Located on the corner of Epsom Road and Jenner Road, The Odeon, Guildford opened on 13th May 1935, with 1,145 seats in the stalls and 478 in the circle.
In the early to mid-60’s it grew in prominence as a music venue, only to be superseded by the Civic Hall, Guildford. In the mid/late ’50s it hosted Big Band Jazz and the next decade saw the Odeon play host to many of the Larry Parnes’ Package Shows and others featuring the likes of Marty Wilde, Tommy Steele, Duffy Power; and Georgie Fame.
On 6 March ’55, Jack Parnell and His Orchestra, with Dennis Hale and Irene Miller were at Odeon and later that year, on 11 September, Ted Heath and his Music was the feature. The Eduard Eady Collection contains a program for 8 April 1956 featuring The Ronnie Scott Orchestra with Tony Crombie and Joey Burnett along with Janie Marden, Robert Earl and Desmond Lane at Odeon, Guildford. A few weeks later on 28 April ’56 Chris Barber’s Jazz Band were at the Odeon Guildford with Ottili Patterson, with Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group in the afternoon and The Eric Delaney Band in the evening. In January and February ’58, Jack Good produced The Six-Five Stage Show, a spin-off live show from The 6.5 Special, which toured the UK, promoted by Harold Fielding. The shows featured performers were joined by a different “local skiffle group” in each venue. Terry Dene visited on 24 November ’57 with The Dene-Aces and Ronnie Aldrich & The Squadronaires. He and The Dene-Aces returned on 16 February ’58 thanks to the 6.5 Special which also presented the Worried Men Skiffle Group, Les Hobeaux Skiffle Group, The Cossacks, Terry Kennedy and his Sidemen, and Wee Willie Harris to Guildford. Jerry Lee Lewis was scheduled to wrap up a UK tour at the Odeon Guildford on 29 June ’58, however bigamy and the age of his new bride didn’t sit well with British audiences and he returned to the US early. He was replaced by the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group and Terry Wayne.
Jimmy Tarbuck compered The Cliff Richard Show on n 11 January ’59; at which Richard was backed by The Drifters (who’d rename themselves The Shadows in July ’59), and supported by Joy & Dave Adams, Mike Preston, Johnny Duncan & The Blue Grass Boys, and Johns and Kennedy. Richard returned to the Odeon on 15 March ’59, again backed by The Drifters, and accompanied by the Four Jones Boys, Daley & Wayne, Betty Smith Quintet, and Chas McDevitt & The Freight Train Boys with Shirley Douglas. He’d be back again on 26 September ’59 with the renamed backing band and Al Saxon, Peter Elliot, The Jones Boys, Roy Young, Bill & Brett Landis, and Johnny Wiltshire & The Trebletones. Sixteen year old Isle of Wight native Craig Douglas headlined on 15 November ’59 with The Mudlarks, Cherry Wainer with Don Storer, Jimmy Lloyd, The Wiseguys, and David Conway.
Promoter Bunny Lewis bought Craig Douglas to the Odeon on On 10 March ’60, supported by The Avons, The Mudlarks, Roy Young, Bill Forbes, and The Trebletones. Gene Vincent was to appear with Eddie Cochran at the Odeon on Saturday 7 May 1960. Cochran had regrettably died in a car crash on 17 April, which – with no time to reprint ticket – resulted in his name being crossed out on tickets. Local lad Mark Wynter was second billing on the 23 date “Good Timing” package tour behind Jimmie Jones. This tour visited the Odeon Guildford on 12 October ’60 and included Michael Cox & The Hunters, Brook Brothers, Dean Rogers & The Marauders, Janet Richmond, Kenny Lynch, and Johnny Wiltshire & The Trebletones.
On 25 February ’61, the Odeon, Guildford was the seventh stop for Larry Parnes’ “Jack Good’s Rock ‘n’ Trad Spectacular – 2nd Edition” headlined by Billy Fury and with Woking born Mark Wynter, Tommy Bruce, Joe Brown, Farnborough born Nelson Keene, Duffy Power, The Four Kestrels, Johnny Gentle, Georgie Fame, The Valentine Girls, and the New Orleans Rockers. The Shadows played the Odeon a couple of months later, on 22 April ’61, with the handbill including Frank Ifield, Patti Brooks, Alan Randall, The Swinging Wiseguys, and The Nevitt Brothers.
