The Coronet
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The Coronet is large live music and night-club venue with a 2,200 capacity located in Elephant and Castle, south central London, England.
The historic venue has been a centre of public entertainment since the early 19th century where it has enjoyed various incarnations as a music hall, a theatre, and from the early 20th century, a Frank Matcham designed 3,100 seat cinema with revolving steam driven organ. The venue is also said to have played host to Charlie Chaplin's stage debut.
In the 1950s, the cinema made headlines when the manager exhibited the Bill Haley and the Comets movie Rock Around the Clock and the youthful audience ran riot. In 1966, with the onset of twinning, the Elephant and Castle Cinema was acquired by ABC Cinemas and split into a complex of three cinemas and also a luxury lounge was introduced. The first film to be exhibited was Bonnie and Clyde in 1966. The ABC Elephant and Castle was renamed, Canon and subsequently acquired by the Coronet chain and closed in 1999.
In 2002, a theatre producer and entrepreneur, Dominic Madden bought The Coronet as a derelict building and subsequently brought the venue back to its celebrated and original 1920s decor, removing the cinema complex, reintroducing the upper-gallery design and removing the rake floor. Following a reputed £3m refurbishment, The Coronet was launched in April 2003 as a multi-media nightclub but in June 2003 the incumbent nightclub management company, Heaven (nightclub) were replaced by a team led by Simon Parkes, the founder of Brixton Academy as Managing Director. The venue has hosted many popular live music artists including Justin Timberlake, Blur, Primal Scream, The Libertines, Macy Gray and Placebo. The venue continues to operate nightclub and live music events and recently hosted a 'Gay Shame' and 'Lost Vagueness' party.
The Coronet is located at 28 New Kent Road.
