17 Facts About London Palladium

London Palladium is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho.

Between 1955 and 1969 Sunday Night at the London Palladium was held at the venue, which was produced for the ITV network.

However, the rink failed and the London Palladium was redesigned by Frank Matcham, a famous theatrical architect who designed the Coliseum, on the site that had previously housed Hengler's Circus.

London Palladium had its own telephone system so the occupants of boxes could call one another.

London Palladium revived its fortunes by returning to the original ethos of the Palladium by staging large variety shows, with a capital 'V' – and as well as headlining Britain's homegrown acts he brought over big American stars such as Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, Adelaide Hall, Louis Armstrong and Ethel Waters for two-week engagements.

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London Palladium adopted a controversial, but very successful, policy of presenting high-priced, big-name American acts at the top of the bill.

From 1955 to 1967, the theatre was the setting for the top-rated ITV Network variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium hosted first by Tommy Trinder, followed by Bruce Forsyth, Norman Vaughan, and Jimmy Tarbuck.

London Palladium's actually died in Paris four days after a show there.

The resulting live album Bing Crosby Live at the London Palladium reached No 9 in the UK album charts in November 1977.

In 1981, the cellars of the London Palladium housed a waxworks museum, aptly called "The London Palladium Cellars", headlined by a Yul Bryner live projection automaton, as the cowboy Gunslinger from Westworld.

From 3 May 2000 to 5 January 2002, the London Palladium played The King and I starring Elaine Paige and Jason Scott Lee.

From February 2006, the theatre played host to a new musical production entitled Sinatra At The London Palladium, which featured a live band, large screen projections and dancers performing Frank Sinatra's greatest hits.

On 20 May 2007 the London Palladium hosted the 2007 BAFTA awards, which were broadcast on BBC television, and in 2010 the BAFTA Television Awards returned to the Palladium.

London Palladium turned 100 years old on Boxing Day 2010, and a one-hour television special entitled '100 Years of the Palladium' aired on BBC Two on 31 December 2010.

London Palladium was joined by members of the cast of The Muppet Show, Lily Allen, Rufus Wainwright, his father, a children's choir and a 30-piece orchestra.

Between 26 June and 8 September 2019, the London Palladium staged the 50th Anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

In 2022, the London Palladium served as the venue for the limited West End revival of Beauty and the Beast.