Syndicate Blackpool
Encyclopedia
The Syndicate was a superclub
and music venue in Blackpool
, Lancashire
, England. It was the largest nightclub in North West England
. The club opened in December 2002 and had at time of closing, three levels of floor space, three segmented rooms and a VIP floor. It had a capacity of 4,300 which made it one of the largest nightclubs in the United Kingdom
.
(ABC) in April 1929. They planned to rebuild it in 1939, which was halted by the outbreak of World War II
. The theatre closed in 1960. Most of the building was then demolished and the new ABC Theatre was built in the shell of the old building with stalls and circle seating with a capacity of 1,934. It also had a permanent revolving stage.
The ABC Theatre opened on 31 May 1963 with the Holiday Carnival summer season stage show which starred Cliff Richard
and The Shadows
. It was used for stage shows during the summer months with films and concerts in the winter. ABC Weekend Television
televised their "Blackpool Night Out" show from the theatre which starred the likes of Freddie Davies
, Mike & Bernie Winters
and Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
.
The Beatles
played a concert there in 1963 and in August 1965 they played at the "Blackpool Night Out" on ABC Weekend Television. It was the first time they had played the song "Yesterday
" on British television and the gig has become popular on the video sharing
website YouTube
. Four songs they sang live at the gig appeared on the Anthology 2
compilation album
in 1996 - "I Feel Fine
", "Ticket to Ride
", "Yesterday" and "Help!
". The Beatles were also shown singing "Help" at the ABC in Episode four of the 1995 The Beatles Anthology documentary series.
The summer shows starred the likes of Frank Ifield
, Cilla Black
, Morcambe and Wise, and Tommy Steele
.
, original proscenium
and front stalls and dressing rooms, though hidden behind the screens. The circle was used for one screen with the stalls divided into two screens.
It was renamed the Cannon Cinema in 1986, the MGM Cinema in May 1993 before closing as a cinema in December 1998.
The club was closed for a month in October 2005 when it lost its late night drinks licence in court, after Blackpool Police had presented a dossier of alleged violence at the club, which magistrates decided was so serious they withdrew the licence to sell alcohol after 11pm. The club re-opened on 26 November after agreeing to withdraw their application for a new 4am licence.
After the club closed in January 2006 following the refusal of a 4am licence, it was bought in May by national operator Nexum Leisure who undertook a £1m refurbishment of the venue. In June 2007 the venue launched a weekly Polish Night (Polska Noc) aimed at the resorts Polish
and eastern European
population.
On 7 September 2008, John Robb the vocalist in the punk rock
band Goldblade
who co-founded The Membranes
in Blackpool in 1977 and who also works as a journalist and television
pundit, hosted a special event entitled "A Celebration of Music, Fashion & Football 1975–1995" at the Syndicate, with guest speakers Andy Nicholls
, Shane Meadows
and former Inspiral Carpets
musician Clint Boon
.
On 14 September 2008 the Syndicate staged a boxing
event with American former world heavyweight champion, Tim Witherspoon
making a guest appearance. Eric "Butterbean" Esch
took on Mark Potter for the European Boxing Federation
Heavyweight
title.
In August 2011, resident DJ Danny Howard won the BBC Radio 1
Ibiza Superstar DJ competition. The Syndicate closed on 10th August 2011, posting a closing notice on Facebook and at http://blackpool.thesyndicate.com/
Superclub
Superclub is a term used to refer to a nightclub owned and managed by a dance music record label, such as The Haçienda club, which was owned by Factory Records...
and music venue in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England. It was the largest nightclub in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. The club opened in December 2002 and had at time of closing, three levels of floor space, three segmented rooms and a VIP floor. It had a capacity of 4,300 which made it one of the largest nightclubs in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
ABC Theatre
The building was originally an ABC theatre and then cinema. The former Hippodrome Theatre was bought by Associated British CinemasAssociated British Cinemas
ABC Cinemas was a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. A wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Picture Corporation , it operated between the 1930s and the late 1960s...
(ABC) in April 1929. They planned to rebuild it in 1939, which was halted by the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The theatre closed in 1960. Most of the building was then demolished and the new ABC Theatre was built in the shell of the old building with stalls and circle seating with a capacity of 1,934. It also had a permanent revolving stage.
The ABC Theatre opened on 31 May 1963 with the Holiday Carnival summer season stage show which starred Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
and The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
. It was used for stage shows during the summer months with films and concerts in the winter. ABC Weekend Television
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
televised their "Blackpool Night Out" show from the theatre which starred the likes of Freddie Davies
Freddie Davies
Freddie Davies is a British comedian and actor. He is the grandson of Music Hall comedian Jack Herbert.Freddie Davies was born in Brixton, London. At the start of World War II Davies was evacuated in 1939 to Seend in Wiltshire and subsequently to Torquay in Devon and then to Salford, Manchester...
, Mike & Bernie Winters
Mike & Bernie Winters
Mike & Bernie Winters were English brothers who formed a comedy double act, consisting of Mike Winters, born Michael Weinstein and Bernie Winters, born Bernie Weinstein...
and Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson were a popular English husband-and-wife team of entertainers, during the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early days:They were both successful solo singers before their marriage in 1955...