On 27 January ’62, Helen Shapiro headlined just such a show at Guildford Odeon with The Brook Brothers, The Four Jays, Red Price Band, The Dale Sisters, and Colin Day. The following month, on 24 February, Adam Faith was joined by John Barry Seven, Desmond Lane, Brad Newman, and Johnny Le Roy. Billy Fury headlined another on 7 April ’62 with John Leyton, Karl Denver, Eden Kane and Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers, returning to the venue again on 30 September ’62. This time Fury was headlining Larry Parnes’ 49 town, 2 shows a day in each, “The Mammoth Star Show of 1962” that also featured Marty Wilde, Karl Denver Trio, Joe Brown & The Bruvvers, Mike Sarne, Mark Wynter, Jimmy Justice, and Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers.
Mid-’63, The Beatles visited Guildford, their one and only gig in the town, atop the bill of a Jimmy Crawford Package Show on 21 June ’63; performing at two shows on the same day along with Lance Fortune, The Messengers, The Vampires, Rocking Henri, The Hayseeds and The Vikings.
Also in ’63 the Odeon hosted The Rolling Stones on 4 October, the fifth date on their British Tour; but the headline of this Don Arden package tour was The Everly Brothers, with Little Richard, and Bo Diddley with The Duchess and Jerome Green all billed above the Rolling Stones, who were joined by The Rattles, Mickie Most, Julie Grant, and The Flintsones. It was at this Guildford show that Brian Jones played some Elmore James numbers backstage with Bo Diddley. On 18 October, Frankie Vaughan & The V Group visited the Odeon accompanied by Australian singer Dorothy Baker, comedian Gordon Peters, and The Jeridale Three who’d just signed to Telestar, Billy Fury’s Autumn Tour listed a show at Guildford Odeon on 29 November ’63.
The Stones returned on February 12, on the All Stars ’64 tour, headlined by John Leyton, along with Mike Sarne, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Don Spencer, Billy Boyle, Mike Berry and The Innocents, Billie Davis and the Le Roys, and Jet Harris. Larry Parnes bought Joe Brown and his Bruvvers to the Odeon on 5 March ’64 along with The Crystals, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, Heinz and the Saints, Manfred Mann, Daryl Quist, Mike Preston, Al Paige, and Kevin Kirk. Sixteen day later, on 21 March ’64, Howe and Epstien put Billy Kramer and The Dakotas in the headline spot with Gene Pitney, Cilla Black, Billy Burden, The Remo Four, The Escorts, and The Hollies also on the bill. On 19 April ’64, The Dave Clark Five Show took to the Odeon’s stage. The Winter season began with a return by the Stones on 29 September ’64 as part of their “4th British Tour” when they did two shows as the headliners of The Rolling Stones Show with Inez and Charles Foxx, Mike Berry and The innocents, Simon Scott and The Le Roys, and The Mojos in support. On 15 October ’64 the The Billy J. Kramer Show came to the Odeon. A few weeks later, on 3 November, The Animals Show provided a performance at 6:15pm and a second at 8:30pm, that featured Carl Perkins, Nashville Teens, Tommy Tucker, Elkie Brooks, The Plebs, and The Quotations. Brenda Lee headlined at the Odeon on 17 November ’64 as part of a two month long package tour – a show that included The Soul Sisters, Wayne ‘Kelly’ Gibson with the Dynamic Sounds, Spencer Davis Group, Mark Leeman Five, The Condors, Downliners Sect, Bob Bain, Bern Elliott, and Manfred Mann. A few days later, on 21 November ’64, The Shadows returned, this time backing Cliff Richard with support provided by Faye Fisher and Johnny Hawkins & His Orchestra.
The next year, on 15 March ’65, the Odeon hosted an Eric Easton Package Tour featuring the Rolling Stones with The Hollies, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, Dave Berry and the Cruisers, The Checkmates, and The Konrads. The Walker Brother’s headlined a similar package tour with Small Faces, Peter Quinton, Johnny B. Great and the Quotations, The Jet Set, and Beryl Marsden & The Crewcats on 28 November ’65 at the Odeon, Guildford.
The Odeon closed in 1996 and was demolished in 2002.
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