Hammersmith Palais - History

History

The Palais de Danse opened in 1919 to host ballroom dancing, and various kinds of dance bands, amongst which were the new jazz bands. It remained a popular dance venue from its start to the 1980s, but after that played host mostly to live pop music. For a period in the 1930s, part of the Palais site was also used as an ice rink, with the original London Lions ice hockey team using it as a base. On 21 January 2007, the Palais was condemned for demolition. The venue closed in April 2007.

The Palais also had a secret, once used to make tanks during the war, it was also used as a tram shed for London's trams. The rails for the trams were still under the floor along with the pipes for the ice rink. Parts of the very well sprung dance floor have removable sections where one could clearly see all the tracks and pipes. During the 1960s and 1970s, many of the house bands were: Joe Loss, Andy Ross (of Come Dancing Fame) Ken Mackintosh, Tony Evans, and Zodiac, a band which is still active as of 2010 with at least three original members. Many Saturday nights in excess of 2,000 people would visit the venue. One of the features was a huge revolving stage with a band on each side (this also caused a number of accidents when microphones and stands were left on the revolve).

The Palais was named in the The Clash song "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais". Joe Strummer managed to get thrown out one Thursday afternoon for gaining entry without permission. It was also named in the Ian Dury and the Blockheads song "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3". Bands such as PiL, The Cramps, and Soft Cell (who played their "farewell" concerts there in January 1984) made the venue popular for London gig-goers. It hosted The Cure, Hanoi Rocks, David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Police, Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation, U2, and Sex Pistols.

The Palais became the venue for the emerging Brit-Asian club scene during the 1980s; Onyx Promotions held all its major daytime events there. The major Brit-Asian bands and DJs have performed there since 1986, including Heera, Xzecutive/San-j Sanj, DCS, Premi, Rishi Rich, Bad Company, RDB, Panjabi Hit Squad, and Juggy D.

More recently, the Palais staged a mix of live music gigs, dance nights, and private events. The Palais has formerly hosted the popular SchoolDisco club night, which has since moved to the London Forum in Kentish Town. In addition to this, the Palais was frequently used by the Students' Union at Imperial College School of Medicine as a venue for numerous student nights.

In its last years, the Palais was owned by Barclub Ltd, which also controls the Po Na Na chain of themed bars. The company briefly renamed the club Po Na Na Hammersmith in the early 2000s decade. In an acknowledgement of the venue's historic reputation, the original Hammersmith Palais name was reinstated. The Palais closed in April 2007, with Kasabian, Idlewild, and Jamie T among artists playing the last ever gigs there. The final gig was a performance by The Fall on 1 April 2007, later to be released as the live album Last Night at The Palais.

BBC television made a documentary, Last Man at the Palais, on the history of the Hammersmith Palais. With a fellow professional, Lyndon Wainwright danced the Last Waltz at the Palais to conclude the presentation. It was first screened on BBCtv 4, on Christmas Eve 2007.

The site may be used for an office and restaurant complex or a students' hall of residence. The Hammersmith and Fulham Council had been expected to rule on the proposed demolition and development in November 2009; however, on 27 October 2009, Hammersmith and Fulham council rejected plans to turn the Hammersmith Palais site into student flats.

In July 2010, the Planning Inspectorate held a week-long public enquiry and rejected an appeal by the developers against the council's decision to block their development. The developers in this case are London & Regional (Hammersmith) and may submit an amended application in future.

The building was demolished in May-June 2012.