Date of closure: January 2024
Address (for reference only):
Buzz Bingo (Lost Halls)
28 High Street
Aldershot
GU11 1DJ
Aldershot’s Buzz Bingo occupied a genuinely remarkable building, and one where bingo and cinema actually operated together for years rather than one simply replacing the other. It opened on 13 May 1937 as the Ritz Cinema, designed by Verity & Beverley during King George VI’s coronation week, with 1,747 seats across stalls and balcony, a proper stage and dressing rooms, and a 3-manual, 7-rank Wurlitzer organ. It became an ABC cinema in 1961 and turned out to be a fantastic music venue during the 1960s, hosting package tours featuring Del Shannon, Herman’s Hermits, The Zombies, The Kinks, The Hollies, Gene Pitney and Roy Orbison, culminating in a genuinely absurd 1967 bill featuring Cat Stevens, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jimi Hendrix and The Walker Brothers all on the same night.
Rather than closing outright, the huge auditorium was subdivided in 1977, reopening on 6 October that year as three smaller ABC cinemas plus a bingo club sharing the same building, meaning bingo actually began while the cinema was still running. The cinema side passed through Cannon and Odeon branding before finally closing on 10 July 2003, but the bingo carried on regardless, eventually becoming Gala Bingo and then Buzz Bingo in June 2018. Rushmoor Council recognised the building’s importance, including it on the local heritage list and describing it as one of the town’s largest and most distinctive buildings worth retaining. Buzz Bingo finally closed in January 2024, bringing to an end an extraordinary 86 years of continuous entertainment use in the building, with bingo alone having run there for around 46 and a half years. The building now stands vacant with its future uncertain, though earlier plans to demolish it for flats were withdrawn back in 2010, and the original Wurlitzer organ survives today, privately owned in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
Other Lost Halls In The Area
Here are some photos of the Aldershot Buzz Bingo on High Street from Twitter and Facebook, to give you a flavour of the club, its customers and decoration. The photographers are unknown, but if one of these is yours let us know and we’ll add a credit.
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Visited this bingo hall for the first time on January 11th 2012. Found the gentleman on reception and the manageress who sold us the tickets extremely courteous and helpful, as was the young lady serving at the canteen (refreshments were lovely). Although the prize-money was not huge, (okay, it was a midweek evening), the friendly venue and staff more than made up for it and we will definitely go again.
Over all rubbish night. Defo going to be sticking with Woking from now on. Food took 1hr an 15 minutes to come, when we complained they said they lost the receipt and machines weren’t working. Could do with a facelift.
Have had plenty if good wins at aldershot
Will I still be a customer although I have a Gala bingo members card.
This club is closed