Interview: Civic Hall Events Manager Mark Blackstock discusses plans for refurbishment

The Wolverhampton venue has been closed since last December for a £14.4 million facelift to expand capacity, enabling the city to attract a wider range of acts.

So far the bulk of the work has involved hauling out piles of asbestos and rewiring, but over the coming months the Civic and its sister venue the Wulfrun will see stages extended and new balconies and bars fitted.

It marks the next chapter in the history of what Mark reckons is the oldest rock 'n' roll hall in Europe.

"We're basically setting the place up for the next 100 years," says Mark. "There have been shows on here since the 1930s, but to keep something working you always have to move forward.

"We'll have capacity for 2,500 seated and 3,500 standing, which will make a big difference to the types of events we can stage and puts us ahead of the competition.

"We have put ourselves in a unique selling place, with a venue right in the middle of the city centre capable of attracting different types of shows."

Mark says the new facilities will prove attractive to big selling pop acts, as well as the staple rock bands. And there will still be room for the more quirky events, such as the bizarrely popular vegan festivals.

Despite the overhaul, 57-year-old Mark says he was keen for the halls to continue to host events before they fully reopen in March 2018.

"I didn't want us to lose the rhythm of the place," he says.

"We've kept on booking shows and tried to make sure the Civic is still in the public eye. Part of the battle is making sure people know we are still around."

The biggest piece of work up to now has seen a new state of the art ceiling installed in the Civic, partly because the old glass one did not meet modern safety standards, but also to improve the sound quality in the hall.

It features an acoustic treatment that Mark says will provide a 'bang on' sound when live music returns to the hall.

He claps his hands in an effort to prove the point. "You hear that?" he says.

"Acoustically it is excellent, better than ever, which is something that artists value when they look at playing venues."

Mark arrived at the Civic in 1988 with, in his words, a worthless degree, a couple of years with Top Rank bingo and stints booking events in Harlow and Cheltenham.

Since then he and his team, including Wolverhampton-born Phil Turner, have transformed the Civic from a run down shell with a raggedy old carpet to a staple venue on the UK gig circuit.

"It was very quiet," says Mark, recalling his early days at the venue. "There hadn't been a band on for ages and I remember walking in and thinking how terrible it smelt.

"We knew we had a job on our hands."

His first big gig was The Proclaimers, and within months the Civic was back on its feet, hosting a regular flow of well attended shows.

"There's no big secret," says Mark, explaining how he turned the tide.

"The only reason promoters come is to make money. If the turnout is low and the cash is down they will never come back.

"So my job was simple. Give them a venue that the bands liked, get the right shows in and everyone makes money. And for a while everyone made an awful lot of money."

Things started to slow down in 2001 when the venue's main promoters opened the Academy in Birmingham. It was direct competition, but by then the Civic still had established the now legendary club nights Cheeky Monkey and Blast Off.

"The discos bridged the gap and kept us ticking over at a time when we weren't getting as many shows as we had done in the early 1990s," says Mark.

"We rode it out and slowly but surely we started getting the bands back."

Mark and Phil could talk all day about the 'magic moments' they have witnessed among the thousands of gigs over the years.

"Jerry Lee Lewis was incredible, even though we couldn't get near him," Mark says.

"And then we had Chuck Berry. He wanted paying in cash. I handed him about £20,000 and he sat there and counted every note in front of me, Queen's head up in rows!

"Beautiful South always put on fantastic shows, then you have the club nights. We're a council-owned venue that has put on discos that have seen more than a million people come through the doors. I'm quite proud of that."

Mark's role has expanded over the years and he now oversees events at Bantock House and the Art Gallery among other city institutions.

He loves his job. It's one of the main reasons that despite several offers to go and work his magic elsewhere he has stayed on at the Civic.

"I also love Wolverhampton," he adds with a big smile.

"After all these years I still enjoy coming into work everyday and building on what we have already achieved here. The people who come here have an affinity with the place. Some met their partners here and for many it's a place of great memories, even if they haven't been here for 10 years!

"It has never been a hard sell persuading bands to come and play. They love it and often request the Civic as part of their tours.

"This is a special place and we are fortunate to get a lot of freedom from the council to run it the way we choose."

For now its full steam ahead, with the Civic set to temporarily open next Saturday for the Garage Gathering, and numerous other shows planned before the turn of the year, including The Specials, Al Murray and the Blast Off 20th Birthday Bash.

And another of the Civic's biggest success stories, The Grand Slam of Darts, is back in November. "We can't wait," says Mark. "The extra seats will make it so much more of a bear pit and the atmosphere will be even better than usual."

By Pete Madeley