Carnegie Hall
A Tale of Two venues and Billy Connolly.
Like New York, Dunfermline is home to Carnegie Hall. Our version might not be as grand as the one in Manhattan and has about one-sixth of the capacity, but it's our Carnegie Hall, and it's been with us since 1937
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Opened one year after another iconic art deco building, Fire Station Creative, it has housed thousands of shows in its time. Plays, pantomimes, music gigs, comedies, children's shows, and local amateur dramatics have all royally entertained us over the decades.
My favourite show in the venue occurred around 1984/85. I can't be more specific because the information on this gig is virtually non-existent. I only know when it took place because it was during The Miner's Strike, the night Billy Connolly took to the stage in a fundraiser for the struggling workers.
I recall sitting in the second row of the stalls with my friend Gary and his mum Jean, so we were treated to a bird's eye view of The Big Yin in full flow. I have never laughed so much in all my life. By the time the interval came around, I felt like somebody had sucked every last bit of oxygen out of my lungs!
It wasn't Billy's first appearance at Carnegie Hall or Dunfermline. Billy was a regular at The Folk Club in town and had also appeared at The Ballroom with his band The Humblebums (which also included singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty).
However, his best-known gig took place in Carnegie Hall on 23rd September 1976, when he recorded the B-Side of his album Atlantic Bridge. In a clever marketing ploy that Carnegie himself would have been proud of, the A-side was recorded in Carnegie Hall, New York.
However, as was often the way with Billy back then, his sense of humour was not to everybody's taste. He cracked several jokes which were non too complimentary about the state of the venue. Amongst these jokes were:
"It was so damp they caught a salmon in the mouse trap" and...
"This place is so dirty the mice have overalls on"
Whilst the audience saw the funny side, the managers were not best amused and banned Mr Connolly from Carnegie Hall indefinitely. According to some sources, even when he returned for the Miners gig, the management stayed away in protest!
Carnegie Hall is still a busy venue with a varied programme. You can find out more about what's on here at https://www.onfife.com.
Thanks for your continued support. Speak soon.