Glam rockers to open new music venues
Released: Monday March 8, 2010
Wolverhampton's newest music venues will be officially unveiled later this week – by members of a Black Country glam rock band which has given its name to one of them.
Dave Hill and Don Powell of Slade will cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Slade Rooms and Little Civic, two brand new nightspots in one building.
The event on Thursday March 11, 2010 will also mark the launch of a unique partnership between Wolverhampton City Council, the National Skills Academy and the City of Wolverhampton College, which will see the council's world-class entertainment venues used to train music industry apprentices.
The Little Civic was forced to move from its old base on North Street when the lease expired last year. Bosses took the opportunity to relocate to bigger premises by choosing the former C4 nightclub building on the corner of Broad Street and Fryer Street.
It enabled the city council to create two venues – the intimate 200-person capacity Little Civic venue which, much like its predecessor, will host bands just starting out, music contests and comedy nights, and the larger, 500-capacity Slade Rooms, for bigger events.
Mark Blackstock, Civic Halls manager, said: “The new venue is much larger than North Street, giving us increased capacities of between 200 and 500 people which in turn means bigger and better acts.
“It also means we now have a complete spread of venues – the Little Civic with a capacity of 200, the Slade Rooms with 500, the Wulfrun Hall with 1,100 and the Civic Hall with 3,000 – enabling us to host shows of all shapes and sizes.”
He added: “The new venues have been open since January and we have had some very positive feedback from both performers and audience members. I am really pleased that both Dave and Don will be on hand to perform the honours for us next week.”
Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture Councillor Matt Holdcroft said: “The Little Civic has played a massive role in establishing Wolverhampton’s place on the live music scene over the last decade or so, and I am delighted that it is now continuing to do so in its new home.
“The creation of another new venue in the form of the Slade Rooms is also fantastic news for entertainment in Wolverhampton and the West Midlands and I am sure it will quickly establish itself as a key destination on touring schedules.”
The official opening is part of a day of celebrations which will also mark the partnership between the city council, the National Skills Academy and the City of Wolverhampton College. It will see the academy and college make use of the Civic Halls' venues to host vocational programmes and work experience for music industry apprentices.
Mark said: “This exciting partnership will enable us to support the development of young people by offering them a world class experience right here in Wolverhampton.”
Issued by the press office.