K.B. Hallen
Encyclopedia
2011 in Denmark
-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Magrethe II of Denmark* Prime minister - Lars Løkke Rasmussen-January–March:* January 13 – Lene Espersen, party leader of the Danish Conservative Party, announces her resignation from the post after a period of intense criticism in the media and from...
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It was named after Københavns Boldklub, Copenhagen's first ball-playing club, which was established in 1876.
As a concert hall, it held a capacity of 3,000 people and was often the scene of rock and pop concerts.
It was used primarily for badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, but also hosted other events, including dance tournaments and flea market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
s.
History
The hall was completed in 1938 and was then Europe's biggest private sports complex. The architect was Hans Hansen, the chief engineer Christen Ostenfeld, and Poul Henningsen designed special lighting and an adjacent ballroom called "Pejsesalen", where a large mural was painted.In the summer of 1944, the Danish Nazi group, the Schalburgkorps, placed a bomb in the hall, destroying most of the furniture and glasswork, but the building itself was left intact, rendering the hall closed for only half a year afterwards.
The building was used for a number of concerts. Artists to have performed at the hall include Beniamino Gigli, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Josephine Baker, Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams, Leo Mathisen, Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, The Beatles (1964), The Rolling Stones (1966), Janis Joplin, Fleetwood Mac (1969) Love + Procul Harum (1970), The Band (1971), Pink Floyd, Steve Miller Band, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Slade, The Who, Stephen Stills Manassas (1972), Frank Zappa (1973), Eric Clapton (1974), Jack Bruce (1975), Metallica (1988), Aerosmith (1989), Iron Maiden (1988, 1990, 1992, 1995), Skid Row+L.A. Guns (1991), Keith Richards (1992), Megadeth (1995), Smashing Pumpkins (1996), Toto (1996, 1999, 2010, 2011), Kraftwerk, Papa Roach, The Prodigy (2004), Asia, Dio, Uriah Heep (2005), Slipknot og Busta Rhymes (2006), My Chemical Romance (2007), Whitesnake, Slipknot (2008), Deep Purple, Mötley Crüe (1989+2009), Deftones, Coheed, Cambria (2010) and Joe Bonamassa/Black Country Communion in 2011. Others to have performed there over the years include Alice Cooper, Great White, Radiohead, Chuck Berry, System of A Down, G3, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Alice In Chains, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Uriah Heep, Motörhead, Def Leppard, Evanescence, Nightwish, Marilyn Manson, Machine Head, Foo Fighters, Oasis, B.B. King, The Moody Blues, Dream Theater, The Cult, Kiss, Scorpions, Dragonforce, Slayer, Sheryl Crow, Stone Temple Pilots, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Queensrÿche, Paul McCartney & Wings, Rammstein, Green Day, The Black Crowes and Jethro Tull.
At the rear of the hall was a small museum, with pictures and documents on the club and hall's history.
Fire
On 28 September 2011, on the eve of the beginning of a major sex toy and pornographic exhibition, the hall was destroyed in a major fire. Initial suspicions linked the fire to a food kiosk in the lobby of the building, or to an electrical lighting fault.Photo Gallery: