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The O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire (formerly BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally built in 1903 as a music hall, but in 1953 it became the BBC Television Theatre.〔BBC handbook British Broadcasting Corporation - 1961 "In 1953 the old Shepherds Bush Empire was acquired mainly for the production of light entertainment shows."〕 Since 1991, it has operated as a music venue. It is a Grade II Listed Building. ==History== The Shepherd's Bush Empire was built in 1903 for impresario Oswald Stoll, designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham.〔Denny, p.93〕 Ashly's Circus performed at Shepherd's Bush Empire and presented to George Strong a trophy for riding The Bucking Mule "Sloper' on 8 September 1905. The first performers at the new theatre were The Fred Karno Troupe including Charlie Chaplin (1906). The Empire staged music-hall entertainments, such as variety performances and revues, until the early 1950s, by which time the popularity of these forms of entertainment was declining.〔(''Venue History'' ) (Official site) accessed 19 August 2008〕 During World War II, the Shepherd's Bush Empire narrowly escaped being hit by a flying bomb, which in 1944 hit the neighbouring Shepherd’s Bush Pavilion, destroying the original interior. The Pavilion did not re-open until 1955.〔(Shepherd's Bush Blog ) Retrieved December 2011〕〔Denny, p.101〕 In 1953, the Empire was sold to the BBC, which put it to use as a television studio–theatre, renaming it the BBC Television Theatre.〔 Among the programmes produced there were ''Crackerjack'', ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'', ''That's Life!'', ''The Generation Game'', ''Juke Box Jury'', ''This is Your Life'', ''Jim'll Fix It'', most of the BBC's light entertainment music shows, such as those starring Cliff Richard, Lulu, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Shirley Bassey, Vera Lynn, Harry Secombe, Petula Clark, as well as the UK's Eurovision Song Contest preliminary heat, ''A Song For Europe''. In 1985, the theatre was turned over for exclusive use by ''Wogan'', which was broadcast three nights a week from the theatre.〔(''Unofficial History of Shepherds Bush Empire as BBC Television Theatre'' ) accessed 19 August 2008〕 The BBC vacated the building in 1991. It was taken over again, this time in 1993 by the entrepreneur Andrew Mahler, who invested over £1m in the building in improvements and refurbishments.〔 In 1994 the building re-opened under its original name of the Shepherd's Bush Empire, since when it has hosted gigs and dance nights.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shepherd's Bush Empire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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