Why does this south London bingo hall now have a prestigious blue plaque?

Move over Brixton Academy. South London’s most rock n roll venue isn’t a stadium, pub or even, these days, a place with live music. It’s a Grade I-listed bingo hall in Tooting called Buzz Bingo. And this past weekend, after a three-year grassroots campaign, it’s received a new blue plaque. 

What has a bingo venue done to deserve such an accolade? Well, Buzz Bingo Tooting was once a legendary music venue called the Granada.

First opening its doors in 1931 as a 3,000-seat cinema, the Granada was dreamed up by Russian theatre director Theodore Komisarjevsky. He pulled out all the stops with the interior, fitting the space with a baronial foyer, moody gothic flourishes and a ‘hall of mirrors’ copied from the Palace of Versailles. In awarding the place Grade I-listed status in 2000, Historic England said it had ‘without doubt the most lavishly decorated interior of any cinema in Britain’.

The Granada might now be a bingo hall, but its legendary status was cemented long before anyone was shouting ‘two fat ladies’. The Beatles rocked up here to play two shows on the opening night of their co-headlining UK tour with Roy Orbison back in 1963. The Rolling Stones rolled into SW17 the following year alongside the Ronettes, kicking off a golden era that saw Frank Sinatra, the Kinks, the Beach Boys and Dusty Springfield all grace the Tooting stage. In April 1967, Jimi Hendrix famously tore up the auditorium for the grand finale of his first major UK package tour, before the Bee Gees brought down the curtain in 1968. 

Transforming the building into a bingo hall saved the Granada from demolition in 1976. Even better, the historic stage, the original orchestra pit and the grand medieval wall panels were all preserved. Today, you can sip a cheap pint, dab a ticket, and play for a jackpot underneath the exact same Versailles-style mirrors where Hendrix and McCartney once tuned their guitars. 

The campaign to get a blue plaque stuck on the Granada was led by local historian Geoff Simmons. Free guided walks, school talks, and ‘show time’ street performances on the building’s steps have all helped establish its historical importance, culminating in an event last Saturday (June 27) to unveil the plaque.

For those not in-the-know, blue plaques are the ultimate VIP badges for buildings in London. They commemorate the exact spots where history’s biggest idols lived, worked or caused a stir. A blue plaque turns an ordinary stroll down the street into a living museum, all while protecting cool buildings from greedy developers.

To warm up for the plaque reveal, music fans gathered outside the former Granada last weekend for live covers of tunes by the venue’s alumni. Gig-goers completely took over the front steps, but the right-hand entrance was kept strictly clear for the bingo regulars, just in case they prefer a ‘full house’ to the Lennon-McCartney songbook. 

Keen to see the Granada’s shiny new blue plaque for yourself? Head down to Buzz Bingo Tooting, 50 Mitcham Road, SW17 9NA.

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