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Birmingham Town Hall

Di.Poppitt

Di.Poppitt

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
I've written before about the TH, when I sang in the youth choir, but I think it's worth reflecting on its glory days.

I also wrote about my Grandfather who played his part as a miner by attempting to rescue his friends when they were entombed in Hamstead pit. Well it was at our Town Hall that the medals were presented in 1908. Each one was inscribed with a name and the date, some were gold, my gt Uncle Jim was given one of those, Grandad's is silver. They must have been overawed, those chaps, by all that went on that night. They never left the village, there was no need they had everything there that any man could want didnt they? The Lord Mayor presented them with their medals watched by most of Hamstead and lots of dignatories. Among them the Chief Constable, Chairmen of Handsworth and Perry Barr District Councils, The vicars of both Hamstead and Perry Barr, The editors of the Birmingham Daily Mail and the Evening Despatch, and the Government Inspector of mines. They were given dinner and afterwards there was 'entertainment'. There was a recital on that lovely organ, a brass band and songs from two soprano's.

All this was lost in the mists of time, I doubt my mother ever knew of it, she never spoke of it. I had to unearth it as part of my genealogy research.

The 50's for me were the Golden years of the TH, when I went to listen to the Big Bands. Dave Brubeck was majic, and the brass section of the Stan Kenton band made the hairs stand up at the back of your neck. Humphry Littleton's jazz band was a regular as was Chris Barber. Programmes were torn up, folded into paper aeroplanes and thrown at all the English bands.

Mario Lanza, film star no lesss, was booked to appear and I couldn't get tickets. But it was at the end of his life when he was a sick man, and the concert was cancelled.

It has been sad to see it closed for so long, I hope when it does re-open the City Fathers are worthy of it.
 
Diana, in tonight's Birmingham Evening Mail is a photo and story about the organ, it has been removed for storage to protect it during the refurbishment scheme. The project is scheduled for completion in 2007.
 
Thank you for telling me that Sylvia. I was overawd when I first saw it as a child and am so glad it is being well taken care of.
 
I was told that the first person to play the organ at the Town Hall was HANDEl

Is this Myth or fact

I can remmebr seeing many Prog Rock bands there and jazz stuff including Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Oscar Peterson
and some greta blues including Sonny Terry and Brownie Magee , and a guy called Big Joe Wrencher who was a one armed harmonica player . I saw Count Basie at the Odean in new st .
 
The Odeon in New Stree had the Jazz at the Phil tours in the 50's. Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Stan Getz,Gene Kruper all in one show. We got our money's worth. :D

TOWN HALL?
 
Town Hall

Hi Colin: If it's George Frederic Handel you were thinking of as being the first musician to play in the Town Hall. Could it possibly be Felix Mendelssohn? Since Handel died in l759 and the Town Hall opened in 1834. I'm not an "anorack" but I know Handel was a bit earlier on, if you know what I mean. :lol:

In l960 I worked in Queen's College Chambers, Paradise Street and in
my lunch hours I used to go to the free concerts sometimes held in the Town Hall. Well known organists would come and play the organ. The City of Birmingham Organist..George Thalben-Ball also used to play at these lunch time concerts from time to time. He was knighted in 1982 and resigned his position in Brum the following year. His successor Thomas Trotter has held this position since l983. I used to sit quite away back with my lunch and take it all in. After years of church organ music at Erdington Parish up to that point I loved going in there and listening to the power of that wonderful instrument.

Still like organ music today and often listen to "AnOrganist Entertains" on BBC 2 Radio.
 
The Grade 1 listed building is due to re-open in 2007 and will have state-of-the-art light and sound technology.
 
For those who don't know there is part of one of the town hall columns in St Phillips churchyard marking the grave of one of the workmen who died in its construction, and Elgars dream of Gerontius was first played at the Town Hall.

Also I appeared at the Town Hall, aged 10, in a schools concert, circa 1955.
 
I didn't know that info Kenneth. Thanks. I'll look for it next time I am there....the column that is, in St. Phillips churchyard. Several of us on this forum have memories of our appearances at the Town Hall in school concerts. I remember singing "The Steiner Cuckoo" at mine. It was great that the schools had these concerts in the Town Hall. They were always well attended and all these years later we remember them.
 
