Hippodrome / Coventry Theatre / Apollo show archive

n attempt to list all the shows ever performed at our Hippodromes, beginning with the temporary circus buildings, which from 1884 were specially erected on Pool Meadow for each visit - then, in 1903, to the first permanent, but short-lived, 'Tin' Hippodrome on the Priory Street side of Pool Meadow facing the old Swimming Baths. The popularity of these shows created the demand for a theatre worthy of our city, and so in 1906 began the construction in Hales Street, next to Swanswell Gate, of what we now regard as the Old Hippodrome.
Again, the success of this theatre meant that barely three decades later a greater capacity was required, and so we come to our lovely art-deco New Hippodrome in Hales Street, once known as the Showplace of the Midlands. Opening on the 1st November 1937, it was renamed Coventry Theatre in 1955, then from 1979 became The Apollo, giving its final performance in June 1985. After a short spell as a bingo hall it was eventually realised that such a building could not be put to any practical use, so, sadly, it was demolished in 2002. If anyone still has any tickets or programmes and would like to see them used to illustrate a show, please contact me.

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1971	Coventry Theatre, Hales Street
Date(s)	Show	Notes	Images
Sun 31st Jan 1971	Stevie Wonder	With Martha Reeves. One night only.
Sun 21st Feb 1971	Deep Purple	One night only.
Fri 26th Feb until Sun 28th Feb 1971	Morecambe & Wise	With Sheila Southern, Ray Alan & Lord Charles, and Mrs Mills. Three nights.
Sat 6th Mar 1971	The Rolling Stones	Supported by The Groundhogs. One night only.
Tue 9th Mar until Sat 13th Mar 1971	Coventry Scouts' 1971 Gang Show	Large cast of Scouts and Leaders.
Thu 18th Mar until Sat 8th May 1971	1971 Spring Show	Season, starring Jimmy Tarbuck and Moira Anderson.
Sun 21st Mar 1971	Sacha Distel	With Stephane Grappelli, and Ted Rogers. One night only.
Sun 25th Apr 1971	Dorothy Squires	One night only.
Mon 10th May until Sat 5th Jun 1971	Kelly's Heroes	70mm Wide-Screen Movie Show with full Stereophonic Sound.
Thu 3rd Jun 1971	The Rolling Stones	One night only.
Mon 7th Jun until Sat 12th Jun 1971	London Festival Ballet	Different Ballet each night.
Mon 14th Jun until Sat 19th Jun 1971	Kelly's Heroes	70mm Wide-Screen Movie Show with full Stereophonic Sound. (Resumption of "Film Season".)
Sun 20th Jun until Sat 26th Jun 1971	Zeppelin	Movie, starring Michael York and Elke Sommer. Also showing "Start the Revolution Without Me", with Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland.
Sun 27th Jun until Sat 3rd Jul 1971	Wuthering Heights	Movie, starring Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall.
Sun 4th Jul until Sat 21st Aug 1971	Ryan's Daughter	Movie, starring Robert Mitchum.
Sun 22nd Aug until Sat 4th Sep 1971	On The Buses	Movie, starring Reg Varney.
Sun 5th Sep until Sat 18th Sep 1971	Villain	Movie, starring Richard Burton and Ian McShane.
Sun 19th Sep 1971	Tony Bennett	"In Person". One night only.
Mon 20th Sep until Sun 3rd Oct 1971	Le Mans	Movie, starring Steve McQueen.
Wed 6th Oct until Tue 23rd Nov 1971	1971 Birthday Show	For the season, starring Tommy Steele, with Dailey & Wayne and Johnny Hackett.
Sun 10th Oct 1971	Deep Purple	Supported by Bullet. One night only.
Sun 17th Oct 1971	Stars from the Black and White Minstrel Show	One night only. "The Double Five", featuring Semprini, Dai Francis, John Boulter, Margaret Savage, Peter Kaye. Tickets 40p to £1.
Sun 24th Oct 1971	Syd Lawrence Orchestra	One night only.
Sun 7th Nov 1971	The Four Tops	One night only.
Sun 14th Nov 1971	The Supremes	One night only.
Sun 21st Nov 1971	Elton John	One night only.
Thu 2nd Dec until Sat 11th Dec 1971	Kismet	By The Coventry Amateur Operatic Society. (Theatre closed next week for Pantomime rehearsals.)
Wed 22nd Dec 1971 until Sat 11th Mar 1972	Cinderella	Pantomime, starring David Nixon, Mike Yarwood, Basil Brush, John Inman, and many others. (I was taken, aged 6, to see this - sat centrally, row B!)	Image(s) courtesy of Michael Bennett

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1884 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

Also of interest might be A short history of Coventry's Theatres and Cinemas, by Bill Birch.