Union Concert Hall

The Union Concert Hall is in the East wing of the part of Beit Quadrangle of Imperial College, London, occupied by Imperial College Union. The room is part of the theatre installed within the building. It is home to Imperial College Union Cinema and the Imperial College Dramatic Society, and is a multi-purpose space used by clubs, societies and projects of Imperial College Union. It can also be hired by outside customers.

Queen Heritage

The British band Queen performed their first London gig in the UCH on 18 July 1970, Brian May having been a post-graduate student at Imperial College London. The PRS website quotes May as follows:

The first proper gig we did was at Imperial College in the Union Hall. I remember it very distinctly because I’d seen all sorts of people playing in there. I’d been part of the Entertainment Committee and we booked a group every Saturday night in those days. People like Spooky Tooth and Steamhammer! We booked Jimi Hendrix too. So for us it was a dream come true to actually play on that stage. It used to get packed in there so it was a major stepping stone for us.

Venue facilities

The theatre has a number of facilities available to users including installation throughout of Ethernet and DMX, a Service Loop and a large scaffold tower. The stage is raised from the floor level of the hall, and extends up two storeys, including a fly gallery with many fly-bars and electrically operated lighting bars.

Additionally, a large amount of equipment is owned and hired out by the Imperial College Dramatic Society which is available to people who book the hall.

The Hall also contains a large cinema screen which can be raised and lowered for the purpose of screening films. This is used by Imperial Cinema.

References

External links

• Imperial College Union Cinema
• Club, Society & Project A to Z
• Imperial College Dramatic Society (DramSoc)
• Concert Hall page at Beit Conferences, a commercial arm of Imperial College Union