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AP Security quick steps into Birmingham Ballroom

After nearly 40 years as a live venue, the landmark white building that dominates Birmingham’s Dale End was recently facing an uncertain future. Happily, following a thorough refurbishment, the beginning of October saw live music return to what is now called the Birmingham Ballroom. Also returning is AP Security, as the revamped venue’s crowd management and safety provider.

The building has had an illustrious, albeit sometimes chequered, career as a live venue. Opened as the Top Rank, later becoming the Hummingbird and the Carling (then O2) Academy, it has hosted many of the most famous rock, pop, punk and urban acts over the years. The O2 Academy moved to a new site two years ago, but new owners have now restored the building to its former glory - including returning the iconic, tile-hung exterior to a spotless finish - opening its doors in early October.

AP Security had supplied its services to the venue back in the early 2000s and so the company’s northern regional manager Simon Miller was already familiar with the site.

"This is my second spell of involvement with this site, although the venue is now much-changed and it’s a completely new team," he says. "I was on site for about three weeks prior to the re-opening, although the planning went back much further. We’ve been closely involved in a number of key areas, including health and safety, how the doors are set up, security positions and so on."

Birmingham Ballroom is actually three venues in one - The Ballroom is the 3000-capacity main space, while in the same part of the building is The Other Room, with a capacity of around 400. The third space is The End, which holds 200 and is in the building next door. The latter opens four nights a week, with the main two spaces opening for around a hundred live gigs a year.

"There are club nights, but it’s mainly live music," says Simon. "It depends on the kind of show as to how many staff we have on - for example, the opening was a reggae night and so we had 38 staff. That can probably be classified as a ‘normal’ night. If there’s a band whose fans are prone to crowd-surfing or has caused issues at other venues, for example, then we will bring in extra staff accordingly."

In contrast, The End only usually needs a few staff. "It’s generally just between one and three staff a night, nothing major," Simon continues. "It’s almost a live music pub, so it’s not like a normal pub which attracts a Friday or Saturday night crowd. It’s designed to attract kids that are into music, rather than drinking being a primary focus. The upstairs floor is a fantastic little concert venue.

"We have a very good, long-term relationship with the owners and I hope that we can build a very successful operation here. Everybody is working really well together," he says.

"It also gives us a base from which to expand our operations in the Midlands and we hope that our success here will demonstrate AP’s commitment to excellence to other operators in the area."

3rd November 2011

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