Pavillon de Paris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Pavillon de Paris was a large concert space in Paris, France, located near the Porte de Pantin Metro stop, on the northern edge of the city. With a seated capacity of approximately 10,000 spectators, the Pavillon was the city's largest indoor music arena throughout its brief operating history from the mid-1970s until 1983.

Many famous rock bands performed at the Pavillon when their tours visited Paris, including AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Neil Young, Earth, Wind & Fire, David Bowie, Iggy Pop Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen and the perennial French rocker, Johnny Halliday.

The industrial-looking building that housed the concert space was previously used by a slaughterhouse and meat-packing business, and the surrounding La Villette area was well known as a traditional meat-packing district. As a result, the Pavillon de Paris was also known colloquially as Les Abattoirs (The Slaughterhouse), and some of the acts who recorded live performances at the Pavillon chose to refer to the venue as the "Abattoirs". For example, the French film-maker Freddy Hausser made a film of The Rolling Stones performing at the Pavillon that is titled Les Stones aux abattoirs (The Stones At The Slaughterhouse).

The Pavillon de Paris was closed in 1983, and Le Zénith was subsequently constructed to replace it.