The Assembly Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa is a beautiful town with a lot of night life, however for too long it didn’t have a large capacity, live music venue. Groups were confined to local pubs that had the space and the enthusiasm to host a live band.
This has thankfully changed! For the past 12 months Leamington Spa has a brand new live music venue called the Assembly. Although the venue is new, the building is not – it’s a beautiful 1926 Art Deco construction that has been lovingly restored by its new owners.
The theme of the interior design has been taken from the statue of a lady that has stood on top of the building since the 1920′s. When I talk about this to other Leamington residents, many of them are not aware of the statue. The Assembly is in a narrow road, and to see the statue you have to crane your neck back.
I have always been a star gazer, so looking up comes naturally to me. Since childhood I have been fascinated by the Assembly statue. I used to go to Saturday Morning pictures at the nearby Clifton Cinema, Spencer Street, in the 1960′s.
I spent my 1/6 pocket money (7.5 new pence) on sixpence for the bus fare, sixpence for the cinema, and sixpence for a bag of monkey nuts. When I was eating the monkey nuts I always gazed up with admiration at the statue on top of the Assembly.
The recent renovation designed by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, has the statue featured in the carpets, the wallpaper and in stained glass windows. The result is probably the best 1,000 capacity, live music venue, in the UK.
Marathon Runner, Drinker and Artist, Blogging for Pleasure and Profit.
I recommend seeing ‘Bellowhead’ when they come to Assembly. Very different group and enteraining folk group.
Thanks for the tip Pandora. Will you be going with Adrian? John[Reply]
Hazel R.
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October 31st, 2011 at 4:02 am
Thanks for the tip Pandora. I will definitely look them up when I go there.
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John McNally
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November 2nd, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Bellowhead are brilliant Hazel, well worth a visit next time they come to Leamington Spa. Pandora was right, they put on a great show.
John
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Hi John. the Assembly really has an old feel construction but my heart still skip a beat every time I see it. I specially love their interiors perfect for watching live bands and having a great time with your buddies. The statue of the lady indeed can be seen almost everywhere.
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John McNally
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November 2nd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Hello Hazel, good to meet another Assembly fan. I hear that it’s not only great for the audience, the bands love it as well because they have a large stage room for themselves.
If you ever go to a sell-out concert, my tip for getting a good view of the band is to go up on the balcony. It has its own bar as well.
John
Leamington Spa
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