Venue where Bowie played reopens after £13.5m revamp

King George's Hall in Blackburn, a venue that previously hosted The Beatles, Queen and David Bowie, is reopening after a £13.5m revamp.

The historical building's roof has been replaced, along with its windows, extended bars, new seating, and upgrades for the bathrooms, sound and lighting.

Richard Brown from Blackburn with Darwen council said the hall was "the heart" of culture in the city, and it "punches above its weight".

The K's are headlining the first official night in a sold out gig on Saturday, followed by a civic grand reopening ceremony in October, featuring the Halle Orchestra, who performed at the original opening of the hall in 1921.

Brown added: "It's a real asset that the community use and love, and we are preserving this building to make sure that they can carry on doing that."

Music and comedy legends of all generations have performed at King George's Hall, and the stairwells are covered in stories that the Hall said occurred there:

• October 1938 - A Gracie Fields appearance opening an exhibition brings a crowd of 20,000, which the police struggle to control.
• June 1963 - The Beatles performed alongside Gerry & The Pacemakers and Roy Orbinson, just as Beatlemania begins to sweep across the country.
• May 1973 - David Bowie performs as Ziggy Stardust, Blackburn Council reportedly banned any further Bowie gigs due to his provocative stage outfits.

• February 1978 - Blondie initially refused to take to the stage due to the amount of spitting from the audience during the height of punk. A roadie appeals for it to end, is himself covered in spit, and the band play a full set.
• July 1978 - The morning after The Clash perform, band members were arrested on suspicion of cannabis possession. The charges were later dropped when it turns out be a bag of mixed herbs.
• May 1980, Chuck Berry insisted on being paid in cash before taking to the stage. Once paid, he encourages the audience to come up and join him on stage, prompting a full scale invasion.
• September 2002 - Comedian Peter Kay visited after rising to fame with Phoenix Nights. He proclaimed himself "a fan of the Tuna Savoury sandwich from the Refreshment Bar on Northgate."
• November 2007- A broken down train meant comedian Jimmy Carr was late to perform. He bought all 1,300 people who waited to see him a drink at the bar.
• August 2011 - Pete Doherty performs not long after being released from prison. He closed out his set with a performance of Tears Dry on Their Own, in memory of Amy Winehouse who had died a month earlier.

Phil Riley, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, called the venue "iconic", and said the renovations had restored it to a building that "this part of Lancashire can be proud of."

The project was initially just going to replace the roof and windows, using an £8m government grant, but Riley said the council added the additional cash "to essentially bring the internals up to date."

"Once you start working on a building of that age, the project grows and grows", he said.

Work at the Hall is part of £50m of regeneration projects in Blackburn's cultural quarter. Work is continuing at the Victoria Building at Blackburn College and the council recently announced plans to reopen the historical Ribblesdale Pub.

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