Re: The Town Hall - not only Elgar

Sorry, I never got on with Elgar's 'Dream of Gerontius', especially when we had to listen to it at school.
So far as Town Hall firsts is concerned, my hero is Felix Mendelssohn, who gave his first performance of his oratorio 'St Paul' there in September 1837, when the building was still brand new. There is a complication there, because Robert Bowley, the new secretary of the Sacred Harmonic Society in London tried to muscle in and persuade Mendelssohn to play the piece at the Exeter Hall, three days before the Birmngham booking. The Chairman of the Birmingham Festival asked Mendelssohn to abandon the earlier London performance, so he offered to give a London performance on the Saturday after the Birmingham event. The London people could not or would not manage that, and must have persuaded Mendelssohn to let the London society have the score, which they performed, under the direction of their resident conductor, Joseph Surman on Saturday 12 September, before the Birmingham performance, with Mendelssohn himself sitting in the gallery!
Nine years later he introduced 'Elijah' 26 August 1846, over a year before its first performance in German at Hamburg on 7 October 1847. I think this was a much more substantial work, but I may be biassed, because it was my first time singing the bass line in the chorus at the Town Hall on 3 March 1950. My voice had just about broken then, and I was so fascinated to sing something different from the 'top line'.
Fifty years ago, the Town Hall was often used for CBSO concerts for schools, but I suppose the orchestra is no longer funded directly by the Corporation, more's the pity.
Peter
 
The work seem seems to be comming along well the wraps are off the top off the Town Hall are now on the Chamberlain Memorial
 
Spent many a happy night at the old town hall watching such band , groups and singers as PAT BOON,BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS,SECOND CITY JASS BAND ,TED HEATH & HIS BAND.JONNY DANKWORTH with CLEO LANE,LONNY DONAGAN to name but a few.
I remember we used to run down New St to Jim's Bar for a drink at the intermition (as it was too crowded at the town hall bar)
They were days of coffee bars and Italian suits, motor scooter such a time of freedom, no fear of being mugged in the City.
Ho how I miss those days.
ASTON
 
Aston, did you sit at the back of the bands, make 'airplanes' out of the programs and throw um down. great fun, used to go to the Jazz and Blues concerts, some good night had by all.

Nick
 
YES & DO THE HAND JIVE,ALWAYS SAT AT THE FRONT FOR THE BIG SHOWS LIKE LIONAL HAMPTON & LOUISE ARMSTRONG
aston
 
Birmingham Town Hall

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Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert
and meeting venue in Victoria Square England.
It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the
General Hospital, after St Philip's Church (later to become a Cathedral)
became too small to hold the festival, and for public meetings.
Between 2002 and 2008, it was refurbished into a concert hall
and is now used for performances as diverse as
organ recitals, rock, pop and classical concerts and events
such as graduation ceremonies for Aston University.
Joseph Hansom, of Hansom cab fame,
and Edward Welch were chosen as the architects
and they expressed that they expected the construction cost to be .£8,000.
Hill of London was hired to build the 6,000 pipe organ for .£6,000.
Construction began on April 27, 1832
with an expected completion date of 1833.
However, Hansom went bankrupt during construction,
having tendered too low.
The contractors were also losing money.
Three guarantors donated money for the building;
W. P. Lloyd, John Welch and Edward Tench.
With the injection of this money, the building
was successfully opened for the delayed Music Festival
on October 7,1834,
despite the building still being unfinished.
During construction, on January 26, 1833,
two workers were killed when a 70 foot crane constructed
to install the roof trusses broke and the pulley block failed.
John Heap died instantly and Win.
Badger died a few days later from his injuries.
They were buried in St Philip's churchyard and a memorial,
consisting of a pillar base made by one of the workmen
for the Town Hall,
was dedicated to them.
Architect Charles Edge was commissioned in 1835
to repair weaknesses to the design of the building.
He was also commissioned for the extension of the building
in 1837 and again in 1850.

Built in brick, created in Selly Oak,
and faced with Penmon Anglesey Marble
presented to the town by Sir R. Bulkeley,
proprietor of the Penmon quarries,
the hall is modelled on the Temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome.
Some limestone was used in its construction and fossils of plants
and animals are visible. In the late 1980s and early 1990s,
the front arches were glazed to create an entrance foyer.

Charles Dickens gave public readings here to raise money for the
Birmingham and Midland Institute,
and Mendelssohn's Elijah and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius
were both premiered.
Sir Arthur Sullivan's "Overture di Ballo" was also premi.¨red
here in August 1870, as part of the Triennial Musical Festival
which commissioned new works for every season.
The hall was the home venue for the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra from 1918 until 1991 when they moved to Symphony Hall.

In November 1880, the Hall was filled to capacity
for a Birmingham public protest meeting in support of Revd.
Richard Enraght, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Bordesley,
who was imprisoned in Warwick Prison under the Disraeli Government's
Public Worship Regulation Act.

On August 9, 1902, the town hall, along with the council house,
was illuminated in celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII.
It was illuminated again on June 22, 1911 for the coronation of King
George V. In 1901, it was the scene of rioting on the occasion
of a visit by Lloyd George.

