Picture House (Lothian Rd) to close « CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum

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Picture House (Lothian Rd) to close

(49 posts)

Started 11 years ago by Focus
Latest reply from Fountainbridge

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Picture House

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Focus
Member

Picture House to be closed as a music venue

Sad news. I have great memories of going to see Seasick Steve Mar Almond and Noisettes there. Less wonderful memories of it as the "Armpit Theatre" and "Revulsion 2000"

"The Edinburgh Picture House will shut forever after being bought by an as-yet unnamed firm who will not re-open the building as a concert venue.

All concerts falling after December 31 will be cancelled." Another Edinburgh music venue - and a central, less pub/club style one - gone :-(

What next for the building? Another restaurant chain? Boozer? "Boutique hotel"? Hopefully the façade is protected enough to prevent the last of those at least.

Posted 11 years ago #
PS
Member

Aww, that is crappy news. I've seen some excellent bands there and it seemed to fill a niche in Edinburgh for bands of a certain size.

Posted 11 years ago #
Baldcyclist
Member

I remember watching Herbie there as a kid with my Dad, probably some time in the early 80s. We were the only 2 people in the cinema.

Posted 11 years ago #
Nelly
Member

My first Smiths gig there when it was the Calais Palais way back.

On the plus front The Odeon (real one at Newington) is reopening as a multi purpose venue apparently.

Posted 11 years ago #
Uberuce
Member

I only went to that venue when it was a skeezy nightclub.

The longest continuous stream of vomit I've ever seen in my life happened in that place, but that's what happens when hyperactive economics PhD students go out drinking with weightlifters.

Posted 11 years ago #
PS
Member

On the plus front The Odeon (real one at Newington) is reopening as a multi purpose venue apparently.

It's already open (The Instant Arena), but it looks like a VERY soft opening (ie, it doesn't look open). Don't know what it's like inside, but as it's "the Capital's answer to Las Vegas" I'm sure it's *real* classy.

Posted 11 years ago #
minus six
Member

in recent years, Magazine and Killing Joke were both good here.

Posted 11 years ago #
gembo
Member

Believe Mott the Hoople played it in 1972

Posted 11 years ago #
chdot
Admin

http://www.edinburghgigarchive.com/page5.htm

Posted 11 years ago #
Nelly
Member

chdot, great link - yep, that June 84 Smiths gig might well have been it. What a year for great bands touring, I was in 5th year and spending more time gigging than studying!

85 was almost as good, queens hall august - Billy Bragg with The Housemartins as an unknown support band.

Almost 30 years ago.

Posted 11 years ago #
Focus
Member

"On the plus front The Odeon (real one at Newington) is reopening as a multi purpose venue apparently."

Run by Susan Boyle's brother. Make of that what you will.
At least it is back open as a entertainment venue rather than decaying, and the main auditorium has been renovated so hopefully will look as many of us will remember it from the Odeon days.

Posted 11 years ago #
TonyJ
Member

I remember the balcony bouncing when the JSD band were playing - a couple of years (approx!) earlier than the 1974 one in the edinburghgig archive link.

Posted 11 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

Edinburgh Spotlight have just been on Facebook saying they've heard it confirmed that the Picture House will become.... a Wetherspoons pub.... Joy.

Posted 11 years ago #
steveo
Member

Another blooming 'spoons just what the world needs.

Posted 11 years ago #
kaputnik
Moderator

So it's gone from an outlet for crap, overpriced drink to an outlet for crap, reasonably priced drink then. Plus ca change.

Posted 11 years ago #
PS
Member

A Wetherspoons? Oh, FFS. That's the interior destroyed then.

Although, to be fair, Lothian Road really does need another outlet whose sole purpose is selling booze... [/sarcasm]

Posted 11 years ago #
559
Member

Just crap, city with no mid size gig venues.

Posted 11 years ago #
EddieD
Member

I saw Bauhaus and New Order in the early 80s in the Caley Palais, in the late 80s I went to the Amphitheatre (as rarely as possible) and last week I saw the Ruts DC and the Damned there.

Really sad news. Forum rules prevent me repeating my text to a friend who broke the news to me.

Posted 11 years ago #
559
Member

First missed Damned gig in four or more years. Back to liquid rooms or Alhambra.

Posted 11 years ago #
kaputnik
Moderator

Michael Nyman at the Queen's Hall and Mogwai at the Usher Hall coming up next spring.

Posted 11 years ago #
gembo
Member

I have never been in it.

Recently saw two door cinema club with my daughter and her pals at corn exchange.

Was at the venue known as The Venue many times and calton studios occasionally

Just to be controversial, the only good bands I have seen in Edinburgh - Richard Thompson and also Gillian Welch. Both queens hall.

Tho of course my preference has always been The Barrowlands. The only bad gig I was ever at there was early JAMC supported bybEdinburgh's Shop Assistants who bravely stayed on for 30 mins. Twice as long as JAMC. Of course this was what is called an event or if you like a waste of £4.50

Posted 11 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"
Chances of a reunion: High, if anyone can drag David Keegan away from his bike shop in Aviemore.

"

http://www.scotsman.com/news/retro-graded-the-shop-assistants-1-470159

Posted 11 years ago #
SRD
Moderator

Some pictorial history here http://www.edinburghgigarchive.com/page8.htm

I was checking out Husker du at Mandela centre 1986

Posted 11 years ago #
gembo
Member

That is them. They had some attitude but were very nice really

Posted 11 years ago #
SRD
Moderator

Mr SRD was tremendously impressed. Suggested we should campaign for a reunion as well as for re-re-naming the centre.

Posted 11 years ago #
Stickman
Member

The thing I noticed most after moving to Edinburgh from Glasgow was just how limited the music venues seemed. At uni in Glasgow I would go to two or three gigs a week sometimes and there was every size of venue, from telephone boxes up to the SECC.

Now I'm an old f**t and don't go to gigs anywhere near as often I don't miss it. The only time I ever went to the Picture House was to see Teenage Fanclub - great gig.

@gembo: I've never seen Gillian Welch live, but it's on my bucket list. She is absolutely incredible.

Posted 11 years ago #
gembo
Member

@stickman, yes the two of them seemed to like the acoustic of the queens hall. Third encore they came right to front of stage and sang She Walks These Hills acapella. Very sweet. Not really from the Appalachians tho' I think maybe LA

Saw Laura Cantrell there too with Francis from teenage Fanclub playing snare with brushes. Forgot about that one, quite good too

Posted 11 years ago #
Rosie
Member

I've been to a few gigs there. I'm going tomorrow to The Complete Stone Roses. It's a really pleasant, medium sized venue, with good sound and a nice vibe. I'm really ticked off it's closing. As others have said, venues in Edinburgh are scarce. The Corn Exchange isn't that great, and it's not central like the Picturehouse.

Posted 11 years ago #
Focus
Member

Wetherspoons :-(

Frankly, any pub is a waste of that building.

Posted 11 years ago #
PS
Member

Just noticed that Wetherspoons' planning application for change of use to "Sui Generis Public House" was lodged with the Council on 4th July.

Documents here together with links for making comments on the plan should you not like it. Or even, I suppose, if you do like it - perhaps you're a fan of climbing a couple of flights of stairs from the street in order to drink in the rarefied atmosphere of a cavernous space with limited natural light...

Posted 10 years ago #

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