The Midland Arts Centre is a multi-arts and cultural space set in Cannon Hill Park. It’s played host to thousands of gigs, and still have a live music programme.
Founder, John English who, with his wife Alica (Mollie) Randle and Cllr.(later Sir) Frank Price, created the vision for the Midlands Arts Centre for Children and Young People. Located in Cannon Hill Park Birmingham, the Midlands Arts Centre opened in 1962. In the 1970s the art centre extended its remit to cover the whole community and in 1990 was renamed mac. In 2008 mac closed for a two-year, £15m development and reopened on 1st May 2010.
Tony Robinson cut his teeth directing at MAC in the Sixties. Read Tony Robinson’s memories of the Mac here
Our aim to build a complete list of gigs at the Midland Arts Centre. Here’s a start but we need your help!
Tea & Symphony, Locomotive, Earth 01/09/69
Stackridge 02/05/71
Tea & Symphony 06/05/71
Stackridge, Strife 20/08/71
Joyce 04/08/??
Poster for Joyce gig sent in by Dj and UK Vibe founder Steve Williams and was part of the Sounds in the Round series.
Photo of Roy Harper at the Open Blues Festival sent in by Chris Dommett along with his recollection of Roy; ‘Roy Harper playing in the open at a Blues Festival. Same one as Champion Jack Dupree. Roy was not so good at recovering from drink as Jack though and having falen off the stool a couple of times he had to give up.’
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Sunday 15 August 1971 Arena Theatre
Edgar Broughton Band
Brewers Droop
Tea & Sympathy
Stepmother
This was a free concert (still got the ticket!)
I remember Edgar Broughton (early heavy metal band) and the impressive Tea & Symphony lead by James Langston. I also attended the 1 Sept 1969 concert with Locomotive. A very hippy atmosphere in those days!
In the summer of 84 I put on two shows in the Arena, one with Terry and Gerry headlining, the other with an African band from London. Both times it rained and I barely covered the costs.
Terry & Gerry at Mac, excellent as ever, I seem to recall Blue Rondo a la Turk, Au Pairs, and some others hiding around the corners of my brain. Think I have a poster /flyer somewhere, must learn how to upload stuff.
31st December 1968 Bachdenkel played there with the band Andromeda.
I was a member with a very low number among the first. I ended up teaching pottery and summer courses there while I was doing A levels. I was a Friend of John English there.
Champion Jack Dupree was playing and he asked me where the nearest pub was. I suggested the Valley (?) a medium walk up the road towards the “Zoo” as I recall. It came the time for him to play and there was no sign of him. I guessed where he was and ran off to find him. He was well sloshed and had the whole bar full of white ‘straights’ wondering where the hell he had come from. I helped him stagger back to the MAC and got him on stage where he snapped into totally sober and Bluesman mode. What a transformation.
peter green’s fleetwood mac several times
chicken shack w christine perfect
mark bristow and mates
The 1/9/69 concert also featured the Deviants & a group called Slightly Museum. As Earth apparently changed their name in August 1969, this may have been one of the first gigs under the new moniker-ie Black Sabbath. I’d gone to see the Deviants, all London underground swagger(unpopular in Brum?) with Mick Farren & the excellent Paul Randolph on guitar, & was not particularly impressed by Sabbath.
Saw Roy Harper at Cannon Hill Park on 31st August 1968.. Tea & Symphony and Frosty Moses also played a free open air gig there on 14th June 1969
Sorry, the (ex Social) Deviants’ guitarist was Paul Rudolph. And the London underground scene was not the Tube.
I’ve just learned of the passing of the legendary blues/rock guitarist Peter Green. Which prompted me to recall the time I saw him at the MAC Arena shortly after his departure from Fleetwood Mac. I don’t recall the name of the band he was playing with but after researching on Wikipedia,it seems likely it was with “drummer Godfrey Maclean, keyboardists Zoot Money and Nick Buck, and bassist Alex Dmochowski of The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation.” They were the musicians on Green’s first solo album, The End of the Game, released in December 1970. In my book, Green was right up there with the British guitar greats of the 60s: Clapton, Page, Beck, Townshend, and Blackmore. Later, I’ll be cranking up my Strat and attempting to play one of my favourite, but lesser-known, tracks of his: the sublime B-side blues instrumental simply called Greenie.
I was at this gig. Nick Pentelow, a face on the Birmingham music scene, was a guest musician for part of the show. After playing with people like Roy Wood and Roger Chapman, Nick is now with Andy Fairweather Low and the Low Riders.
I saw Peter Green play there with Nick Pentelow , but don’t remember a backing band. Does anyone know the date of this gig?