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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1979 | Coventry Theatre, Hales Street | ||
Date(s) | Show | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|
Sun 21st Jan 1979 | Elvis Costello and The Attractions | Supported by John Cooper Clarke. One night only. | |
Sun 28th Jan 1979 | Gloria Gaynor | With The Chi-Lites. One night only. | |
Sun 4th Feb 1979 | UFO | Part of their "Strangers in the Night" tour. One night only. | |
Mon 5th Mar 1979 | Chris de Burgh | One night only. | |
Thu 8th Mar 1979 | Slim Whitman | One night only. | |
Tue 13th Mar until Sat 17th Mar 1979 | Coventry Scouts' 1979 Gang Show | Huge cast of Scouts and Leaders. | |
Mon 26th Mar 1979 | Nana Mouskouri | One night only. | |
Tue 27th Mar 1979 | The Buzzcocks | One night only. | |
Sat 31st Mar 1979 | David Essex | One night only. | |
Sun 1st Apr 1979 | Roger Whittaker | One night only. | |
Fri 13th Apr 1979 | Mahendra Kapoor Nite | One night only. | |
Wed 18th Apr 1979 | Elton John | Part of his "A Single Man" tour. One night only. | ![]() |
Thu 19th Apr 1979 | Billy Connolly | One night only. | |
Tue 24th Apr until Sat 28th Apr 1979 | Scottish Ballet | Tues, Wed & Thur: Napoli (an ideal family ballet). Fri & Sat: Underground Rumours (a new rock adventure!). | |
Mon 30th Apr until Sat 5th May 1979 | Mzumba | Exciting African Musical. | |
Wed 9th May 1979 | Rush | Part of their "Hemisphere's" tour. Supported by Max Webster. One night only. | |
Tue 15th May until Sat 19th May 1979 | My Fair Lady | By the Coventry Musical Play Society. | |
Tue 22nd May 1979 | George Hamilton IV | One night only. | |
Thu 24th May 1979 | Slade | One night only. | |
Mon 4th Jun until Sat 9th Jun 1979 | A World of Wisdom | Starring Norman Wisdom, with Tony Fayne. | |
Tue 26th Jun 1979 | Talat Mahood | Indian Concert. | |
Fri 21st Sep 1979 | The Slits | With Don Cherry and Happy House, Prince Hammer and Creation Rebel. One night only. | |
Sat 22nd Sep 1979 | Loudon Wainwright III | One night only. | |
Sun 23rd Sep 1979 | Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army | Supported by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) - their largest venue to date. One night only. | |
Fri 5th Oct 1979 | Blaster Bates | Comedian. One night only. | |
Sat 6th Oct 1979 | Elkie Brooks | One night only. | |
1979 | Apollo Theatre, Hales Street | ||
Date(s) | Show | Notes | Images |
Tue 16th Oct 1979 | APOLLO THEATRE | New ownership to prolong the theatre's life, beginning with the Royal Gala Charity Show. | |
Tue 16th Oct 1979 | Royal Gala Charity Show | All-Star charity show starring The 3 Degrees, Roger De Courcey & Nookie Bear, Norman Collier, and many more. One night only. (Tickets £4 to £8) Attended by the Duchess of Kent, proceeds to the Lord Mayor's Year of the Child Appeal. | |
Thu 18th Oct 1979 | Gladys Knight & The Pips | One night only. | |
Sun 21st Oct 1979 | Leo Sayer | One night only. | |
Tue 23rd Oct 1979 | Sham 69 | One night only. | |
Fri 26th Oct 1979 | Darts | One night only. | |
Sat 27th Oct 1979 | The Stranglers | Part of their "Raven" tour. One night only. | ![]() |
Mon 29th Oct 1979 | Gallagher & Lyle | With special guest Judie Tzuke. One night only. | |
Wed 31st Oct 1979 | Billie Jo Spears | With special guest, Bobby Bare. One night only. | |
Fri 2nd Nov 1979 | Whitesnake | Supported by Marseille. One night only. | |
Sun 4th Nov 1979 | Manhattan Transfer | One night only. (Tickets £6.50 and £7.50) | |
Thu 8th Nov 1979 | Steve Hillage | Supported by Trevor Rabin (later with Yes) on his Face to Face tour. | ![]() |
Sat 10th Nov 1979 | The Little & Large Show | One night only. | |
Wed 14th Nov and Thu 15th Nov 1979 | Dame Edna | Featuring Barry Humphries. | |
Fri 16th Nov 1979 | Hot Chocolate | One night only. (Tickets £2.50 to £5) | |
Mon 19th Nov 1979 | Mike Harding | One night only. | |
Mon 26th Nov until Sat 1st Dec 1979 | Paint Your Wagon | By the Coventry Amateur Operatic Society. | |
Tue 4th Dec 1979 | Showaddywaddy | One night only. | |
Wed 5th Dec and Thu 6th Dec 1979 | Max Boyce | Two nights. | |
Fri 7th Dec 1979 | The Damned | One night only. | |
Thu 13th Dec 1979 | Dr. Feelgood | One night only. (Tickets £2 to £3) | |
Tue 18th Dec and Wed 19th Dec 1979 | Cliff Richard | Two nights. | |
Wed 26th Dec 1979 until Mon 18th Feb 1980 | Cinderella | Pantomime, starring Ken Goodwin and Jack Douglas. |
Prev year: 1978Showing 1979Next year: 1980
1884 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 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.
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