Carling Academy Newcastle

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The Carling Academy Newcastle is the newest music venue in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was opened on October 14, 2005 to an evening headlined by regional band The Futureheads.

The venue was converted from a bingo hall in the summer of 2005 at a cost of four million pounds. Its two-level auditorium has a capacity of almost 2,000 (standing and seating). The venue is operated by the Academy Music Group and sponsored by Carling.

The complex was recently expanded to include a new, smaller, venue dubbed Carling Academy Newcastle 2. This new venue is used for lesser known and up-and-coming acts. The smaller venue has a capacity of 400.

In November 2005 an Ian Brown concert was halted 5 songs into his set after the bouncers noticed a 'strange dip' in the floor. The academy was shut for a brief period whilst work was carried out to make sure the floor didn't collapse^[1]

The venue's fastest selling tickets were the Arctic Monkeys.

As with the rest of the Carling Academies, the venue hosts a Kerrang! Rock Night for under 18s every month.

The venue also currently hosts 'Bulletproof', Newcastle's longest running indie music club night. 'Bulletproof' features guest rock star DJs and live sets at midnight for some of the very best in new and upcoming acts. In previous days, the Bulletproof regulars have been treated to live club sets from Kasabian, Bloc Party, Maximo Park, Hard-Fi and more. The NME even quoted 'Bulletproof' as 'the who's who of bands about to become famous!'.