West Runton Pavilion History

West Runton Pavilion was a popular music venue on the North Norfolk coast. In its heyday they hosted concerts by many of the top bands of the time.

The Pavilion, originally a sports hall began hosting dance during the Second World War, and the venue became known as the North Norfolk Pavilion. In the early days the music was provided by a collection of military bands.

In 1960's 1970's and early 1980's pop groups took over the main entertainment nights at the Pavilion. Many bands liked to use the venue for practise as the acoustics were so good.

The venue, which was a long way off the beaten track, proved to be an ideal place for groups wanting to try out new material before embarking on UK tours. It was also difficult to reach for music journalists, so groups could warm-up in a safe and unusual environment. The opening of the Pavilion also coincided with the explosion of Punk Rock and many of the new bands played there including - most notably - The Sex Pistols. In fact, the venue hosted many of the biggest names in rock, punk and new wave at the time.

Sadly the venue was demolished in 1986, but there is a Blue Plaque on the wall of the Village Inn to commemorate it.

Some of the highlights of past Pavilion shows include:

• The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees
• AC/DC, Curved Air
• XTC , Def Leppard
• Elvis Costello, Darts
• Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden
• Joy Division, Motorhead
• The Clash, Echo and the Bunnymen
• T-Rex, King Crimson
• Slade, Blue Oyster Cult
• Jeff Beck, The Jam
• The Damned, The Pretenders
• UB40, Undertones
• Stiff Little Fingers, The Sex Pistols
• Dire Straits, The Commodores
• Stranglers, Chuck Berry
• The Rubettes, Boomtown Rats
• Wishbone Ash, Hot Chocolate
• Bad Manners, Hawkwind
• Duran Duran, Manfred Mann