RELOCATION OF CIVIC ACTIVITIES

RELOCATION OF CIVIC ACTIVITIES

List of organisations using the Guildford Civic During Oct / Nov 2003, indicating if they have made alternative arrangements for a venue following the closure of the Civic. Booking refers to a hire, usually a commercial tour where the Civic would have just been one of a number of venues booked.

ORGANISATION ALTERNATIVE VENUE FOUND
Y = Yes, N = No
Bkg = One-off booking, ? = Don’t know

Surrey Antiques fair - Sandown Park Y
Rebel Rock – Jive dance – The Stoke Y
Shake Rattle & Roll ?
Empire – Street dance & Ignition – Contract unavailable Y
to ascertain information but it is believed that these events
are continuing in Guildford.
Life coaching session - Various – Mainly home contact Y
addresses
Jongleurs Comedy Club - Yvonne Arnaud & Leatherhead Y
Electric Theatre also provides comedy nights
Red Dog Night for unsigned bands N
Bridal fayre - Hilton Cobham and others Y
British Legends of Rhythm & Blues Bkg
Norman Wisdom Bkg
Dennis Locorriere Bkg
Staff meeting PKF – Regional event, various Y
Family concert – Yvonne Arnaud Y
Book Festival events - Electric Theatre Y
Blood donorship – Various inc. Emmanuel, Stoughton Y
UNISON S.E Region - Various throughout region Y
Clear Channel – Bowling 4 Soup Bkg
Stars from the Commitments Bkg
ACM Graduation – Electric Theatre Y
Antiques & Collectables fair - Spectrum Y
Status Quo - GuilFest Bkg
Saxon Bkg
Dexys Midnight Runners Bkg
Paul Carrick Bkg
The Bachelors Bkg
Atkins Seminar ?
Meeting SEEDA – Various throughout region Y
Wishbone Ash Bkg
Australian Pink Floyd Bkg
SNAP Under18’s disco – Park Barn Community Centre Y
Robert Cray Bkg
Counterfeit Stones Bkg
Cashmere sale - Various hotels Y
Elkie Brooks Bkg
Level 42 Bkg
DFES Conference – Major cities Y
Dance Time ?
Alvin Stardust Bkg
Guildford Symphony Orchestra – Spectrum, Charterhouse, Y
Cathedral
Lee Hurst Bkg
West Surrey Association of Estate Agents ?
Thunder - GuilFest Bkg
Stimulation Under 18’s disco – Time Nightclub Y
Animal charities bazaar ?
SUMMARY

Of the 44 bookings / hirings in this period:

19 = Y / have found an alternative venue
1 = N / have not found an alternative venue
19 = Bkg / were tour bookings
5 = ? / Unable to trace

Regarding the 19 one off bookings these can be broken down into sub groups as follows;

2 comedy – Norman Wisdom, Lee Hurst
2 tribute bands - Stones and Floyd
1 contempory band - Bowling 4 Soup
And alarmingly
14 ageing rock and pop stars!
Which really shows how appalling the Civic booking policy had become.
Of these 14 Status Quo and Thunder returned via GuilFest and I’m sure some of the others will also play there if they are still active.

The one definite NO is for the Red Dog Night which was an unsigned bands night. They only attracted a few hundred people to their events so the Civic was really too large for them. Regrettably they never managed to start up in one of the many other live music venues available in Guildford. The full 14-page list of these is available from the council.

It’s also worth noting, though not present in this two month period, but Guildford’s most famous band The Stranglers have revived their career by playing not at the Civic but at GuilFest consistently over the past few years moving higher up the bill on each occasion.

Some big comedy names and some ageing rock stars may have had to play in Woking or Dorking instead, but for those really keen to see them, these towns are not that far away.
Least we not also forget that the Civic had to close for about two years in any case so that the new one could be built on the same site.