'I feel The Halls the best venue and that comes from the atmosphere it creates and the people'

Having been delayed for years due to building issues and the Covid-19 pandemic, the venue enjoyed a triumphant reopening with a gig by Britpop legends Blur and, since that evening in May 2023, has gone from strength to strength, re-establishing itself as a prominent and popular gig venue in the region, with more than 200,000 people going through the doors.

It has already seen shows by high profile stars such as Robert Plant, Dexys Midnight Runners and magicians Penn and Teller, as well as welcoming students from Wolverhampton University for graduation and leading businesses for the Express & Star Business awards and is set to welcome Bob Dylan, Beverley Knight, Paul Weller and Frank Skinner, to name but a few.

With the event still shining in its new look after nearly 18 months of regular use, Crissie Rushton said it had all gone very well.

She said: "Things have gone exceptionally well, to be honest, and has been far more successful that I'd hoped, particularly in terms of how quickly really high profile artists have come back.

"Having had such an extensive period of restoration of the venue, it's been so good to see the caliber of artists come back, as well as all the key clients who came back to use the venue and the impact it's had on the city has been fantastic.

"The building in its previous form wouldn't have lasted forever and I think the work has all been worth it because of the artists we've had here and the footfall we've been getting."

Since reopening following the £48 million revamp, the venue has been highly commended in an awards programme, having been a finalist in the Constructing Excellence West Midlands Awards 2024.

It has also received huge praise from those who have performed there, with Ian Huffam, Blur’s agent, speaking highly of the venue after the band's sixth headline slot at the venue.

He said: "I was concerned the Civic would lose its heart and soul following its extensive restoration.

"Do not be concerned, this is a thorough, sympathetic modernisation of a classic English concert hall.

"Congratulations to the local authority for having the fortitude and vision, to the venue staff for their ongoing commitment and to AEG for their contribution and tasteful fit out.”

Ms Rushton said the only teething problems from the opening night were a few sleepless nights for her and other members of staff getting the venue ready and said that people coming in had been delighted to be there and amazed at how the building looked.

She said: "I think my strong memory is that everyone was amazed and I spent a lot of time seeing customer reactions and hearing their thoughts and amazement as I think a lot of people had a lot of love for the old venue and I was constantly being told that the balance was brilliant as it still felt like the familiar old venue, but had the much needed modernisation.

"Blur's agent was amazed and that has continued to be the case when I meet agents and promoters and managers in the venue and the calibre of the venue and its position in the market is testament to the hard work by everyone."

Ms Rushton said that everyone involved at the Halls had worked hard to ensure people enjoyed their experience at the venue and spoke about the split in the audience in terms of those from Wolverhampton and those coming from further afield.

She also spoke about criticisms made about pricing at the venue, saying that the venue was competitive with other venues.

She said: "We did some analysis from that first wave of shows and found that 20 per cent of the audience had WV postcodes, while 60 per cent were from neighbouring regions and the final 20 per cent were from the rest of the country and from abroad.

"I've regularly spoken to international customers and while the venue is heavily used by locals, the artists we've had on have brought in people from northern Scotland, the coasts of Wales and further afield because they want to come and see the artists we have.

"In terms of ticket prices, these are set nationally by tours, so it's a greater benefit for locals as they don't have to pay for travel, hotels and other expenses, while drinks are benchmarked against similar venues in the region, so if you go to Birmingham to a similar venue, you pay a similar price."

Looking ahead, Ms Rushton said she was excited to see Bob Dylan book to play two nights at the Halls and said it showed that Wolverhampton and the Halls had become a gig destination.

She said: "The venue's reputation goes far beyond any prior reputation and you now always seem to see Wolverhampton on the back of tour t-shirts, which is because it has always been that iconic venue and has got a really strong and deep history from the 1930s to now.

"It's one of the best venues in the UK in terms of scale, in terms of the number of people who can come in and in terms of the condition it's in and the experience the artists have as they can be fully catered for all day and have nice, modern dressing rooms.

"I don't think we would have attracted the type of artists we have if we hadn't done the work to modernise the venue and we're always looking ahead."

Ms Rushton said the strength of the venue also benefitted the night time economy of the city centre, with bars telling her how many extra staff they put on on gig nights.

For Crissie Rushton, after 25 years of working there, the venue was somewhere she said she felt privileged to be part of.

She said: "I have been privileged to have a role here in some shape or form for 25 years, which is longer than any other relationship I have had with a human.

"My partner refers to his place as my first child and it means a huge amount to me, from the first day at 20-years-old, ripping tickets and cleaning toilets and pouring pints to running it now.

"I've been up and down the country to venues and I'm massively biased, but I feel that this is the best venue and that comes from the atmosphere it creates and the people who make it."