving light for the entire concert culminating in Psychedelic light show for Dave Dee’s finale.
Organisers were ‘unavailable’ after the event to pay for the Light Show and ‘LX84′ consequently folded due to financial constraints caused by non-payment of fee.
This was the defining concert for the Birmingham ‘summer of love’ and marked the apogee of light shows in the area. These shows far surpassed those exhibited at the country’s leading venue for same – The Round House in London. Thus Birmingham can justly claim to have been the dominant city for Psychedelic Light Shows during the brief period that they existed as Performance Art.
Please let me know if you would like further information about this event, descriptive passages or memorabilia; original and unique slides used in the ‘LX84′ light shows still exist – probably the only examples of this lost art form in existence.
Nigel Bruen
I was at that gig on 26/01/1968. The overall experience of both the light show and the very many bands was awesome. I had never seen a light show like it, and until today I had believed it to have belonged to The Animals, and to have been part of their show. At that time I was working as roadie with the Coventry group Ultra Sound. We had a very basic set of lights which I quite literally ” played ” from an on stage position at the front.
We were well known for this, as no other band of any size seemed to have a light show of any kind, relying on basic fixed stage lighting at the venues.
It is sad to say that I think you were too far ahead of your time, but truly awesome none the less.
As a teenager I was at that concert. It was my first concert so very exciting and I loved it.
I’ve often tried to find info about that concert and discovered this article today by accident – amazing.
It was a brilliant all-night concert.
Mott ( not the Hoople) played Bingley Hall in the mid 70s, supported by Lone Start who for a short timr were the best band around, and I saw them several times at the Town Hall. The venue was shambolic but great fun to see the band trapsing across the floor to the stage with everyone crowded around them. FOr me asa young teenager, it waas everything rock and roll should have been.
Went to Bingley Hall on many occasions with my parents to The Ideal Home Exhibitions and Caravan and Boat Shows. At the Ideal Home shows you could buy lots of stuff for the home including wonder cleaners where a demonstrator would put a dirty coin in the ‘special liquid’ and thirty seconds later it came out spotless. The said it a marvel but really we all knew it was basically Coca Cola.
You could also do a piece of artwork where you squirted tubes of paint onto a piece of card which was spinning on a turn-table. You paid a couple of bob or ‘ten new pence’ and were allowed to keep it.
At just one such evening in 1971, while trawling around the displays, I kept hearing, over the tannoy, the same record, at very regular intervals. It had a hypnotic stomping beat and a very catchy tune. It stuck in my head and turned out to be ‘Look Wot U Dun’ by Slade, their third hit single. That night I became a Slade fan and have been ever since
I turned up to see The Jam at Bingley Hall in Novemebr 1979 only to find that it was sold out. I hung around to see if there were any ticket touts, but they were too expensive. I was about to leave when one of the roadies walked by with a groupie on each arm. He said “Need one of these?”. Thinking he meant one of the ladies I was about to politely refuse, but he was actually waving a ticket. When I asked how much he said “Nothing, just enjoy the gig”. I took it out of his hand, showed it at the entrance, and walked in as Paul, Bruce (in a glistening powder blue suit) and Rick came on stage. Now that was worth waiting for.
GREAT STORY..
I went to see Hawkwind there December 12 1975 who were supported by a then unknown to me Judas Priest, I was only 15 at the time, absolutly brilliant night.
I was present at the all-nighter. Dave Dee etc seemed incongruous on the bill with Eric Burdon And The Animals, The Nice and The Yardbirds. The light show was a real eye-opener, Eric Burdon’s set using a back projected film of Jimi Hendrix as Eric stalked the stage carrying the violin playing Jim Weider. Truly awesome.
Hi
Yeah I was there, The Yardbirds with Jimmy Page on lead guitar using a violin bow. The Nice, what a fantastic band.
Good times.
Also saw Joe Cocker there with Kokomo. I watched Joe sink at least six pints in the bar before he went onstage to blow the place apart.
Bingley Hall hasn’t been demolished, I visited it recently and stood in the same hall in which I saw concerts in the 1980s. Strange to stand there in complete silence. Wonderful memories.
Re some of the comments above I wonder if some people were confusing the Bingley Hall showground that was just outside Stafford that put on gigs in the 1970’s and early 1980’s.
I saw the Rolling stones, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and Status Que play there.
First proper concert was at Brum Bingley Hall, Rory Gallagher … Absolutely fantastic night. Also saw The Jam there on 3 occasions including the gig that was recorded for the live video
hi i remember seeing harkwind with judas priest as support in earlry mis 70’s
Saw the Clash at Bingley Hall on the Combat Rock tour July 18th 1982.
They were joined by Rankin Roger if I remember correct.
