Places features

A piece of rock and roll history was discovered at Sheffield nightclub Kingdom (now Embrace).

While building work was taking place to create a fourth room in the club on Barkers Pool, the club's manager John Dunning discovered that the fab four played one of their last ever gigs on that site, in what was known in those days as The Gaumont.

Barkers Pool in Sheffield, 1968 and 2009

On 8th December 1965 at the height of their fame, The Beatles played Sheffield in a gig which was to be one of their last live performances in the UK.

It is known that they sat in the dressing room before the gig watching one of their favourite television programmes, 'No Hiding Place' before going on stage (rrrrock!)

According to reports they performed an amazing set apart from one hiccup... Paul was hit in his left eye with a pear drop which was thrown from the crowd!

None of this history would have been discovered if it wasn't for the need to build another room at the nightclub Kingdom (in the building of red scaffolding and mirrors which stands on the spot of the former Gaumont) - and during the work the builders informed Kingdom's manager John that they had once played there.

John carried out some research and discovered that in the 1940's The Gaumont was quite a grand operation with a marble staircase, a stage, dressing rooms and even an in-house 25 piece orchestra.

Take a 360 spin around the nightclub as it looked when it was Kingdom. Just click on the link below.

More Sheffield nightclub history...

Gatecrasher (aka the republic) burnt down in June 2007. Take a spin around the cub when it was Republic, and see photos of the fire. Just click on the links below.