davenportram Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Assembly rooms to be closed for at least 18 months and could be knocked down. http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-27028740 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cisse Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 How long has Assembly rooms been there ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rezner Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Would be a great shame if it had to go.Seen some great gigs there (Mansun,Saxon Buddy Rich and Mike Harding to name but a few) and the beer festival. If it does go I hope they build a new venue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 How long has Assembly rooms been there ?there was an nice old building there before. Called the same. Not quite as big mind, I think the front of it was rebuilt at the Crich tramway museum. Could be wrong, but there's deffo something from derby rebuilt up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uttoxram75 Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 A Derby venue forced to close after a large fire in its car park could be demolished, the city council has said. The Assembly Rooms will be shut for at least 18 months after an investigation revealed the extent of the damage was worse than first thought. The council had previously said the venue would be closed for eight weeks following last month's blaze. Customers who have tickets for cancelled shows will be reimbursed, the council said. 'Various options' Chief executive Adam Wilkinson said: "The council is committed to a significant cultural facility in the city centre but due to the ongoing assessment of damage after the fire, it has become clear we cannot reopen the building as quickly as we would like. "We are continuing to work through the various options open to us, based on either refurbishing or replacing the current building." The fire started in the plant room on the roof of the car park on 14 March. Could be a great opportunity to revamp the Market Place, its a hideous looking building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Yeah we know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Insurance job I reckon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 it does seem a bit convieniant that the assembly rooms closes just as the councils new 5,000 venue (velodrome) opens :ph34r: Wouldnt put anything past politicians, no worries anyway the uni will buy the assembly rooms seems like they own half of derby anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamNut Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 The assembly rooms was built in the early 70s. The architect was sir hugh casson. It was quite a popular building when it opened although the design has been controversial. Some disliked the modern architecture. In order to address concerns about the facade design some genius decided to add a horizontal light blue stripe. Externally the exposed concrete and the monotony of the facade have been criticised but it also has some very nice and very expensive bricks. The building is not dissimilar in someways to the Derby Playhouse, also using brick as an internal wall finish. The view from the the bar and the foyer over the Market Place is probably one the best views of Derby. Over the years the building has been poorly maintained and the interior has started to look very shabby. The carpet had become absolutely threadbare in places. The biggest problem with the design nowadays would be the numerous level changes within the foyer and the auditorium. In the 70s in was thought that this created architectural and spatial interest. Nowadays these are regarded as unacceptable defects and problems for disabled people. After the Theatre Royal was built the Assembly Rooms seemed to lose out in terms of attracting the best acts. I remember seeing The Stranglers, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Gerry Rafferty, Gordon Giltrap and most memorably the Drifters. The kick off stated 7.30 but I decided there would be a support act and we got there later. On arrival i noticed the staff who take the tickets were visibly shocked and the bar was deserted. I could faintly hear the music of the Drifters and it slowly dawned on me that they were on stage. When we entered the auditorium it was hot humid and smelly, people were standing on the chairs...it was rocking. As we made our way to our seats at the front I noticed that the Drifters themselves were quite shocked at our late arrival. We just got to our seats as the applause reached a crescendo and the singer shouted 'thank you and goodnight'. And they all walked off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyram Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Heard about this at work yesdi. Council wants it totally refurbed, to the standards of what the Council House is now, and what the old magistrates court will be when it's done. Asthetic wise, beautiful - but how much is it all costing and where's the money coming from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramarena Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Would be a great shame if it had to go.Seen some great gigs there (Mansun,Saxon Buddy Rich and Mike Harding to name but a few) and the beer festival. If it does go I hope they build a new venue I went to the Mansun gig too. Top gig. Happy memories of the place but it has become very jaded over the last 5-10 years. It could do with replacing as it would be expensive to renovate to acceptable modern standards. But the fear is what monstrosity would the council allow in it's place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StockholmRam Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Saw The Ramones, Pretenders, Buddy Rich there... Happy days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I saw a lad piss in the bin at the end of the bar whilst ordering a pint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersimple Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I always thought the Assembly Rooms were architecturally inferior to the nearby underground toilets. As for entertainment. There wasn't much difference between them. I never saw anything worthwhile in the Assembly Rooms. But I have always been a grumpy git and my opinion doesn't count for much. There used to be an old boy with an office down there in the toilets and he used to keep the place as clean as a pin. The security was very good. Anyone hanging about would be chased out with a brush. He also didn't allow any timewasting in the toilets. After a short period of time he would bash the door with the above mentioned brush. The Spot toilets were a different matter and you never felt safe from perverts. This is all going back many decades and I have no idea what it is like there now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Was it the attendant who used to slip a fiver under the door? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersimple Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 The only thing I remember being slipped under the door was a wet mop. In those days a fiver went a long way so people tended not to give them away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamNut Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I saw a lad piss in the bin at the end of the bar whilst ordering a pint. Was that the Nolans gig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuespachRam Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Saw some brilliant gigs there....Saxon, iron maiden, slide.....then when I cut my hair....the wedding present , beautiful south, billy Bragg....then when I wanted to impress a a lady, sabbatt....that didn't go down well! Also went to see James and deacon blue there I think and went into the bar next door, and someone kindly kicked in the connecting door and we walked in without paying... Derbys live music scene has never been great, would be a shame if this went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McRamFan Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Horrible building Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyram Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 It is very outdated, no doubt about it, but if the council gets its way it'll come back looking like a beautiful swan on the outside with cheap plastic fittings on the inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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