I saw Earth Wind & Fire.. must have been in the early 80’s.. WHAT A SHOW THEY PUT ON…
I definitely saw Earth, Wind and Fire in Birmingham early eighties when they they were the support band for Santana but in my memory that was at the Odeon. Perhaps a different concert. Was lucky enough to witness Main Gaye’s performance at Bingley Hall however and to this day it’s the greatest performance I have ever seen. It was as if he was singing to each and every one in the audience individually. Quite remarkable
I too, was at this concert and feel so privileged to have been part of it.
It was sublime. The lucky audience were frenzied each time he finished a number but as soon as the next intro started you could have heard a whisper. This was the absolute respect and love shown for this genius.
One of my greatest memories.
I remember going to the bingley hall in 1976, it was an all dayer with gong, Raymond frogged and Steve gibbons on the bill. What a fantastic line up that was.
I remember going to the Ideal Home Exhibition in the mid -fifties they always had a Big Band featured during the days . I remember Sid Phillips and his band but most of all the Eric Winstone Orchestra with Michael Hoiliday and June Marlow singing and I went on stage (volunteer!) and sang a duet with June Marlow it was the Rosemary Clooney number ‘ man and a woman’ !! all I had to do was go ‘Ah! Ah! with her. ay least I sang with the Eric Winstone ig Band??I used to enjoy the Ideal Home Exhibition.
I remember going to Bingley Hall as a young child to circuses in the early fifties, and thinking how odd it was that they were in a brick building, not a “big top”!
Circus originally started in buildings. A lot of circuses did buildings back end when the weather was bad and the grounds for the big tops were often to wet.
I saw Marvin Gaye and Miles Davis at BH…TOP THAT
Hi there, I am hoping that you can help me. I have in my possession an original programme from the 70’s when marvin Gaye played the old bingley hall in Birmingham. I’ve tracked through all archives for bingley hall and concerts that he did and can find no information or record that this concert ever took place. I know it did because I actually went to it . Hoping you can help. In anticipation Jane
hello Jane
I’m just watching a Marvin Gaye concert on Sky Arts and was remembering seeing him at Bingley Hall!! The only problem is I can’t remember the actual date of the concert-possibly around 1973/74.
Fabulous concert and I forgot how gorgeous and sexy he was! Went on to Barberellas to see Kool and the Gang afterwards.What a wonderful night!!!
Those were the days ‘eh😁
I saw Marvin Gaye there on Sat., Oct 2, 1976. I have my ticket stub (and signed programme!
I loved the venue and the concert was brilliant!
Remember bingley hall watching the jam one of the best nights ever and over 1,00 scooters ther and it was great mods day in 83 what a night
Hi all,who remembers the last rock concert at bingley hall,I was there but only remember budgie,marillion , there was about 5 bands, good night as I remember, hope some one can shed a bit of light thanks to all that read this
i remember going to a rock concert at Bingley hall, Budgie, Blondie, The Runaways and i think AC/DC another? Incredible afternoon/evening.
I took my beloved Mum and Dad to see Marvin Gaye. I was working at the Birmingham Post and Mail and was lucky enough to score some free tickets to see my idol. I can’t remember the month but the snow was so heavy the auditorium was only half full – people stayed away in droves .Nevertheless the 3 of us had a great time and Marvin was great – he ‘played’ to a packed house no matter how few of us were there.
Sorry Jane (Jane Mcgrath December 5, 2016) just noticed your message. You remember correctly – Marvin put on a great show in 1976 – I really don’t know why it didn’t get much coverage but as per my previous post the weather was truly awful and not many people made it to the concert due to the heavy snow fall.
I noticed some of the comments about the Hawkwind concert from 1975, I have attached my half of the entrance ticket for that concert. I reckon my hearing was never the same after that Hawkwind concert, I know Judas Priest played, but I think there were another couple of bands on too.
Following on from my previous message I have attached another half ticket from a Roxy Music concert in October 1975
What I can remember is the DJ, he played 3 tracks that looked forward and transcended the now inevitable end of late era hippy dom.
Kraftwerk:Radio.Activity
Patti Smith : Horses
The Tubes: White Punks on Dope
Does anyone remember the series of Brum rock concerts that were held in the summer of 1975 or 1976? I saw The Steve Gibbons Band and other local bands, but cannot remember who they were. My biggest memory of the Steve Gibbons gig is standing next to Roy Wood! I also attended the Hawkwind concert on December 12th. What a fantastic gig that was.
Cannot remember the date but went to see Protector, Samson with Bruce Dickinson, Maiden and Budgie on the same bill.
I think I went to a Jackson’s concert at Bingley Hall around late 70’s. I remember it being a really cold night & not much warmer in the hall itself…does anybody else remember it?
