Gladiator actor Russell Crowe and Shaun of the Dead creator Edgar Wright have both shared the call to save The Electric Cinema
Station Street in Birmingham(Image: Kirsty Bosley)
Hollywood star Russell Crowe and Shawn of the Dead creator Edgar Wright are among the latest names to throw their support behind the campaign to save an ailing Birmingham landmark.
The two film icons shared a message asking about the future of The Electric Cinema on the city centre road after it was posted by Darren John, the campaigner behind Save Station Street.
Darren posted on X: “The UK’s oldest working cinema, Birmingham’s The Electric, has been closed for 460 days ‘thanks’ to Glenbrook Property who want to destroy it for a tower. 115 years of UK cinema history…
Read more: Photos show snippet of new ‘giant’ attraction coming to Birmingham this summer
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“When will @RhonddaBryant @LisaNandy @RichParkerLab @CllrJohnCotton and @Cllr_Suleman take action?”
Russell Crowe shared the message with his 2.8 million followers while Edgar Wright reposted it to his 824,000 subscribers.
The Electric Cinema sits empty(Image: Kirsty Bosley)
The Electric Cinema was the UK’s oldest working cinema until it closed in February 2024.
Since then, the venue has remained closed to the public while a desperate bid to have it listed to secure its future failed.
Now the concern is that the cinema is ‘at risk of the wrecking ball‘.
Station Street is a culturally significant stretch of road in Birmingham, with the UK’s oldest repertory theatre, the Old Rep, and the birthplace of heavy metal, The Crown Pub, on the same 120m as The Electric.
The Crown was the first venue to host Black Sabbath gigs, forming the foundations of a genre that thrives to this day.
The eyes of the world will turn towards Birmingham for Black Sabbath’s final gig on July 5 when Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler come together for one last performance at Villa Park Stadium.
Thousands of people are expected to visit the city to attend the 40,000-capacity concert, with bands like Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax on the bill.
It’s expected that fans will flock to The Crown to see where it all began, a stone’s throw from a huge Black Sabbath mural that’s currently being completed on Navigation Street.
However, there won’t be much to see as it stands – the pub, owned by Japanese hotel company Toyoko Inns still sits empty, graffiti-covered and unused despite Toyoko’s insistence that it has a plan for the venue.
As well as Black Sabbath, artists including The Who, Status Quo, UB40, Duran Duran, Thin Lizzy, Marc Bolan, Supertramp, Judas Priest and a number of Robert Plant’s pre-Led Zeppelin bands played at the venue.
Its future remains uncertain and BirminghamLive has attempted to contact Toyoko Inns for an update ahead of the Black Sabbath concert.