Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 03/07/2026 01:32:00

The building once contained an ice rink, a casino, a dozen bars and a ballroom with an illuminated ceiling - the cinema is the only piece that survived. The O2 Academy Bristol at 1-2 Frogmore Street occupies the former ABC cinema of the New Bristol Centre, the vast Mecca entertainment complex opened on 17 November 1966. The conversion story runs through decline and revival: the cinema closed in 1997 after three decades of 70mm roadshow presentations, briefly became the superclub Rock in 1999, and reopened in 2001 as the UK's third Academy venue with a sold-out Ocean Colour Scene show. The first years set a high bar: Faithless, Ian Brown and Gorillaz played the opening season, DJ Shadow was joined onstage by Radiohead's Thom Yorke in May 2002, and Massive Attack and Portishead reunited for two 2005 tsunami-relief nights with Robert Plant and Damon Albarn supporting. The main room holds 1,600 standing - or 300 seated cabaret-style - with a 250-capacity balcony bar operating as Academy 2 for smaller shows and a 150-person downstairs bar for receptions, all run by Academy Music Group under O2 sponsorship since January 2009. The alumni list tracks two decades of British indie and beyond: Kings of Leon in 2003, Amy Winehouse, Elbow, Kendrick Lamar, Foals, Arcade Fire and The Libertines have all crossed the Frogmore Street stage. Practical notes: the venue sits in the city centre a short walk from the Hippodrome, the standing floor slopes gently so mid-room sightlines hold up, and club nights keep the building running after gig curfews on weekends. The cinema years left their own mark: the room ran DP70 projectors and a vast curved screen billed by Pathe News as The Cinema of Tomorrow - today, was twinned in 1980 into screens of 411 and 301 seats, and passed through Cannon ownership before ABC listed it among twenty closures in late 1997.