It featured prominently in the 1967 Peter Watkins
film Privilege and doubled for the Royal Albert Hall in 1996s Brassed Off.

In 1937, as part of the celebrations for the Coronation of George VI,
the Town Hall was regaled in the various Arms of the
Lord of the Manor of Birmingham since 1166 and each column
festooned with garlands. The pediment also had images of Britannia,
supported by mermaids, which were sculpted by William Bloye.
This decorative scheme for the Town Hall and the whole of the city
was devised by William Haywood,
Secretary of The Birmingham Civic Society.

The Hall closed in 1996 for a .£35 million refurbishment,
undertaken by Wates Construction, that has seen the
Town Hall brought back to its original glory with its
6,000-pipe organ still in place.

birmingham_ticket.jpg


The Hall was used for many pop shows,
and unlike the Odeon and The Hippodrome,
it tnded to steer toward a headline acts and just
a couple of support acts.
Many great stars appeared here,
in the 1960s and 1970s, such as
The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd,
The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan

I saw many shows here, including,
Traffic and Buffy Saint Marie.
 
Thank you for the photo and reminding us of the history of the Town Hall which is very much loved. I can add another event, one that is a part of my familie's history. In March 1908 the fire at Hamstead Colliery cost miners lives, my grandfather was fortunate in that he was not underground when it happened. The medal that he and other miners were given for their part in the attempted rescue of their fellow miners was presented to them at the Town Hall. The men were entertained and a concert was given, the wonderful organ played its part,and there was a band and singers. This was reported in the newspaper in July of 1908. In my school days I was in the Birmingham Youth Choir, and sang at the Town Hall sitting below the organ pipes. Later in that decade I enjoyed the Jazz concerts held there.
 
Thanks for posting a very interesting history of one of Birmingham landmarks.I went to a few concerts there in the 1970's.I also remember going on a school outing to listen to the Vienna Boys Choir in the 1960's
A little known fact about the Town Hall was that it was the venue for the first public use of electrical lighting in the city.Previously lighting in Town Hall had been by gaslight.
The electrical experiment took place during the 1882 Triennial Music Festival,and was a combined venture of the Winfield and Crompton companies.
A Crompton generator was driven by an old steam engine in Winfields works in Cambridge Street,and power was transmitted to the Town Hall via some 500 yards of underground cables.
Although the experiment was successful,attempts to make a commercial success of this failed.This wasn't achieved until the formation in 1889 of the Birmingham Electric Supply Company,whose first power station was in Dale End.
 
Like Di I also sang in the 50's at the Birmingham Town Hall, we performed The Song of Hiawatha.

In this photo a ticket to a pop concert with Mud in 1974. My wife was invited into the dressing room and sat there while these guys got changed, hence the signed photo.:)

2807002780102465904S500x500Q85.jpg
 
Have seen some of the great entertainers over the years at this venue and still continue to do so.One that stands out from the many is the David Bowie gig in 1973,the support band were the sensational Alex Harvey Band,and boy did they live up to their name !
 
Have just been looking through some old programmes from town hall gigs.How about this for value for money,The Who,Traffic,The Herd,Marmalade,The Tremeloes and the Dream,all on the same bill and all for the princely sum of 7shillings and 6pence way back in1967.Wow love and peace man !
 
Kenny ball, humph littleton,mr ackerbilk, ted heath, eric delany ,lional hampton, buddy holly & the crickets,lonney donigan,johnny dankworth. & so many more like sachmo armstromg.
Sitting many times on the back of the stagein the cheap seats? Doing the hand jive. It could be said it was a miss spent youth between venues like this & birmingham ice rink that was my teenage life.
 
I saw lots of live bands at the town hall in the 60s......equals...slade status quo.gene vincent.little richard...to name a few......there werent many of those old fold up chairs left standing after a quo gig lol...i sang in the school choir there too i remember the song called the "windmill"..and i also danced in a festival there .our troop came 2nd...... Do any of you older brummies remember the group called carl and the cheetahs.....and pat wayne and the plainsmen ....good times ..and no thuggery .!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The Town Hall is a very beautiful building and must be lovingly remembered by Brummies all over the world,
I only went to one concert there by the CBSO and was really impressed by the acoustics, I have seen it since the restoration and it looks real good again Bernard
 
The restoration is magnificent. We live within easy reach, only a few minutes walk at each end of a short train journey. We visit once or twice a year. The organ is fantastic. I know that all the work cost many millions of pounds, but I think it has been worthwhile. I too sang there in the 1950's, in the school choir and I love the place, and my wife does too and she is not a Brummy!
 
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