O2 Academy Bournemouth

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O2 Academy Bournemouth is a live music venue in Bournemouth, England. It sits in a Grade II listed building at 570 Christchurch Road (BH1 4BH) and can hold about 1,800 people. It is owned by the Academy Music Group and opened as O2 Academy Bournemouth in September 2009.

History
The building began life as the Grand Pavilion Theatre on 27 May 1895. After changing owners in 1898, it became the Boscombe Grand Theatre. In 1905 it was renamed the Boscombe Hippodrome, a name it kept for more than 50 years. In 1956 it closed for a refit and reopened as The Royal Ballrooms.

In the 1960s and early 1970s it hosted many big acts, including Pink Floyd, Status Quo, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Hawkwind, The Faces and David Bowie. A popular club night, Starkers, ran from 1971 to 1972. In December 1972 it became Tiffany’s, a disco that stayed for about 10 years. A major refurbishment in 1982 turned it into the Academy Nightclub, which featured early water-cooled lasers and the UK’s first Karaoke bar. Other performers included Deep Purple, Canned Heat, T.Rex, Colosseum, Freedom, Joe Jammer and Slade.

In the 1990s rave scene, nights such as Fantasia, Wild Turkey and Parhelion drew crowds. In 1997 the venue was renamed the Opera House nightclub, and the dance night Slinky began. Slinky grew into one of the country’s best-known club nights, attracting top electronic music names like Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk and Paul Oakenfold.

The Opera House closed for a £3 million refurbishment from 2006 to 2007 and reopened with Jo Whiley. In July 2009 it was sold to AMG Group and became the O2 Academy Bournemouth in September 2009. Since then it has hosted a wide range of live music and dance events, with acts including Steve Harley and The Darkness.