1959 Hammersmith

1 NOVEMBER 1959 IN HAMMERSMITH - GAUMONT PALACE

Gaumont Palace in Hammersmith, exterior.

Gaumont Palace in Hammersmith, interior.

The venue was opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace Cinema, Hammersmith and seated over 3,500 people. It was designed by Robert Cromie in the Art Deco style.

In 1962 the building was re-named the Hammersmith Odeon, a name many people still use for the venue along with the phonetic abbreviation "Hammy-O".

The venue was later refurbished and re-named the Labatt's Apollo following a sponsorship deal. Musical Theatre Star Michael Ball was the last person to play Hammersmith when it was named 'Odeon' and the first person to play following its renaming as the 'Apollo', both during his 1993 sell out tour.

Tony Standish: Ory's band in UK 1959. Photo by Tony Standish, in the book: JUST JAZZ NO 4 (1960).

Tony Standish :The wonderful Ory band at Hammersmith in 1959. Kid Ory, Alton Redd, and Red Allen. A bit grainy, due to "available" light - the B&W shots were better.

Backstage, I asked Red if they could play a request, to which he replied "Oh, I'm sure we will, but you'd have to ask Mr Ory for that." I wasn't game.

Tony Standish: Took this backstage of RED ALLEN warming up before the concert.

Tony Standish: How fortunate we were to hear these men together! The KID ORY BAND in London, 1959. Kid Ory, Red Allen, Alton Redd, Squire Gersh, Bob McCracken.