Trio of UK venues unveil reopening lineups

The UK touring circuit has been given a boost after two revamped venues unveiled their opening lineups and another confirmed its return after a decade.

West Yorkshire’s Bradford Live (cap. 3,800) will officially open its doors for the first time in 25 years when it welcomes comedian Bill Bailey on 30 August in association with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

Global live business Trafalgar Entertainment stepped in to operate the building after Birmingham-based NEC Group pulled out of the £50 million (€59m) project last year.

Under its former name of The Gaumont, the venue welcomed legends such as Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles in the 1960s. It then became an Odeon cinema and Top Rank Bingo club, before closing its doors in 2000.

Other acts confirmed for its initial season include Clare Teal, Jo Whiley’s 90s Anthems, Rob Brydon and his Fabulous Band, Diversity, a variety event starring comedians Bradley Walsh, Brian Conley, Shane Richie and Joe Pasquale, and a one-off show featuring local rock legends New Model Army, Terrorvision and Paradise Lost.

“We’re delighted to be working with Bradford Council and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture on building a world-class legacy for the city, which will bring cultural and economic vigour to the city,” says Trafalgar’s joint CEO & creative director Sir Howard Panter. “We’ve assembled the kind of opening season that this magnificent venue and Bradfordians deserve. And there’s more to come with further artists being announced over the coming weeks. Bradford Live isn’t just a great venue for Bradford, it’s one for the whole of the UK.”

“Watford really deserves a venue of this calibre and we are looking forward to delivering artists and events that span all kinds of genres”

Elsewhere, Ocean Colour Scene will relaunch AEG Presents’ Watford Colosseum (cap. 2,345) on 29 August. Jake Bugg, The Stranglers and David Essex have also been announced as part of the reopening programme.

The venue, which has been closed since 2020, is the newest addition to the AEG UK’s mid-sized venue portfolio, which includes Eventim Apollo, Indigo at The O2 and University of Wolverhampton at The Halls.

“To be just a few months away from the very first show at Watford Colosseum is an exciting moment,” says AEG UK CEO Steve Homer. “Watford really deserves a venue of this calibre and we are looking forward to delivering artists and events that span all kinds of genres. We can build on the rich history of the space as a new era begins.”

And the University of Central Lancashire’s 53 Degrees, which brought the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The 1975, Kasabian and Calvin Harris to Preston but has been closed since 2015, will reopen its 400-capacity club room this August in partnership with GS Promotions.

It will reopen with a concert by Lucy Spraggan on 28 August, with shows by Peat and Diesel, the Lancashire Hotpots and China Crisis also confirmed. It is hoped the relaunch will eventually expand to include the venue’s larger, 1,500-cap room.

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