TOWN HALL COMES HOME AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE

05-10-2007

Homegrown heroes Ruby Turner and Soweto Kinch rocked Birmingham's revamped Town Hall last night when it reopened after a £35 million revamp.

They starred, along with the BBC Big Band and vocalist Cleveland Watkiss, in a rousing performance of Handel's Messiah - repinterpreted as "A Soulful Rendition".

BBC WM's Gospel Show presenter Nicky Tapper gave it her seal of approval, describing the show as "amazing" - a verdict endorsed by a near capacity crowd which was bouncing in the aisles as the performance reached its climax.

It was an affirmative comeback for a building that dates back to 1834, but which has been closed for 11 years.

First impressions of the refit were positive. The sound, in particular, is a marked improvement on what had gone before, and while it's not quite at Symphony Hall's crystalline pitch, it possesses both warmth and clarity.

The view from the circle is certainly impressive, although viewers from the stalls - which isn't raked - might have had a bit more neck craning to do.

There might also be quibbles about the seats, which are arranged in long interconnected rows. Sit next to a fidget, as I did, and could find yourself being forced to rock backwards and forwards in keeping with their motion.

This though is a quibble, because an excellent venue is now back in use after being given a splendid makeover.

As Lord Mayor Randall Brew revealed in his speech, the architects even re-opened a disused quarry in Anglesey to ensure that repairs to the facing of the building matched the original.

We all know that The Beatles and The Stones and many other legends have played the Town Hall, but instead of just having a past it now has a future too.

The refit certainly didn't come cheap, with city taxpayers stumping up £18 million, with the rest coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the EU. On this evidence it was money well spent.

See Pete Millington's pictures of the Town Hall revamp here

Were you there? What do you make of the "new" Town Hall, leave a comment on the Message Board.