‘A tipping point for the city’: anger in Birmingham as Electric cinema closes

There are growing calls to protect a street in Birmingham that was home to the UK’s first purpose-built repertory theatre, a pub that hosted Black Sabbath’s first gig and the country’s oldest working cinema, with two of the three venues now closed down.

The closure last week of the Electric cinema on Station Street, 114 years after it opened its doors as the first movie theatre in the city, has prompted outrage among residents and claims that it could become a victim of cultural vandalism.

The cinema’s owners have not yet spoken publicly about their decision to close but there are concerns it could be linked to a potential redevelopment of the Station Street area into a 50-storey apartment block.

More than 15,000 people have signed a petition calling for the street to be saved and designated “a site of civic pride, cultural value and historic asset”, while Historic England has confirmed it is considering an application to list the cinema, giving it protected status.

“The whole street, essentially, is like having the BFI, historic West End and the Cavern Club all on the same 200-metre stretch. The stuff that’s come out of there has changed the country,” said Darren John, 37, a Birmingham resident who started the petition to save the street.

“I think the Electric closing has been a tipping point for the city. It’s such a jewel in the crown for Birmingham, and to lose the whole street would just be devastating. It’s so rare to get music, theatre and film all on the same street like this.”

The art-deco cinema was brought back to life by new owners after the Covid lockdown, the latest chapter in its history, which included showing silent movies with a piano backing in the 1920s, rolling newsreels and cartoons in the 30s, adult films in the 60s, and blockbusters in the 80s.

Ian Francis, who runs the annual Flatpack film festival, which often held events at the Electric, said its loss would be “huge”.

“It has remained hugely well-loved by people of the city because of all those layers of history. It has been showing films on the same site for 114 years, which is pretty extraordinary,” he said. “It basically tells you the whole story of film through one little building.

“The thought of that story ending for a block of flats is horrendous.”

An application to list The Crown pub, six doors down from the Electric, is also being considered. Built in 1881, it is the venue where Black Sabbath played their first gig. Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Status Quo and UB40 also performed there in its heyday.

It is often compared to The Cavern Club in Liverpool, which helped launch the Beatles. “Heavy metal isn’t everyone’s bag but you can’t deny its importance. If it was classical music, it would have been listed 50 years ago,” said John.

Having sat empty since 2014, the arts organisation Birmingham Open Media had planned to buy and restore the pub, but the plans fell through in February when it lost the financial backing of Birmingham city council amid its financial crisis and reportedly faced competition from a developer wanting to use the site for housing.

The Old Rep Theatre, three doors to the left of the Electric, was built in 1913 as the UK’s first purpose-built repertory theatre and has listed status so cannot be demolished.

“The Old Rep isn’t for the chopping block because it’s Grade-II listed but obviously if you’re putting up a massive tower block that is going to have an impact on the wider area,” said John.

Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands, said the closure of the Electric had acted as a “lightning rod for people’s deep concerns about the future”, and he praised the government for announcing £20m funding for culture in the region in the spring budget.

Birmingham city council said it had not yet received any planning applications for the Station Street site. Francis said any plans for the site were “hearsay at this stage but clearly it is important that we begin to articulate an alternative vision for the renewal of Station Street”.

The owners of the Electric have been contacted for comment.