EC&O Venues Earls Court And Olympia

History of Earls Court area

Earls Court was once a rural area covered with green fields and market gardens. The Saxon thegn Edwin had been the owner before the Norman Conquest. For over 500 years the land, part of the ancient manor of Kensington, was under the lordship of the Vere family, Earls of Oxford and descendants of Aubrey de Vere I, who held the manor of Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances, in the Domesday Book in 1086. By circa 1095, his tenure had been converted, and he held Kensington directly of the crown. The earls held their manorial court where Old Manor Yard is now, just by the London Underground station. Earl's Court Farm is visible on Greenwood's map of London dated 1827.

Old map of the Earls Court area

Early Life

Earls Court was largely a waste ground before the introduction of the two railway stations. The idea of introducing an entertainment venue to the grounds was brought about by an entrepreneur called John Robinson Whitley, who sealed the grounds fate in entertainment by introducing Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and a huge observation wheel to the grounds in the late 19th century.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show

The Earls Court Gigantic wheel was 300ft high (the London Eye is approximately 450ft high) and was built in 1896. It was not dismantled until the winter or 1906/7 where a local company cut up the wheel and used for scrap. During it's time, the wheel only broke down once when it got stuck shortly after opening with sixty or seventy passengers on board. They remained stuck until noon the next day and received £5 5s in compensation, which was a substantial sum in those times.


The Great Wheel - 1896

Another major attraction at the Earls Court arena was Captain Paul Boyton's water chute which was constructed in 1899. The Captain flooded the arena in 1893 and built the 70ft high chute backing on to Lillie Road at today's West Brompton entrance. The ride was considered to be the biggest ride of its kind on either side of the Atlantic.


Image of the Water Shoot - 1893

Some of the early exhibitions and shows that took place when Earls Court was an open arena include: The Empire of India Exhibition in 1896, The Victorian Era Exhibition in 1897, The Military Exhibition in 1901, Paris in London Exhibition in 1902, the International Fire Exhibition in 1903 and Venice by Night in 1904.

After the company became Earls Court Ltd, the showground’s fell into decline. Four or five events were staged before the war broke out and closed them. Shortly after taking over, Earls Court Ltd surrendered its lease and went into liquidation. The centre was turned into a home for over 1300 refugees, predominately from Belgian. After 1919, the London General Omnibus Company took up the surrounding area and used it as a depot for unwanted buses. Occasionally, fairs and circuses used the site to entertain but they came and went.
 

Construction

 In 1935, it was suggested that the British Government take the initiative and build an exhibition centre specifically for the British Industries Fair. The idea was originally refused as it was deemed extremely wasteful to have a building stood empty for 11 months of the year.

A group of industrialists took action in late 1935 and drew up their own proposals for a new exhibition and event centre at Earls Court. The problem that they had was that the grounds are crossed by four separate sets of railway tracks. However, plans were created and it was decided that on top of the tracks, a giant steel and concrete building was to be erected.

Sir Ralph Glyn, who was chairman of Earls Court Ltd, had laid down some basic requirements:

• The building must provide a total of 42,000 sqm of exhibition floor space on no more than two levels.
• Seating for 23,000 in a column free auditorium over looking an arena , in the middle of which must be a giant pool
• The entire auditorium including the pool and seating to be convertible at speed to flat floor exhibition space
• There must be parking on site for 2,000 cars.

The idea was to construct a show centre to rival any other in the world and to dominate the nearby Olympia exhibition hall. It was designed by architect C. Howard Crane. The plan was to create Europe's largest structure by volume. The project did not go exactly to plan; it ran over budget and was late in completion. 

Images of the construction of Earls Court One

Situated in the centre of Earls Court One's ground floor is a swimming pool - 198 feet (60 m) long and 98 feet (30 m) wide and amazingly, the 750 ton concrete exhibition floor can be removed and reinstated at the push of a button. When used it takes four days to fill and four days to empty and 2 1/4 million gallons of water are needed to fill it. These operations can only be accomplished at night, so as not to put undue strain on local services.

