The Carling Academy Birmingham is a music venue in Dale End, Birmingham, England that is run by the Academy Music Group. The city from above Centenary Square. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked... Academy Music Group (or AMG) is a leading owner operator of music venues in the United Kingdom. ...

In the 1980s and early 1990s, it was known as the 'Hummingbird,' and occupies the site of the former Rank Ballroom. The venue was reopened as the Birmingham Academy (in the same group of venues including the Brixton Academy) in late 2000, early gigs including Richard Ashcroft and locals Ocean Colour Scene. Around 2 years after this was then rebranded under The "Carling" name, at this point the venue stopped serving the larger "Red Stripe" on tap and all the bars switched to selling Carling and Carling Extra Cold. MacGyver - 1980s hero The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... Richard Ashcroft performing at Live 8, with Chris Martin of Coldplay in the background Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971, in Billinge, Wigan, England) is best known as the lead singer of The Verve, which he helped form in 1989. ... Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are a rock band from Birmingham, England. ...

It should not be confused with the Academy at the NIA, which is the name given to the nearby NIA when it hosts music events. The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is the seventh largest exhibition centre in Europe, located in Solihull, near Birmingham, England. ...

The venue features two performance areas. The main section is a larger venue for established acts and holds around 2700 people. It is below street level and surrounded by a mezzanine style balcony level. Upstairs, there is a smaller room known as the 'Academy 2', which hosts smaller bands playing to audiences of around 400. Both rooms are standing only. The building contains 5 bars, one in the Acadmey 2 one on the Mezzanine level and three downstairs including the large "island" bar. It also has hidden by the ladies toliets upstairs, a private VIP bar. On certain nights of the week plays host to alternative music based club nights including the renowned "Ramshackle" on Friday nights from 10.30 until 04.00 and "Subculture" on a Saturday night. Ramshackle plays mainly music from the indie genre such as Razorlight, while Subculture tends to play harder rock such as Trivium. There is also a monthly record and CD fair that takes place in the venue. The premises immediately next door to the Carling Academy were bought by the Academy Music Group in 2001 and opened as 'Bar Academy,' a small bar on two floors, with a stage upstairs for live music. It is also regularly used for after show parties following gigs in the main Carling Academy. It also has its own regular club nights, including "Cold Rice." In popular music, indie music (from independent) is any of a number of genres, scenes, subcultures and stylistic and cultural attributes, characterised by perceived independence from commercial pop music and mainstream culture and an autonomous, do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. ... Razorlight is an Anglo-Swedish band formed in the summer of 2002 around 22 year old singer/writer Johnny Borrell. ... ...

Ajoining the venue is the Priory Square shopping centre, the most notable part of which is the Oasis indoor market, home to a number of independent alternative clothing, jewellery and general paraphernalia sellers. The entire complex (including the Academy) is scheduled for demolition and redevelopment in the near future. Whether the Carling Academy is to be part of these plans remains to be seen.

External links

• official website
• Carling Academy Birmingham page