Excitement as first images reveal inside Wolverhampton's refurbished Civic and Wulfrun halls
Steve Homer was sharing a table at the Pride of Britain awards with Noddy Holder when he got a firm reminder of how just how much people love the Civic halls.
The boss of promoter AEG Presents recalls telling the Slade frontman and all-round Black Country legend that his firm had taken over the running of the 84-year-old venue.
“As soon as I mentioned the Civic Noddy’s eyes lit up,” Mr Homer said. “He told me some of the best moments he’d ever had were playing that venue, which shows you just how important it is, not just to fans but to musicians as well.
“Elvis Costello also loves it. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about that room that builds a really good atmosphere.”
The 57-year-old chief executive from Stourbridge has this week announced that live gigs will finally return to the Civic in June 2023, eight years after the start of a budget-busting revamp that has seen more plot twists than a Hollywood thriller.
Today, the Express & Star can reveal how the inside of the Civic and Wulfrun are now in the final stages of work ahead of completion.
To cut a long story short, what was supposed to be £10m renovation ended up costing nearly five times as much, with the scheme hampered by a succession of delays involving the discovery of asbestos, a contractor going bust and the Covid-19 pandemic, among other issues. Now finally there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The main construction work – including a bigger stage area and a new balcony – is complete, with AEG set to take over the site next month to finish internal renovations to the bars, kitchen, sound and lights systems.
It will still incorporate the Civic, with an expanded standing capacity of 3,404, and the Wulfrun, which will hold 1,289.
The sense of frustration felt by people in the city as a result of the delays is not lost on Mr Homer, whose first gig was The Clash at the Civic as a 15-year-old.
But having been inside the venue to check out the progress in recent weeks he is adamant that the newly-named The Halls Wolverhampton will be worth the wait.
“I absolutely get the frustrations and we have been chomping at the bit to get it open,” Mr Homer told the Star in an interview. “I’m a very impatient person and I wanted to get cracking on it, but things happen, and nothing is ever that straightforward.
“It is unfortunate that we have had so many delays, but it will be worth the wait. I went around the venue a couple of weeks ago and boy was it bloody good.
“The additional balcony has made the room feel very different when you’re up there.
“If you’re on the floor you know you’re in the Civic but from the balcony it is more like being in a theatre – and I was delighted how comfortable the seats were.
“Audiences are going to be presented with what I consider to be the next step. If you imagine what the Civic 2.0 would be like, then you’ve got it in your head.
“It will be an upgraded version of the good bits that people remember about it. I can’t wait for it to open.”
Mr Homer says that being a local lad makes his involvement with the Civic all the more special. He recalls that when travelling into Wolverhampton to get his music fix from Sundown Records, the Civic always loomed large over the region’s music scene.
It was a place where he saw established bands such as The Jam and OMD play seminal shows, but also where up and coming artists would cut their teeth before hitting the big time.
His own journey has taken him from Crestwood School in Kingswinford to Dudley College.
He was an entertainment manager at both Keele and Sheffield universities – where he put on shows by artists including Blur and Nirvana – before a three-year stint at London’s Mean Fiddler saw him put on Eminem’s debut UK tour.
He spent 15 years at Live Nation before joining AEG – one of the biggest entertainment promoters in the world – in 2016.
Having the opportunity to play a pivotal role in the next chapter in the Civic’s history is a real privilege, he said. “We have to remember there’s a whole generation of kids who have grown up not knowing the Civic. But I know that if you have got the right acts then people will come.
“The facilities and the feel of the venue, I think will help to give people an experience they won’t forget.
“Across all our venues we always look to make sure the customer experience is the best possible, and that’s something we aim to continue with the Civic.
“The proof will be in the pudding. I think people who go and see their new favourite band in the Civic will be very impressed and will want to go back.”
The reopening in June will see the Civic plunged into competition with other West Midlands venues such as the 02 Academy in Birmingham. But it is a battle Mr Homer is confident the Civic can win. “In Wolverhampton you can put on a bigger show,” he said.
“Acts will come over from the US and do a limited touring spell in the UK. They will do London, the Midlands, Manchester and Glasgow.
“You play a venue like Hammersmith or Brixton in London, you play Manchester Apollo, you play the Armadillo in Glasgow. All of them have got very big clearances, high ceilings so they can put on a big lighting show with a big stage set.
“I’m sorry, but you just can’t do that in Birmingham. The place where you can do it, with a bigger capacity, is Wolverhampton Civic. It will have all the facilities that the artists will need to do that.
“Availability might stop all of them playing there, but I’m very confident that a lot of those major UK acts and international acts will stop off in Wolverhampton for the first time in a long time.”
Since the reopening was announced many people’s thoughts have turned to which artists will be first to hit the stage.
Mr Homer said he hopes to host a local gala as part of a series of opening shows, with Beverley Knight and Robert Plant set to be sounded out over headlining spots. “I asked Noddy Holder if he’d play opening night,” he said. “He said ‘I’m too old’, but he’ll definitely be coming along to the opening.”
Asked who he’d like to see play personally, he said: “I have my roots very firmly in the Wonder Stuff, Pop Will Eat Itself and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. If I could put a collection of those bands together for an event I’d be a very happy man.
“They are people who I grew up with and used to hang out with. They left a mark on the West Midlands and they’ve all played the Civic before.”
Mr Homer also said ‘one-off’ returns of popular club nights Blast Off! and Cheeky Monkey could be in the offing, while he would not rule out opening a third, smaller venue as part of the operation following the closures of the Little Civic and Slade Rooms.
“At the moment the focus is very much about restoring and bringing the Civic and the Wulfrun back, and to regain that market share in the touring circuit,” he said.
