Historically, the North East has created a wealth of diverse musical talent and the City Centre site already had a musical heritage. Originally built as a Picture House (The New Westgate) in 1927, it was once the legendary Majestic Ballroom, famed for a performance by The Beatles in 1963, who went on to write their biggest selling UK hit, ‘She Loves You’ after the show! As well as The Beatles, The Moody Blues, The Kinks, Spencer Davis Group, The Hollies, Van Morrison and the Small Faces are just a few other famous names that graced the Majestic Ballroom stage. 

AMG announced the successful acquisition of the former Gala Bingo Hall on Westgate Road in April 2005 and a £4m total refurbishment of the site took place to create a magnificent near 2,000 capacity auditorium. Academy Music Group opened O2 Academy Newcastle on Friday 14th October 2005 with an exclusive, sell-out live performance by The Futureheads, plus support from fellow locals, Field Music and Kubichek! 

O2 Academy Newcastle has retained the original ceiling features, stairways, stage and balcony creating a dramatic and atmospheric space to present to major artists and AMG has invested heavily in its production equipment to offer high quality, professional, in-house services as standard. The venue also has the capability to become an ‘all seated’ format as an alternative arrangement for varied shows and events. 

The 400 capacity O2 Academy2 Newcastle is a stand-alone gig venue and also acts as a second room for club nights and dance events. It is perfect for showcasing new talent from the local area and breaking new acts on the touring circuit.

With a legendary ‘up-for-it’ crowd, O2 Academy Newcastle is also home to ‘Bulletproof’’, Newcastle’s longest running club night and the North East’s most successful indie club. Each and every Saturday, ‘Bulletproof’ features guest DJs and live sets. The NME even quoted ‘Bulletproof’ as ‘the who’s who of bands about to become famous!”.

Awards
• Total Production Awards 2006 ‘Best Venue’ (nomination)
• BEDA Awards 2006 ‘Best Venue’ (nomination) 

CAPACITY

380

TWO ROOMS:

O2 Academy Newcastle now offers multiple performance spaces and options to use two rooms simultaneously following investment in extensive acoustic treatments.

Capacity options are to operate O2 Academy 2 Newcastle (380) at the same time as stalls only (main room) 1,620 in O2 Academy Newcastle.

STAGE DIMENSIONS

Width:   3.9m
Depth:   4.8m
Height:  0.38m

HOUSE BARRIER

Yes – for stage and FOH

LOAD IN

Directly through main front doors and into passenger lift (weight restrictions apply)

DRESSING ROOM

1 x room stage left with mirror and work tops (main O2 Academy Newcastle dressing rooms may be available in some situations)

PARKING

Available on Fenkle Street - 14 car bays total (can be suspended but charged on advance request)

FOH SYSTEM

FOH PA:

4 x TXD-218 Turbosound Dual 18”
Direct Radiating
2 x TXD-121 Turbosound 12” Loudspeaker
4 x TQ-445 Turbosound 3 Way Compact Loudspeaker

FOH DESK:

SoundCraft MH2 32ch

FOH FX:

1 x Yamaha SPX2000
2 x TC M1
1 x TC D2 Delay
1 x FCS-966 BSS Graphic

MONITORS:

From FOH desk

MONITOR SYSTEM

2 x Yamaha Dual Graphic
4 x Martin Audio LE1500 Passive/Active Monitor
1 x Turbosound TXD252 Drum Fill 
1 x DBX Driverack 4800
4 x Yamaha 7500 Power Amplifier

MICROPHONES

4 x Shure Beta 58A
4 x Shure SM58
2 x Shure Beta 57A
4 x Shure SM57
2 x Shure Beta 52
1 x Shure Beta 91
4 x Sennheiser E604
2 x Sennheiser E906
4 x AKG C391b
8 x BSS AR133 DI
2 x Beringher DI100

LIGHTING

3 x Bar of 6 x Par64
1 x Chroma Zone
6 x Chroma Spheres
2 x Robe 250 AT Spots
4 x Robe 250 AT Wash
1 x Small smoke machine

DESK

1 x Avolites Azure Shadow