Derby Hippodrome: Venue was real palace of variety

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In our series looking back at long-gone entertainment venues, shops and cafes, we remember Derby’s Hippodrome.

In July 1914, the Derby Hippodrome, Music Hall and Palace of Varieties opened its doors for the first time. On that night, two houses, each with 2,300 patrons, saw the opening show September Morn.

Admission prices ranged from 3d to 1/-. It is hard to believe that the building, now looking somewhat forlorn at the top of Green Lane, opened its doors just days before the start of the greatest war in history.

Although not particularly a top-class show, the Derby Daily Telegraph of July 21, 1914, called the opening “a great success” with “the theatre crowded to suffocation”. It was described as “a most elaborate and comfortable place... a palatial building”.

The Hippodrome was in direct competition with the more respectable Grand Theatre, in Babington Lane, and, eventually, its success meant that its owners could buy out the proprietors of the Grand.

In those early years, famous stars appeared regularly as the Derby clientele demanded the very best.

Gracie Fields (several times), George Formby, Max Miller and Frank Randle supported more bizarre acts, such as racing whippets, which appeared in The Mirth Quake. It is equally hard to believe that bathing belles immersed themselves in tanks full of mains Derby water for popular aquatic shows. The Derby Telegraph, in a classic case of understatement, described it as a “cold job in winter”.

This building, which has more recently played host to bingo, featured top London shows straight from the West End. Early films started to appear at the theatre as they were cheap and could pull in three houses a day instead of two.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, together with an enhanced orchestra, was very successful in 1923 and led the management to believe that their future lay in cinematography.

The building was converted to a cinema in 1930 and showed a supertalkie, Sunnyside Up. Some argued that the Hippodrome lost a lot of its character when it became a cinema and it reverted to live theatre in 1950.

For the next 10 years, virtually every British entertainer trod the boards there. Artists such as Al Read, Morecambe and Wise (Eric stayed in a caravan at the top of Babington Lane) and Ken Dodd all appeared. Wilson, Kepple and Betty came four times with their sand dance act.

Billy Cotton, Tommy Cooper, the Sadler’s Wells Ballet, Lonnie Donegan, Cliff Richard and Shirley Bassey all topped the bill in the 1950s.

And actress Patricia Phoenix came in rep, prior to starring in Coronation Street.

It was the advent of ITV that killed off live theatre in many towns. It became cheaper to obtain hire purchase on a television than to pay theatre admission prices and so the writing was on the wall.

The theatre closed its doors in February 1959. The following decade it was transformed into a bingo hall.

Do you have any memories of the Hippodrome as a theatre and some of the stars that graced its stage? Why not write and share your memories by clicking on the discussion link at the top of the page.

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