 

The Pool at Earls Court

Early Shows

Earls Court finally opened its doors to the public for the Chocolate and Confectionery exhibition on 1 September 1937. The Motor Show and Commercial Vehicle show soon followed. In spite of all the problems in the latter part of construction, the project was completed at a cost of £1.5 million. This building is now usually referred to as Earls Court One.

After the success of the Chocolate and Confectionary show and the Motor Show shortly after the centres opening, Earls Court held a spectacular blockbuster for the winter of 1938. The Winter Cavalcade was held in the December and featured a gigantic ski run that reached 100ft into the rood and ran the length of the arena. This is not unlike the Metro Ski and Snowboard Show that we have today at Olympia. There were lots to see and do at the show, including an ice rink, a yodeller and an alpine sunset set to music from Peer Gynt. In spite of the looming war, 350,000 people came to see the show.

Build up of the Winter Cavalcade at Earls Court - 1938


The finished slope at the Winter Calvacade - 1938

World War Two

Earls Court was on its knees in 1939. Cancellation notices were readied as Britain prepared for war in July of that year. Sir Oswald Mosley packed Earls Court on the 16^th July with a final rant to the British Union of Fascists.


The British Union of Fascists at Earls Court

After war broke out, Earls Court was soon used for the manufacture and repair of London’s air defence balloon barrage. Giant ‘blimps’ were inflated and tested under the 118ft ceiling. Earls Court did not suffer any damage during the war, but the nearby West Brompton station was destroyed by incendiary bombs.

Post War - the birth of EC&O

After the war had ended, Earls Court won important new shows. Following a thin start in 1947 where only the British Industries Fair and the Motor Show were contracted, Earls Court won an Aqua Show the following year featuring Johnny ‘Tarzan’ Weissmuller and Esther Williams. The Royal Smithfield Show came across from Islington’s Agricultural Hall in 1949 and the Royal Tournament and The Radio Show followed in 1950.

After the development of the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham was confirmed in early 1972, the AEO (Association of Exhibition Organisers) pushed for Earls Court and Olympia to merge together to create a London based version of the NEC. Property Tycoon Jeffrey Sterling made a bid for £4.4million for Earls Court and a week later, he bought a huge stake in Olympia. Earls Court & Olympia Ltd was born!

In July 1979, the Greater London Council contributed £5m for an improvement programme for Earls Court. This added to the £1.5m that the new owners had put together that would make the vital improvements to the dilapidated hall.

Earls Court Two

In 1983, Jeffrey Sterling’s company merged with P&O and he became the chairman of the shipping, construction, property and services giant. The need for extra space was realised and the plans for the £100million Earls Court Two were drawn up.

The striking new barrel-roofed hall which links with Earls Court One via folding shutters is large enough to hold four jumbo jets, and the hall's 17,000 square metre floor is entirely column-free. The hall was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales on 17 October 1991 for the Motorfair. Earls Court Two is situated on part of the former Lillie Bridge.


Earls Court Two during construction

Aerial view of Earls Court One & Two

Music at Earls Court

A cycle of grand opera began at Earls Court in 1988 with Aida. Harvey Goldsmith’s courageous and visionary gamble caused The Times to reflect that it made the Royal Albert Hall look like a studio theatre. The audience loved it and Goldsmith returned the following year with a production of Carmen and the Aida again in 1998.

Carmen at Earls Court - 1989

Elton John in Concert at Earls Court - 1993
 

The venue is still one of the most popular arenas to play in the UK, with a capacity of around 19,000, including standing room, meaning it is often chosen over venues such as Wembley Arena by bands with a large fan base. Musicians who have played at the venue include:

• Pink Floyd performed the Dark Side of the Moon suite on 18/19 May 1973 to two sell out gigs. The band also played six nights 4-9 of August 1980 for its performances of The Wall. The exercise was repeated one year later as the band played five nights 13-17 of June 1981 for attempts at filming and recording the live Wall performances, which were later released on Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81. In 1994 the band played on 14 October their first of a record-breaking 14 nights at this venue and was filmed and recorded on P•U•L•S•E (album) & P•U•L•S•E (film). However one night of the concert was forced to be cancelled, after a section of seating in the arena collapsed during the show, injuring several people.
• Slade performed to 19,000 on 1 July 1973. The show was filmed but has never been released.
• Led Zeppelin performed for five sold out nights in May 1975. Footage from the concerts was filmed and was released twenty eight years later on the Led Zeppelin DVD. This series of concerts is widely considered by fans to be amongst the best of the band's career.^[1]
• The Rolling Stones performed six nights of 21-23 May and 24-26 May 1976 as part of their "Tour of Europe '76"
• Queen performed 6/7 June 1977 and filmed footage has been widely bootlegged.
• Genesis performed on 23-25 June 1977, six sold out shows in November 1992 (videoed for The Way We Walk DVD) and one show in 1998.
• Supertramp performed three nights in May 1983 on their Famous Last Words tour which was their final tour with member Roger Hodgson.
• Oasis performed on 4/5 November 1995 and 25-27 September 1997
• The Who performed Quadrophenia on 6/7 December 1996.
• Celine Dion performed on 13/14 June 1997 at the end of her successful Falling into you tour 8 months after the 15 day Sell Out UK tour in 1996. On Completing these dates she had sung to 200,000 fans in the UK.
• R.E.M. performed on 22/23 June 1999 as part of their 'Up' tour
• Spice Girls performed five nights in December 1999
• Iron Maiden performed in June 2000 as part of their "Brave New World" tour in support of their reunion album Brave New World and returned in December of 2003 as part of their "Death on the Road" tour which was in support of the album Dance of Death. And twice again on the 22nd and 23rd December 2006 as the final dates of their A Matter Of Life And Death world tour.
• U2 performed 4 sold out shows during August 2001 on their Elevation Tour.
• Madonna played 6 consecutive nights at the venue as part of her 2001 Drowned World Tour.
• Westlife performed 5 shows from the 28th May to the 1st June 2002.
• Paul McCartney performed April 19 2003
• Radiohead performed on 26/27 November 2003
• Fleetwood Mac performed on 29/30 November and 10 December 2003
• Stereophonics performed 16/17 December 2003
• Metallica performed on 12 October 1996 as part of the Poor Touring Me tour and again on 19th and 20th December 2003 as there only UK indoor dates on the Madly In Anger With The World Tour.
• Morrissey performed 18 December 2004 and later released as Live at Earls Court.
• Muse performed on 19th and 20th December 2004 and later released some of the video footage on their Absolution Tour DVD in 2005.
• Kylie Minogue played 7 nights from 30 April to 2 May and 4-7 May 2005
• Coldplay performed 14-16 December 2005.
• Foo Fighters performed 17th and 18th December 2005
• Duran Duran played on 22nd and 23rd December 2005, as the final dates of the Astronaut world tour.
• Give It a Name festival was held on 29th and 30th April 2006
• Red Hot Chili Peppers performed July 14-18 2006.
• George Michael performed from the 25th to the 29th November 2006
• Kasabian played on 19 December 2006.
• Razorlight played on 8 April 2007.
• Give It A Name festival was held there the 27th, 28th and 29th of April 2007.
• Roger Waters, formerly of Pink Floyd played his Dark Side of the Moon tour on 11/12 May 2007, the latter gig included Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason.
• Kaiser Chiefs played two nights on the 14th and 15th December 2007.
• Give It A Name festival was held at Earl's Court on the 10th and 11th of May 2008. Headliners included Paramore, 30 Seconds to Mars, Plain White T's and Billy Talent.
• Janet Jackson was supposed to perform two nights in a row at the venue on December 11 and December 12, 2001 during her All for You Tour. Eventually, the entire European leg of the highly anticipated tour was canceled due to security issues as a consequence of 9/11.
• George Michael performed on the 24th and 25th August 2008.

Extracts from the book: 
Earls Court and Olympia - Buffalo Bill to the 'Brits' by John Glanfield, © Earls Court & Olympia Group Ltd, 2003 
Click here to buy a copy