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| {{Short description|Former cinema and theatre in London}}
| | #REDIRECT [[w:Paris Theatre]] |
| {{About|the theatre in London|other uses|Paris Theater (disambiguation)}}
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| {{Use British English|date=February 2020}}
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| {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
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| {{Infobox venue
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| |name = Paris Theatre
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| |former names = Paris Cinema (1939{{endash}}1940)
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| |image =
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| |image_size =
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| |image_alt =
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| |caption =
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| |address = 12 Lower [[Regent Street]]
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| |location = [[London]], England
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| |pushpin_map = United Kingdom Central London
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| |coordinates = {{coord|51.5084|-0.1334|type:landmark_region:GB-WSM|display=inline,title}}
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| |architect = Robert Cromie
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| |owner = [[BBC]]
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| |tenant =
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| |operator =
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| |capacity = < 400
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| |type = [[Radio studio]]
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| |opened = {{start date|1939|04|df=y}}
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| |renovated = 1946
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| |yearsactive = 1946{{endash}}1995
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| |rebuilt =
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| |closed = {{end date|1995|df=y}}
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| |demolished =
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| |othernames = Paris Studios
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| |production = [[Radio comedy]], [[Concert]]s
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| |currentuse = [[Fitness club]]
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| |website =
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| }}
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| The '''Paris Theatre''' (also known as the '''Paris Studios''') was originally a cinema located at 12 [[Regent Street|Lower Regent Street]] in central London which was converted into a studio by the [[BBC]] for radio broadcasts requiring an audience. It was used for several decades by the BBC as the main venue for comedy programmes broadcast on [[BBC Radio 2|BBC Radios 2]] and [[BBC Radio 4|4]].<ref name=Sumner>{{cite journal |last=Sumner |first=James |title=A history of contemporary radio comedy |journal=Radiohaha |date=February 1999 |url=https://www.angelfire.com/pq/radiohaha/history.html |access-date=2008-04-12}}</ref>
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| The venue had a capacity of under 400 and a stage roughly twelve inches from the floor, giving it an intimate feeling helpful for radio comedy with an audience.<ref>Dave Lewis, ''Led Zeppelin: The 'Tight But Loose' Files'', 14</ref> Shows recorded there included panel game shows such as ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue]]'',<ref>''[https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/clue/article/ I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue]'' history, Bbc.co.uk</ref> comedy such as ''[[Hi Gang! (radio series)|Hi Gang!]]'', ''[[List of Dad's Army radio episodes|Dad's Army]]'', ''[[The Goon Show]]'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Milligan |first1=Spike |title=The Goon Show Scripts |date=1974 |publisher=Sphere Books |location=Australia |isbn=0-7221-6079-8}}</ref> ''[[Don't Stop Now - It's Fundation]]'' and non-audience shows such as ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.douglasadams.com/cgi-bin/mboard/info/thread.cgi?9515,10 |title=Archived copy |access-date=12 May 2011 |archive-date=26 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126202531/https://www.douglasadams.com/cgi-bin/mboard/info/thread.cgi?9515,10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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| In addition to comedy, the BBC recorded many of the dramatical broadcasts by [[Raymond Raikes]] as well as by musical artists including acts such as [[AC/DC]], [[Badfinger]],<ref>''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey0ZaLiOCxM Badfinger-BBC In Concert]'', [[YouTube]]</ref> [[the Beatles]],<ref>Image of exterior at ''[http://www.moosenet.com/beatles/beatbbc1.html The Beatles at the BBC]''</ref> [[David Bowie]], Leonard Cohen 1968, [[Shakin' Stevens]], [[Family (band)|Family]], [[Streetwalkers]], [[Jeff Beck]], [[Deep Purple]], [[Slade]], [[Hawkwind]], [[Status Quo (band)|Status Quo]], [[Sad Café (band)|Sad Café]], [[Dr. Feelgood (band)|Dr. Feelgood]], [[Mahavishnu Orchestra]], [[Fleetwood Mac]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[James Taylor]], [[Joni Mitchell]], [[Weather Report]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[Nazareth (band)|Nazareth]], [[Barclay James Harvest]], [[Rod Stewart]], [[Simple Minds]], [[the Screaming Blue Messiahs]], [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]], [[Ultravox]], [[the Pretenders]] and [[The Wailers (1963-1974 band)|the Wailers]]. Some of these performances were recorded in front of live studio audiences as part of the ''In Concert'' and ''[[Sounds of the Seventies]]'' series, and several of these acts have subsequently released tapes of sessions recorded at the studio, such as Led Zeppelin's ''[[BBC Sessions (Led Zeppelin album)|BBC Sessions]]'' album.<ref name=Sumner/> It was also the London home of the BBC's ''Radio 1 Club'' in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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| The Paris Theatre closed in 1995, being replaced by the [[BBC Radio Theatre]] in [[Broadcasting House]]. The closure was marked with a commemorative concert and broadcast of the last show ever to be recorded at the theatre, namely the final show in series two of ''The Skivers''.<ref name=Sumner/><ref>{{Cite episode|series=The Skivers|title=Spike Milligan|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0080rd1|access-date=2020-05-14|network=[[BBC Radio 4]]|date=1995-03-02|number=5|series-no=2|time=45 seconds|quote=Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last ever Radio 4 show to be recorded at the Paris Studio.}}</ref>
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist}}
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| ==External links==
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| *{{BBC Online|id=historyofthebbc/buildings/paris-studios|title=Paris Studios|description=,{{nbsp}}from the ''History of the BBC''}}
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| {{Authority control}}
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| [[Category:BBC offices, studios and buildings]]
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| [[Category:Theatres in London]]
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| [[Category:History of radio in the United Kingdom]]
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| [[Category:Local mass media in London]]
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| [[Category:Recording studios in London]]
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