Since 1903, the Shepherd’s Bush Empire has been a prominent landmark on London’s entertainment scene. Designed and built by Frank Matcham (1854-1920), undeniably one of the most prolific Victorian architects, the venue still retains its original, opulent design and grandeur of its early years.
Built for powerful theatre manager Oswald Stoll and situated at Shepherd’s Bush Green, it opened on August 17th 1903 with its first performers The Fred Karno Troupe and continued to provide first-class entertainment with stars of the Music Hall era and weekly Variety Performance and Revues until the early 1950’s. As trends in drama and entertainment began to change, the theatre was eventually sold to BBC Television in September 1953 and immediately work commenced to convert the building into a TV Studio-theatre. One of the first shows to be televised before a live studio audience took place in October 1953; called “Variety Parade” starring Max Bygraves and the legendary Tiller Girls.
The Empire played an important role in popular TV culture with BBC shows such as Crackerjack, That’s Life, Hancock, Wogan and The Old Grey Whistle Test broadcasting over the next forty years. Numerous artists performed at the Empire in this period including Daryl Hall & John Oates, The Kinks, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Eric Clapton, Lulu and Duran Duran.
In January 1995, live music and restaurant operators Break For The Border Group PLC successfully purchased the Empire from Andrew Marler, who had converted the Empire into a live music venue. After finishing the £2,000,000 refit and programme of restoration, the new owners Ian Howard (Chief
Executive) and John Northcote (Music Division Director), launched the former TV theatre as a premier 2,000 capacity concert venue. It had opened on March 12th 1994 with American rock giants Soundgarden, to the delight of music fans and industry critics alike.
The Empire’s expanding diary continued with artists such as Blur, The Charlatans, Radiohead, The Kinks, Primal Scream and led to the venue’s first two industry accolades in 1995 – hailed as Music Week’s “UK Venue Of The Year” and Live! Magazine’s “Venue Of The Year”. Other nominations included “Best International Venue 1995” from US industry magazine Pollstar, following a number of high profile shows by a string of leading global artists such as Johnny Cash, Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper and Barenaked Ladies.
Throughout the 90’s, the Empire continued to maintain its impressive reputation to host a wide entertainments brief including special events such as Comic Relief in March 1997 with over 10 million viewers tuning in to BBC TV, comedy with Jo Brand and Harry Hill (26.09.96), spoken word with Howard Marks (05.12.97), the EMI Records International Sales Conference and events such as the UK Breakdance Championships (September 96-97), MTV’s Five Night Stand (May 98-99-00), BBC Live Night Of Comedy for Children In Need (06.11.00) and the Technics Mercury Music Prize (16.09.98).
In January 1998, the newly formed McKenzie Group Limited (now known as Academy Music Group) announced that it had agreed terms with Break For The Border Group PLC to purchase Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Brixton Academy. Managing Director, John Northcote was proactively pursuing his vision to improve live music facilities in the Capital and the Group’s impressive reputation has long continued, with Northcote now CEO of Academy Music Group. The Shepherd’s Bush Empire has consistently provided a wealth of talent and continued reinvestment by its owners ensures the pleasure of attending the Shepherd’s Bush Empire for both artists and the public alike.
In more recent years the Shepherd’s Bush Empire’s rock and roll diary reads like a ‘who’s-who’ of legends with artists such as the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, Kylie Minogue, PJ Harvey, Manic Street Preachers, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Destiny’s Child all gracing its magnificent stage, as well as stars from the dance scene with performers including; Massive Attack, Faithless, Air, Death In Vegas, Morcheeba, and Groove Armada. Soul and R’n’B courtesy of Beverley Knight, Lynden David Hall, Angie Stone and Gabrielle; plus club nights with Cream, Kiss FM, Frantic and the Brazilian “O Carnaval.”
The Empire continues to maintain its impressive reputation, hosting major events in the entertainment industry such as the Digital Music Awards 2004, BBC’s Top Of The Pops Christmas Party 2004, O2 & Dazed & Confused Hero2Hero shows, the Mercury Music Prize and the MTV Five Night Stand. The Empire has frequently hit the headlines with its classic concerts as the chosen venue for exclusive, live and intimate shows by internationally acclaimed stars such as David Bowie (11th and 12th August 1997), Rolling Stones (June 8th 1999), The Who (22nd and 23rd December 1999), Oasis (8th October 2001), Elton John (16th and 17th December 2002) and Bon Jovi (18th September 2002) – the fastest selling show in the history of the Shepherd’s Bush Empire with all tickets sold in a record 8 minutes of going on sale! The Bon Jovi concert was also the first show to simultaneously broadcast to twenty cinemas around Europe by satellite link and to a global audience of more than 375,000 via the Internet.
In April 2004, the Empire was delighted to host the D12 featuring Eminem concert and in the same year celebrated its 10th Anniversary of its return to a live music venue, with a series of summer events to raise over £20,000 for charity; £10,000 of which was donated by Shepherd’s Bush Empire to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy.
Continued reinvestment in the same year saw the refurbishment of its famous Level One Bar, the perfect location for after-show parties and private events and an upgrade of its in-house production facilities with an Avolites Diamond 4 Elite lighting desk; as well backstage and dressing room services.
In August 2004, McKenzie Group announced its decision to re-brand the organisation “Academy Music Group Limited” (AMG), following the completion of a management buy out. Under the same operations team, Shepherd’s Bush Empire has gone from strength to strength and in recent years has won a string of industry awards and nominations, including Music Week’s ‘Best Venue’ 2005, an honour it has won a record five times. Shepherd’s Bush Empire averages some 200 shows per annum, attracting some 350,000 persons, per year. The West London venue is a favourite haunt for artists, music industry executives, the media and music-lovers alike.
To date, the Shepherd’s Bush Empire has won the following awards:
- Music Week UK Venue of The Year 2005, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999
- Live! Magazine Venue of The Year 1995, 1996, 1998
- ILMC Venue of The Year 1999
- BBC London Live “Love London Award Best Venue” (2000)
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