A Word About the Pavillion de Paris

In a post from a few days ago, I wrote about Supertramp's memorable Paris show at the Pavillion de Paris. Well, lo and behold, the Pavillion de Paris (the Paris Pavillion for my non-French readers), was host to more than just Supertramp.

What's the story?
Until the Pavillion de Paris opened its doors in September of 1975, it was a slaughterhouse and meat packing factory. The Pavillion was built to attract more reiging musicians of the day to take their tours in France and to provide another indoor arena in Paris as the only knwon spot in the city at the time was the Palais de Sports de Paris (The Paris Sports Palace).

Below you can see the stage view. As you can see, it is circular. The Pavillion de Paris had a seating capacity of 10,000.
Image result for pavillon de paris concert venue

Not Just Supertramp:

 Yes, Supertramp were a notable performer at the Pavillion, but they were not the ONLY performer. Many other rock bands of the day performed there and many live albums were fully, or partially made there. The most notable of the performers were The Who, the Rolling Stones (as part of their Black and Blue tour), Genesis (made part of their Seconds Out live album), Queen (part of Live Killers made here), Bob Marley & The Wailers, Blondie, David Bowie, and even...wait for it...AC/DC. AC?DC recorded the film Let There Be Rock here on December 9, 1979 - being among the last shows with Bon Scott.

The Venue Closes...but Revamps
Roxy Music were the last to perform at the Pavillion de Paris on June 2, 1980. The venue closed shortly thereafter, and most major French shows now took place at the nearby Hippodrome de Pantin
Image result for hippodrome de pantin venue
As you can see in this picture, this venue looks a lot like a circus tent setup being the home of the annual Jean Richard Circus. The venue itself welcomed many different acts such as Chicago, Roxy Music, The Clash, Pat Benatar, The Stray Cats, and Eric Clapton, E.C.'s concert being the last one recorded there.

The Zenith de Paris:
In 1983, the Hippodrome de Paltin was demolished to make way for a newer, larger venue, the Zenith de Paris. The Zenith de Paris opened in 1984. Take a look at the exterior front picture below.
Zénith de Paris - meeting Lutte Ouvrière 15-04-2012 - 1.JPG
Despite its only 9,000 seating capacity, the Zenith de Paris welcomed many artists through the years and even newer pop artists! In terms of rock, two of the most popular acts to have played there were Nirvana on Valentine's Day 1994 as part of there In Utero tour's European leg, and Pearl Jam on November 7, 1996 as part of their No Code Tour.

Just a few of the pop artists that played at the Zenith were: Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Rihanna, and...The Spice Girls!


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