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Venues

The Palladium Niteclub

The Palladium was a sprawling upstairs nightclub in Chancery Lane in Central Christchurch, with a massive 800 person capacity and 24 hour liquor license.

Zanzibar

The Old Star Tavern (aka The Star Tavern, Lion Tavern) was a large old Pub on Lincoln Road, not far from Hagley Park that sprung to life with live entertainment during the mid 1980’s.

Circa 1983-4, local Punk and Dance impresario (and general taste-maker) Tony Peake was responsible for booking bands at the large, popular Gladstone venue, alongside Al Parke. Meanwhile up in Auckland Peter Urlich was establishing the original Zanzibar dance-club in Auckland – and was planning a similar spot in Christchurch with the help of local proprietor John McCarthy, who owned the Old Star Tavern.

Peake was brought in to establish a new nightclub within the pub, taking the same name as the Auckland venue and putting on regular nights, DJing a mix of Post-Punk, Dance, Dub, Hip-Hop – whatever he saw fit.

Cecil House

Cecil House was an old retail and residential building on the corner of Manchester and Welles street that was eventually damaged, then demolished after the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 / 2011.

Though original built as a Hotel around 1905, by the 1980’s the building had become a mix of residential accommodation and retail shop-fronts. The building itself had fallen in to disrepair and became suitably cheap accommodation, with quite a few musicians occupying flats in the 2nd and 3rd floor during the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Castrol's Garage, 2015

Castrol’s Garage

Short-lived pizza restaurant, bar and live music venue, on the corner site of the long running and beloved Gordon Smith and Son’s Fruiterers. The venue side of the bar was a little on the shallow side and with doors opening to an outside courtyard on the busy revitalized post-Earthquake Victoria street, it wasn’t long before the venue encountered noise complaints.

Crime Front

A decrepit old wooden villa on Kilmore Street occupied primarily by Michael Boulden (who used the space as a recording studio / video editing office) and professional musician Simon Nunn, whilst other musicians (including The Pickups /  Terror of the Deeps William Daymond) came and went over the years – taking advantage of the 6 rooms and ridiculously cheap $200 rent.

Harbour Light Theatre

The Harbour Light Theatre was thought to have been designed by J.S. and M. J. Guthrie and purpose-built as a picture house and theatre for the Lyttelton Picture Company. It could seat 550 people in both stalls and circle. The front of the building was two storeys high, with a mezzanine floor, and two decorative brick towers topped with spherical domes on either side. The entry was framed by large Tuscan columns, with quoin stones on the corners of the building. The material of the building was mostly brick with a stucco finish on the facade painted white in the “California style”. The entrance featured an art nouveau style etching of a pattern above the verandah roof.

The DB Gladstone Christchurch

Gladstone Hotel

The Gladstone has the doubtful distinction of being the last hotel in Christchurch to host a post mortem. The examination was carried out in July of 1901 by a Dr. William Diamond, who told the coroner that there was extreme difficulty working in such cramped and unsuitable quarters as those provided by a hotel and he sincerely hoped that something would be done about it soon. His wish was granted, for on that very day the eminent architect Mr. S Hurst-Seager, designer of the new morgue, had handed the keys to the completed building to the City Council.

The Log Cabin

Old and dilapidated wooden villa on Madras Street that functioned as a rather excellent venue for house parties and all-age events for a few years prior to the Canterbury Earthquakes in 2010 / 2011.

Occupied by a variety of individuals connected to Christchurch live music, student radio (RDU) and all-ages (Red Panda) scenes, the house was opened up for day time shows on the front-lawn or in the living room.

Space Academy

Multi-use space on St Asaph Street, opposite the established Darkroom bar. With Doki Hair Saloon at the front, and running during the day as Kadett Cafe, Space Academy is a lively, spacious live music venue and bar from 4pm – 11pm every Tuesday till Saturday.

Fuse Youth Cafe

Location: 25 Wakefield Ave, Sumner Current Status: Running! Active as a live music venue: 2001 – Bookings: Email Fuse Website: Fuse Website Capacity: Around 80? Fuse Youth Cafe is Christian-focused Youth Centre in Sumner that regularly hosts events for teens and even… Read More »Fuse Youth Cafe

Rockstar Clothing

Location: 299 Selwyn Street, Spreydon Current Status: Demolished post-earthquake Active as a live music venue: 2000’s Bar Manager: Andrew ‘Ox’ O’Connell Capacity: About 20 All-Ages: Yes Notorious local rock’n’roll vocalist and Downhill Mountain Bike clothing entrepreneur Andrew ‘Ox’ O’Connell ran… Read More »Rockstar Clothing

Cassels and Son’s The Brewery

Now a restaurant and bar and originally constructed as a craft brewery, the Brewery functioned as a live music venue at a time when there were few operating in Christchurch – immediately after the February 2011 earthquakes.

A large, narrow venue with good food and a fair amount of outside seating, the Brewery has also been a popular spot for regular quiz nights and other events.