History
This Grade II listed building adjacent to Leicester Square was originally built in 1900 for Moss Empires Limited at a cost of £250,000 by renowned Victorian theatre architect Frank Matcham. A grand building with a monumental sandstone exterior, skeleton dome and rearing chariot horses on the roof, it was intended to combine a circus, a water spectacle and a music hall all in one venue, and the central circus area could be flooded with 100,000 gallons of water; not surprisingly a series of water shows were staged, some with live polar bears and even elephants!
During the next half century The Hippodrome staged a large number of world leading performances, revues, plays and musical comedies. For example, it was here that Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake was first danced in England by the Russian Ballet in 1910. 1912 saw the launch of the famous Albert de Courville revues (including the legendary Irving Berlin). Later, in 1945, Ivor Novello and Margaret Rutherford performed 'Perchance to Dream'. 'Starlight Roof' also showed, featuring a 12 year old Julie Andrews in her stage debut. In 1951 it hosted the Folie Bergere Revue.
The Hippodrome was completely refurbished in 1957 by Charles Forte who demolished most of the original interior to convert it into the pioneering cabaret restaurant The Talk of the Town, where guest performers include legends such as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr, Eartha Kitt, Englebert Humperdink, Shirley Bassey, Val Doonican, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, Lulu, Matt Monro, Cliff Richard, Stevie Wonder, Sacha Distel and Neil Sedaka.
In 1983 the premises were converted into a discotheque by Peter Stringfellow and it has since changed hands several times among nightclub operators. During this period Thames TV ran a show called 'Live From The Hippodrome'. The premises closed in 2005 when the current operator’s license was withdrawn.