Does anyone recall, (possibly an Ideal Home Exhibition) at Bingley Hall, in the early 80’s that had pop star visitors such as Mungo Jerry and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich ? I was there when I was doing some radio work, great times, but I’m trying to work out what year it was, or any other details, please.
I remember Bingley Hall seeing the annual boat show, the caravan show and the Ideal Home exhibition and a totally memorable evening once when me and my wonderful girlfriend Sue Langmead went with another couple from Solihull who all were and still are great friends, Mike Thomas (sadly passed in 2009) and Bernie Edwards to see the fantastic Marvin Gaye it was 2nd October 1976. Seems incredible now that an artist of his stature appeared live at what even then was an ageing and relatively small venue. But I have never forgotten the night and the company. 43 years ago this autumn!
I remember attending Birmingham College of Art college Rag’s ( dances ) at Bingley Hall in the1950s.
There was all night jiving to jazz bands and lots of drinking and other related pleasures!
It was nothing like the place illustrated in Peaky Blinders.
Those were the days. As an Art Student in those days Birmingham was a great place to be with some fabulous pubs many of which were demolished by the local authority vandals of the time.
I was a Lucas Apprentice 1955 to 1960 at Victor Works L/pool and remember the RLPO
Industrial Concerts posters around the works and one lunch time seeing a brown overalled bearded [unusual then -“He looks like Jesus Christ himself “] warned off it the grand piano in the canteen one lunch time by the canteen manger
This was a seminal -Road to Damascus “sort of moment for me as Id been a dreamy arty musical late developer of a kid put in for the 11`plus` before I was 11[only took me 60yrs to work this out!]
and found myself at Jun Bootle Tech with a flair for tech subjects but with the lurking influence of musical parents latent it seems-till then.Then in the 1957 AEU strike we apprentices were`nt allowed out and I saw 4 on the canteen stage in their bright green overalls uniform using a cello for a bass ,a Hawaiian guitar a wash board singing Bill Hayley or L Donegan.That did it .With the unnoticed flair and private violin lessons [quitting then aged 13 ]Id had from a RLPO teacher 8yrs previously I dug out my dads fiddle and re commenced music at home on my dads Rushworths piano to tuneit and his violin he`d got from his older WW1 Gunner brother who saw it on the wall during from a gas attack whilst sheltering in a French church.Id grown out of the 1/2 size one he started me on. Now with a motor bike with fiddle on my back and Lucas pay packet I was
off to more lessons with my new German Violin Teacher at the Local sat music school.I soon got in the MYO due to my early 6yr old start and lapped up the night school theory and exams -My back pack fiddle and me survived 2 spills via thick Duffle coat helmet and gloves.Determined to avenge my dads end to his fiddling due to a 1927 L/pool Speedway spill with hastily set collarbone on the track made progress in finding curiosity into Lucas engineering was nudged aside for music -So on my National Service registration at 18 [with deferment till] 21 I went to my teacher “look Mr D…. my option is to stick out the shop floor for 3 more years or take the offer now of a bandsman and sign up for Catterick Regiment for 3 years “Nein .Bleiben sir hier mit!” Or such.I did and got through my vocational external music exams with him whic obtaine for me a Lancs grant for the ARCM music teachers course –
Before clocking off on a Friday 5yrs later to the day.hr/minute a personnel officer interviewed me about my future.”Well Newton you ve failed I notice the elactrical subsid to your HNC 1st yr at Old Swan day release Tech “[Id passed the ONC as a piece of cake ]-
With fingers xed under the table I replied “Yes but I ve passed my Grade 8 violin and got a Grant for a teacher training college course staring on Monday” Silence .Pause . Shuffling paper.er….l What?;….. Well you`ll have to do better than that at `COLL than fail subsids ” Dismiss..Keeping my head down I never heard from the War Office –
but note the various historical background as to NS abatement and the last man called up with interest still ……
So did I do 2.5 times in the Military Industrial Complex as my NS squaddies?
Returning though to the posters and the joy derived from going along as well as the canteen incident makes me all all the more curious and fascinated when I hear of the 1974 Bingley Hall Lucas employees contribution to the Festival of the Arts and music.
One end of apprenticeship 1959 anecdote from the local [5 mins to Lucas works ]tech day release applied ONC maths class adds up;
Standing over me in his usual quasi bombastic manner the lecturer ;”Whats that peeking out of in your bag Newton !?” “Er -a violin music score sir …… “WHAT ? -See me in the Principles office at lunch time next week 1pm!
Im ushered in ” Now here is our Principal Mr A….A real violinist!”
A swarthy man plays- Im nonplussed ! Now what do you think of that?!
Another surge to practice occurs after the shock –
I often wonder if someone had a favourable word on the phone ?
phil newton