O2 Academy Bristol

O2 Academy Bristol
Website
Exterior view of venue under former signage (c.2007)

Former names	Locarno (1966-97) Rock (1999-2001) Carling Academy (2001-08)
Address	1-2 Frogmore St Bristol BS1 5NA England
Owner	Academy Music Group
Capacity	1,650 (Academy 1) 350 (Academy 2)
Opened	17 November 1966
Closed	1997–99
Venue Website

The O2 Academy Bristol (originally known as the Locarno and then Carling Academy Bristol) is a music venue located on Frogmore Street in Bristol, England. It is run by the Academy Music Group. On 1 January 2009 sponsorship was taken over from Carling by telecommunications company O2 and the venue's name changed from the Carling Academy to the O2 Academy. The academy which hosts club nights and gigs was opened in 2001, and was the third Academy venue in the UK.^[1]

History

The venue was originally part of Mecca Leisure Group's New Entertainments Centre and was an ABC Cinema. Opening in 1966, it included: a dozen licensed bars, an ice rink, bowling lanes, the Craywood Club casino, a night club, a grand cinema and the ballroom with an illuminated ceiling.^[2] Only the ice-rink and the cinema survived, the rest being demolished in 1998 and subsequently the site given over to student accommodation.^[3] The cinema closed in 1996 and was converted into a nightclub in 2000, originally called "Rock". Soon after, it became the "Carling Academy".

References

^ "Academy Group music venues announce new partnership". NME. IPC Media. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
^ "Survey Results: What were the best nightclubs in Bristol when you were in your teens and 20s?". Bristol Post. Trinity Mirror. 20 February 2014. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
^ Southall, Nick (4 February 2014). "The gig venue guide: O2 Academy, Bristol". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 15 November 2015.

External links

Ramshackle Website
Generation X Website

v t e Academy Music Group venues
Main venues	O2 Academy Birmingham O2 Academy Bournemouth O2 Academy Bristol O2 Academy Brixton O2 Academy Edinburgh O2 Academy Glasgow O2 Academy Islington O2 Academy Leeds O2 Academy Leicester O2 Academy Liverpool O2 Academy Oxford O2 Academy Sheffield O2 City Hall Newcastle O2 Forum Kentish Town O2 Institute Birmingham O2 Ritz Manchester O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester
Managed venues	Liverpool Guild of Students
Partner venues	O2 Guildhall Southampton O2 Apollo Manchester
Former venues	Arts Club Liverpool Forum Birmingham (O2 Academy Birmingham) NX Newcastle (O2 Academy Newcastle) O2 ABC Glasgow The Old Fire Station Bournemouth

v t e Culture in Bristol
Venues	Ashton Gate Bristol Arena (proposed) Bristol County Ground Bristol Hippodrome Bristol Old Vic Bristol Beacon Cube Microplex O2 Academy Bristol QEH Theatre Redgrave Theatre St George's, Brandon Hill The Thekla Tobacco Factory Victoria Rooms Watershed Whiteladies Picture House Wickham Theatre Winston Theatre Memorial Stadium
Festivals	Afrika Eye Bristol Festival of Ideas Bristol Harbour Festival Bristol International Balloon Fiesta Bristol Shakespeare Festival Festival of Nature Kite Festival Pride Bristol Slapstick Festival St Pauls Carnival
Museums, galleries, archives and public art	Arnolfini Blaise Castle Blaise Hamlet Banksy Bristol Archives Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Harbour Railway Bristol Zoo Clifton Observatory Georgian House Glenside Museum Kings Weston Roman Villa M Shed Red Lodge Museum Royal West of England Academy See No Evil SS Great Britain We the Curious Wild Place Project
Parks & Open Spaces	Parks of Bristol Ashton Court Blaise Castle Brandon Hill Castle Park College Green The Downs Eastville Park Kings Weston Hill Lamplighters Marsh Redland Green Oldbury Court Estate Queen Square Snuff Mills St George's Park Stoke Park Victoria Park
Churches	All Saints' Church Bristol Cathedral Bristol Community Church Broadmead Baptist Church Buckingham Baptist Chapel Chapel of the Three Kings of Cologne Christ Church, Clifton Down Christ Church with St Ewen Church of All Saints Church of Holy Trinity, Hotwells Church of Holy Trinity, Stapleton Church of the Holy Trinity with St Edmund Church of St John the Baptist City Road Baptist Church Cotham Church Counterslip Baptist Church Clifton Cathedral Crofts End Church John Wesley's New Room Holy Trinity Church, Kingswood Holy Trinity Church, Westbury on Trym Horfield United Reformed Church Hope Chapel Lewin's Mead Unitarian meeting house Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Apostles St Mary Redcliffe Redland Chapel St. Augustine's Church, Whitchurch St Augustine the Less Church St George's Church St James' Presbyterian St James' Priory St John the Baptist St Luke's Church St Mark's Church St Mary le Port Church St Mary on the Quay St Mary's Church, Henbury St Matthew's Church St Michael on the Mount Without St Nicholas St Paul's Church St Paul's, Clifton St Peter and St Paul St Peter's Church, Bishopsworth St Peter's Church, Castle Park St Philip and St Jacob St Stephen's Church St Thomas the Martyr St Werburgh's Church Temple Church Trinity Centre Tyndale Baptist Church Whitefield's Tabernacle, Kingswood Woodlands Christian Centre
Pubs	Black Castle The Crown The Coronation Tap The Famous Royal Naval Volunteer Hatchet Inn King William Ale House The Lido Llandoger Trow Mauretania, Bristol Nova Scotia The Old Duke Old Post Office Palace Hotel Printers Devil Pump House Seven Stars Shakespeare Inn The Shakespeare Stag and Hounds
Former attractions	Ashton Court Festival Bierkeller Theatre British Empire and Commonwealth Museum Bristol Industrial Museum Jacobs Well Theatre Redcliffe Hall

51°27′15″N 2°36′01″W / 51.4542°N 2.6004°W / 51.4542; -2.6004