.
The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
played a concert there in 1963 and in August 1965 they played at the "Blackpool Night Out" on ABC Weekend Television. It was the first time they had played the song "Yesterday
Yesterday (song)
"Yesterday" is a song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. The song first hit the United Kingdom top 10 three months after the release of Help!. The song remains popular today with more than 1,600 cover versions, one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded...
" on British television and the gig has become popular on the video sharing
Video hosting service
A video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video...
website YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Four songs they sang live at the gig appeared on the Anthology 2
Anthology 2
Anthology 2 is a compilation album by The Beatles, released by Apple Records in March 1996. It is the second of the three-volume Anthology collection, all of which tie-in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. The opening track is "Real Love", the second of the two recordings that...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
in 1996 - "I Feel Fine
I Feel Fine
"I Feel Fine" is a riff-driven rock song written by John Lennon and released in 1964 by The Beatles as the A-side of their eighth British single. The song is notable for the use of feedback on a recording for the first time by any musician...
", "Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride
"Ticket to Ride" is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album, Help!. It was recorded 15 February 1965 and released two months later. -Composition:...
", "Yesterday" and "Help!
Help! (song)
"Help!" is a song by The Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the United States and the United Kingdom....
". The Beatles were also shown singing "Help" at the ABC in Episode four of the 1995 The Beatles Anthology documentary series.
The summer shows starred the likes of Frank Ifield
Frank Ifield
Francis Edward Ifield is an early Australian-English easy listening and country music singer. He achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Chart, where he had four Number 1 hits between 1962 and 1963....
, Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
, Morcambe and Wise, and Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele OBE , is an English entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.-Singer:...
.
ABC Cinema
In January 1981 the theatre closed and was converted into a triple screen cinema which reopened on 30 April 1981, although the revolving stage was retained together with the orchestra pitOrchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
, original proscenium
Proscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
and front stalls and dressing rooms, though hidden behind the screens. The circle was used for one screen with the stalls divided into two screens.
It was renamed the Cannon Cinema in 1986, the MGM Cinema in May 1993 before closing as a cinema in December 1998.
The Syndicate
The ABC building was bought in the summer of 2001 for about £4million by local entrepreneurs Mike and Sandra Nordwind and converted into the Syndicate nightclub. It opened in December 2002, with none of the original interior remaining.The club was closed for a month in October 2005 when it lost its late night drinks licence in court, after Blackpool Police had presented a dossier of alleged violence at the club, which magistrates decided was so serious they withdrew the licence to sell alcohol after 11pm. The club re-opened on 26 November after agreeing to withdraw their application for a new 4am licence.
After the club closed in January 2006 following the refusal of a 4am licence, it was bought in May by national operator Nexum Leisure who undertook a £1m refurbishment of the venue. In June 2007 the venue launched a weekly Polish Night (Polska Noc) aimed at the resorts Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and eastern European
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
population.
On 7 September 2008, John Robb the vocalist in the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Goldblade
Goldblade
Goldblade are an English punk rock band from Manchester, England. The band formed in early 1995 when ex Membranes frontman, John Robb, put the band together with Wayne Simmons and former A Witness vocalist Keith Curtis on bass, Rob Haynes on drums and Jay Taylor on guitar.The band signed to...
who co-founded The Membranes
The Membranes
The Membranes were a post-punk band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire in 1977, the initial line-up being John Robb , Mark Tilton , Martin Critchley and Martin Kelly . Critchley soon left, with Robb and Tilton taking on vocals, and Kelly moving to keyboards, with "Coofy Sid" taking over on drums...
in Blackpool in 1977 and who also works as a journalist and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
pundit, hosted a special event entitled "A Celebration of Music, Fashion & Football 1975–1995" at the Syndicate, with guest speakers Andy Nicholls
Andy Nicholls
Andy Nicholls , is an English former football hooligan, manager, and author of a number of books on football hooliganism. He has been banned from every ground in England and Wales. He is banned from for life from the home ground of the team he supports, Everton, Goodison Park...
, Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.-Background:Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop...
and former Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
musician Clint Boon
Clint Boon
Clint Boon is an English musician and DJ. Boon originally rose to notability as the keyboards player with Inspiral Carpets.-Career:...
.
On 14 September 2008 the Syndicate staged a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
event with American former world heavyweight champion, Tim Witherspoon
Tim Witherspoon
"Terrible" Tim Witherspoon is an American boxer who was twice world heavyweight champion.-Early career:Witherspoon had eight and a half amateur bouts, losing one to Marvis Frazier on decision after getting knocked down....
making a guest appearance. Eric "Butterbean" Esch
Eric Esch
Eric Scott Esch is an American heavyweight boxer, kick-boxer, professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist commonly referred to as Butterbean....
took on Mark Potter for the European Boxing Federation
European Boxing Federation
The European Boxing Federation is a boxing governing body and sanctioning organisation created in 2005. Although the organisation is called European it lists its title holders as world champions....
Heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
title.
In August 2011, resident DJ Danny Howard won the BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
Ibiza Superstar DJ competition. The Syndicate closed on 10th August 2011, posting a closing notice on Facebook and at http://blackpool.thesyndicate.com/