Inside Britain's strangest theatre where there are secret tunnels, Bruce Forsyth's ashes and Beatlemania began
Who new one building could hold so many secrets.
In 1963 the Beatles were speedily becoming one of the biggest bands on the British music scene. Their first LP, Please Please Me, was out, the group had toured the UK three times in the first half of the year, and their fourth single, She Loves You, sold three-quarters of a million copies in under four weeks.
It was this rising acclaim that led the foursome to appear on Sunday Night at the London Palladium, the country's top variety show which regularly pulled in 15–18 million people per week. Compèred by a then-35-year-old Bruce Forsyth, the group performed three songs, From Me To You, I'll Get You and She Loves You, but as Paul McCartney went to announce their final number, Twist and Shout, the frenzy and screaming reached such a pitch Lennon ended up telling the crowd to "shut up" – a sentiment applauded by the older members of the audience.
The next day, endless front pages were filled, not with the band's calibre, but with commentary on the intense hysteria from fans. Some papers went so far as to use the term 'Beatlemania', and the rest, as they say...
Stranger still, is that for some venues this moment would be the crowning glory of its history, the moment that earns the spot in museums, but for the London Palladium? Just another feather in its glitzy, sequinned cap.
The truth is the Palladium is one of London's most bizarre spaces, with some of the most famous names of every generation donning its posters. Just last year it made headlines again, as Rachel Zegler's Evita went viral for being performed on the theatre's external balcony. Every night the actress sang Don't Cry for me Argentina to thousands of descamisados (the show's term for the crowd) who gathered outside.
Director Jamie Lloyd shared in an exclusive chat with Radio Times that he stumbled upon this huge occasion by accident, saying: "I actually came up with that balcony moment not long before rehearsals, to be honest, and it was only because I was walking past the Palladium and saw the balcony and thought, 'how can I resist?'"
The ornate Grade II listed building sits on the West End's Argyll Street, on land that once belonged to the Dukes of Argyll. In the 1800s, the first Earl of Aberdeen lived there until his death, when the building was demolished to build wine cellars on the site. In 1968, the Argyll Arms pub was built next door and rumour has it that the two buildings had a secret tunnel connecting them.
The theatre itself, designed by Frank Matcham, opened on Boxing Day 1910 with the first ‘grand variety bill’, which brought in a range of performers from illusionists, to classical actors to musicians of all genres. Throughout the 1920s and '30s it held the attention of thousands of visitors, through iconic acts like British comedians known as the Crazy Gang, and a slew of jazz legends Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway and Fats Waller.
In 1935, the Palladium was used to film the climax of Hitchcock's spy thriller, The 39 Steps, and in 1941 its roof was ripped open by an unexploded German parachute mine, yet that didn't stop it reopening that same year with performances from Max Miller, Vera Lynn and Laurel and Hardy.
It was in the '50s, however, that the venue earned its name as the 'home of variety' with the first broadcast of Sunday Night at the London Palladium. Launched by Val Parnell in the same week as the UK's second-ever TV channel, ITV, began, the show spotlighted some of the biggest artists and entertainers from around the globe.
In its heyday, the show was known for an opening chorus line from the Tiller Girls, the mini game show Beat the Clock, and the entire cast lining up on the rotating stage to frantically grin and wave at the crowd – something the Rolling Stones refused to do in 1967 as it went against their edgier image. Also among the programme's famous faces was Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr, Bob Hope and Cliff Richard.
In 1958, Bruce Forsyth took over hosting and ushered the programme into a new golden era, loved for his catchphrase, “I’m in charge" to keep the acts in check. His episode in January 1960, featuring Cliff Richard and the Shadows reached an audience of more than 20million, making it one of ITV's most watched programmes to date.
Forsyth's affiliation with Palladium would go on to last a lifetime. In 2015, he returned to perform his one-man show at the Palladium for the final time. After his death in 2017 his ashes were buried under the Palladium's stage with a blue plaque reading: "without question the UK's greatest entertainer.
"He rests in peace within the sound of music, laughter and dancing... exactly where he would want to be."
Aside from variety, the other great love of the Palladium's life is panto. Throughout the '30s, '40s, and '50s, the theatre regularly held the country's biggest pantomimes. The likes of Julie Andrews, Max Bygraves, Norman Wisdom, Cliff Richard and Cilla Black all appeared in various states of ginormous, feathered dress. One show, the 1954 version of Mother Goose, starred Peter Sellers and was scripted by Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan.
This tradition however went quiet over the latter years of the 20th century only to return in full force in the 2010s. Michael Harrison, who can only be described as the world's most prolific pantomime producer, brought the tradition back to the Palladium's halls in 2016 and has maintained sell-out runs every year since.
Julian Clary and Nigel Havers are regulars every year alongside a string of famous guests such as Catherine Tate, Jane McDonald and this year, French and Saunders. Speaking exclusively to Radio Times last year about the shows Harrison said:
"It's a year round business, we start the prep a year in advance for, you know, the designs of the costumes, the scenery. It's a Victorian tradition that there has to be some kind of big magical moment at the end of Act One, like Cinderella going to the ball, Aladdin in the cave, and you've got to find ways to reinvigorate and reinvent that early."
He continued: "I mean, for London the design and making process of Julian Clary's costume has a bigger budget than some West End shows, you can spend £30-£40,000 on a costume for him.
"Then, sometimes they're so big when he steps out of them they have to be flown up to the grid to get them out of the way because nobody would get past them on the floor."
Plus, just because the Palladium is now used to staging the most elaborate set-pieces doesn't mean it can't still go wrong. "Well, once a bit of scenery dropped on Julian's head," he laughed, "We were doing Aladdin and it was the very first performance. He was supposed to walk to the front of the stage, but he didn't quite do it quick enough and the curtain came down behind him, hit him on the back of the head and took him out – it really hurt him but the audience thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen."
Nowadays, the Palladium is just as formidable as it ever was, staging a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar later this year, and while variety entertainment has slipped away it still plays host to comedians, musicians and all manner of acts, just don't forget who's in charge when you visit.
Make sure you check out some of our best exclusive interviews, like Rachel Zegler on the Evita balcony scene.
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