Christian Gates closes the I Believe In Ghosts Tour in three old buildings: on October 13 at The Classic Grand in Glasgow, a circa-1860 warehouse that became a cinema in 1915; October 14 at The Deaf Institute in Manchester, opened in 1878 as an institute for deaf adults; and October 15 at The Garage in Highbury, a London club since 1993. Julia Alexa opens all three.
The dates and tickets are already on the tour page. This piece is about the walls. Each of these rooms had a working life long before anyone plugged in a guitar, and each one now sits at the size where a crowd is close enough to see the singer's face without a screen.
| Date | Room | Built as | Main room holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13 | The Classic Grand, 18 Jamaica Street, Glasgow | Warehouse, circa 1860; cinema from 1915 | 550 (Main Hall) |
| Oct 14 | The Deaf Institute, 135 Grosvenor Street, Manchester | Adult Deaf and Dumb Institute, 1878 | 260 (Music Hall) |
| Oct 15 | The Garage, 20-22 Highbury Corner, London | Music venue since 1993 | 650 |
What was the Classic Grand before it was a venue?
A warehouse. The venue's own history says the building on Jamaica Street went up around 1860, and in 1915 architect William B. Whitie converted it into the Grand Central Cinema. Historic Environment Scotland's listing, which makes it a Category B building, describes a five-storey classical commercial block with an iron frame, polished ashlar and cast-iron balconies, with the cinema inserted from the basement to the second floor.
The screen outlived several owners. The venue lists the names it ran under, Classic-Grand, Cannon-Grand and Curzon, before the cinema closed in 1992. An amusement arcade followed, then a fire in 2001, then a renovation that reopened it as the Classic Grand. The venue says most of its original art deco features survive. The same heritage status is why, by its own note, it still has no wheelchair access. Its Main Hall is listed at 550 capacity and its Lounge at 250.
Was the Deaf Institute really a deaf institute?
Yes, and the name is the history. The Grade II listed building on Grosvenor Street was designed by John Lowe for the Manchester Adult Deaf and Dumb Institute; the listing dates it to 1878 from its central gable, which carries a carved figure of the Good Shepherd. Visit Manchester's history of the building records Bishop Fraser opening it on 8 June 1878, a fire from faulty wiring in 1907 that all 30 members inside escaped, and, after the Blitz destroyed All Saints Church in December 1940, that church's services moving into the Institute's chapel.
The Institute's facilities moved out in 1975 and the building sat empty for years. It reopened in 2008 under the shortened name. The gig room on the top floor is called the Music Hall, a 260-capacity space by the venue's own count, known for an enormous disco ball and a wall of hi-fi speakers.
Why does The Garage matter in Highbury?
Because for three decades it has been the room where London meets a band early. Time Out calls it a mainstay of the city's music scene since 1993 and lists Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Radiohead among the acts it has hosted. The DHP Family, which also runs Oslo in Hackney, owns it now and refurbished the whole venue in 2017; Time Out puts the main room at 650.
When the Islington Tribune covered its 30th birthday plans in 2022, booker Conrad Rogan said archive digging had turned up a flyer showing Arctic Monkeys played their first ever London show there. His summary of the place:
We still champion proper new artists.Conrad Rogan, The Garage, to the Islington Tribune (2022)
Why rooms this size?
At 260 people, nobody is in the back row.
An independent artist with an RIAA Gold single, as Christian Gates is with NUMB, plays rooms on this run where the distance stays short: the fans who show up stand within a few metres of the stage, and an opener gets heard properly. For Julia Alexa, who plays all three UK nights as support, a room like the Music Hall is where a streaming audience turns into faces.
The tour began in Amsterdam on October 4; the Milan date on October 9 was cancelled. The full route is in our tour guide, and where this run sits in his live story is in Christian Gates' tour history. After Thursday in Highbury, the ghosts go back in the walls.