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!) |
Prev year: 1970Showing 1971Next year: 1972
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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