Hammersmith Apollo is a landmark live entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, originally opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema and designed in an Art Deco style. It later became widely known as Hammersmith Odeon, and it has operated under several sponsorship-era names, including Labatt’s Apollo, Carling Apollo, and HMV Apollo; today it is branded as Eventim Apollo. The building is Grade II* listed and remains one of the city’s best-known mid-sized halls, used for concerts across many genres as well as other live events.
Live at Hammersmith Odeon by Black Sabbath documents the band’s Mob Rules-era line-up with Ronnie James Dio. It was recorded across three consecutive nights (31 December 1981 to 2 January 1982) at the venue during the Mob Rules tour and was released in 2007 as a limited edition release. The set is often noted for capturing songs from that period in a dedicated live-album form, including tracks that had not previously appeared on an official live release.
Beast over Hammersmith by Iron Maiden was recorded at the venue on 20 March 1982, during the band’s “Beast on the Road” touring cycle. Although it was recorded in 1982, it was first released much later (2002) as part of the Eddie’s Archive box set, with the audio co-produced and mixed for release by Steve Harris and Doug Hall. The recording is closely tied to the period around The Number of the Beast era, capturing that setlist and line-up at a key point in the band’s early rise.
Live After Death by Iron Maiden was recorded during the World Slavery Tour and combines performances from the US and London. While much of the double album comes from Long Beach Arena in California, the final side includes tracks recorded during the band’s run at the venue on 8, 9, 10, and 12 October 1984. This makes the venue an integral part of one of the best-known live releases in classic heavy metal, preserving the atmosphere of the London shows within the wider tour document.
Live… in the Heart of the City by Whitesnake draws on recordings made at the venue in both 1978 and 1980. The album was released in 1980 and presents early Whitesnake in a live setting, with the sessions credited specifically to performances at the Hammersmith Odeon during those years. Its multi-date approach means it functions as a broader snapshot of the band’s formative live identity, rather than a single-night souvenir.
Live… In the Still of the Night by Whitesnake was recorded at the venue on 20 October 2004 and released in 2006, with both audio and video formats. It captures Whitesnake in their 2000s touring configuration, presenting a modern-era document of the band in a hall long associated with British hard rock history. The release is frequently linked to the band’s live reputation, combining stage production and performance in a dedicated concert recording.
Live in London, Hammersmith Apollo 1993 by Dio was recorded at the venue on 12 December 1993 and released in 2014 by Eagle Rock Entertainment across CD, DVD, and Blu-ray formats. The concert took place on the band’s European tour in support of Strange Highways and features a set that mixes material from that album with classics from Dio’s catalogue and selections associated with Ronnie James Dio’s wider career. As an official release built around a complete filmed performance, it provides a time-capsule of Dio’s early-1990s live era in one of London’s best-known rock rooms.
Live at the Hammersmith Odeon by Nuclear Assault is a thrash-metal live document recorded at the venue in April 1989, later issued as an official release in the early 1990s. It preserves the band in their late-1980s form and is commonly treated as a representative snapshot of their live intensity from that period. The venue credit places the recording within the long tradition of heavy music releases captured on the Hammersmith stage.
Alice Cooper: Brutally Live documents Alice Cooper’s concert at the venue on 19 July 2000, during the period when it operated under the sponsored name Labatt’s Hammersmith Apollo. The release came out later in 2000 as a concert DVD, and it was later reissued with an accompanying audio CD edition of the soundtrack.
Life is a double live album released in 1983, recorded during Thin Lizzy’s farewell tour and credited principally to performances at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. The album also includes recordings from other shows (including Galway), and it is structured as a broad farewell-era document rather than a single-night recording.
Riot Live is a full-length live album by Riot that draws on UK recordings from 1980, including performances captured at the Hammersmith Odeon on 19–20 April 1980, as well as material recorded at the Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington Park on 16 August 1980. Although recorded in 1980, it was first issued years later (initially as a Japan release) and is commonly treated as a snapshot of the band’s early live era.
Live at Hammersmith by Twisted Sister was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on 15 June 1984 and released as a live album in 1994. The recording captures Twisted Sister in their mid-1980s breakthrough period, presented as a complete concert set rather than a compilation of multiple dates.
Live from the Dark is a concert DVD built around Europe’s show at the venue on 15 November 2004, during the period when it was branded as the Hammersmith Apollo (also seen in listings from that era as Carling Apollo). The release came out in 2005 and is presented as a full filmed performance, with a second disc of tour-related bonus material in standard editions.
Live and Dangerous is Thin Lizzy’s best-known live album, released in June 1978, and it is partly recorded at Hammersmith Odeon (as the venue was known at the time). The album credits the Hammersmith Odeon show on 14 November 1976 as one of its principal sources, alongside recordings from Toronto in October 1977, with additional live recordings from Philadelphia in October 1977 also used. The finished release was compiled and produced with Tony Visconti, with overdubs and mixing completed in Paris in January 1978, giving it a “best of the tapes” approach rather than a single-night document.
No Sleep ’til Hammersmith is Motörhead’s first live album, released in 1981, and it is closely associated with the band’s breakthrough peak in the UK (it reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart). Despite the title, the album was not recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon/Apollo. The name is a reference to the Hammersmith Odeon as a major London rock venue and a familiar end-point for many UK tours, but Motörhead did not play it on the Short Sharp Pain in the Neck tour that supplied most of the recordings. The core of the album was captured at Queen’s Hall in Leeds (28 March 1981) and Newcastle City Hall (29–30 March 1981), with “Iron Horse/Born to Lose” taken from a 1980 performance.
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