The Edinburgh Playhouse opened on “The Glorious Twelfth” of August 1929 as a cinema seating 3040, designed by architect John Fairweather.  The building is one of the finest surviving examples of the “super-cinema” built in an era when creating a feeling of opulence and granduer, as well as maximising seating capacity was top of the list.  Closed to cinema in 1973, and narrowly escaping demolition, it has hosted many bands and performers, as well as now being mainly used for touring musicals.

• 1966  2nd September Chris Barber’s Band with Kenneth Washington

• 1976  24th March Diana Ross           
• 1976  27th August Brody, Ignatz, & Preying Mantis

• 1976  31st August Kevin Ayers and his band Soft Machine, & Ivor Cutler

• 1976  1st & 2nd September Queen

• 1976  4th September Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow

• 1976  11th September Kiki Dee (guest appearance by Elton John to sing Don’t Go Breaking My Heart)

• 1976  14th September Van Der Graaf Generator, & Brand X

• 1976  16th September Crosby & Nash

• 1976  17th September  Elton John

• 1976  14th November Santana

• 1976  17th November The Carpenters

• 1976  2nd December Steve Hillage

• 1976  17th December Eddie & The Hot Rods

• 1977  11th January Rod Stewart

• 1977  14th & 15th January Genesis

• 1977  25th February Bryan Ferry

• 1977  18th April The Small Faces, & P.P. Arnold

• 1977  7th May The Clash, and guests The Jam, The Buzzcocks, The Slits, The Prefects, and Subway Sect

• 1977  25th May Nils Lofgren, support band Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 

• 1980  20th July The Stranglers

• 1980  17th August Elvis Costello & The Attractions

• 1980  24th August The Ramones

• 1980  28th August Donovan

• 1980  20th September The Specials

• 1980  27th September Gary Numan

• 1980  10th October Joe Jackson Band

• 1980  15th October The Pretenders

• 1980  25th October UB40

• 1980  29th October The Jam

• 1980  10th November Weather Report

• 1980  13th November Shirley Bassey

• 1980  26th November Ian Dury & The Blockheads

• 1980  29th November Yes (Trevor Horn Vocals)

• 1980  8th December Dire Straits

• 1981  31st January UFO

• 1981  19th & 20th February The Who (Pete Townshend spotted having a light refreshment in The Conan Doyle pub across the road prior to the gig).

Thank you to David for his memories of The Who at the Playhouse

“For the Playhouse gigs, it was a case of queuing down the steps at the side of the theatre for tickets. The queue stretched down to the bottom of the steps and way up the road to the John Lewis walkway (behind where the multi storey car park is now). We managed to get stalls tickets for both gigs, as we started queuing quite early in the morning of the sale. It was well worth it though because both gigs were fantastic, with some different songs played each night. I recall quite a few mods at these gigs, as the ska/mod scene was blooming that year”.

• 1981  24th February The Stranglers 

• 1981  27th February Siouxsie & The Banshees, support band The Comsat Angels 
• 1981  5th March Jeff Beck, special guests The Climax Blues Band

• 1981  11th March The Supremes

• 1981  25th March Tom Waits

• 1981  26th April The Undertones

• 1981  16th & 17th May Bruce Springsteen (the original show was rescheduled from 30th March, see ticket below, and a second night was added)

• 1981  17th June Kraftwerk (rescheduled from 9th May)

• 1981  21st June Robert Palmer

• 1981  6th July Iggy Pop

• 1981  26th July Ella Fitzgerald, with The Brian Fahey Radio Orchestra & The Jimmy Rowles Trio

• 1981  13th August Siouxsie & The Banshees, support Linton Kwesi Johnson

• 1981  26th August Whitesnake, special guest Billy Squire

• 1981  30th August Ian Dury & The Blockheads          
• 1981  30th September The Grateful Dead

• 1981  5th October Steve Hackett

• 1981  13th October Renaissance

• 1981  17th October  Johnny Cash         
• 1981  18th October Greg Lake

• 1981  19th October Saxon

• 1981  5th November Cliff Richard

• 1981  12th November Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

• 1981  21st November The Human League

• 1981  22nd November The Stranglers

• 1981  30th November Gene Pitney

• 1981  15th December Japan, support band Blancmange

• 1981  19th December Duran Duran         
• 1982  13th January UFO

• 1982  22nd January Stiff Little Fingers

• 1982  30th January Sammy Hagar

• 1982  1st February The Teardrop Explodes

• 1982  11th February Krokus & Magnum

• 1982  12th February Gary Glitter

• 1982  12th March The Beat

• 1982  15th March Iron Maiden

• 1982  4th April Graham Parker
• 1982  5th & 6th April The Jam, special guests The Questions

• 1982  10th April Blackfoot

• 1982  14th April The Scorpions (Rescheduled from 11th February)

• 1982  20th April The Boomtown Rats
• 1982  26th April The Cure

• 1982  2nd May Meatloaf

• 1982  5th May Foreigner

• 1982  14th May Jethro Tull

• 1982  22nd May Todd Rundgren

• 1982  28th May The Rolling Stones, support from local band TV21, who decided to call it a day backstage after this concert.  The Stones were introduced on stage by Billy Connolly

• 1982  29th May Camel

• 1982  7th June Joe Jackson
• 1982  9th July Toyah

• 1982  12th June Van Morrison

• 1982  23rd, 24th & 25th July The Clash

• 1982  15th August Bucks Fizz
• 1982  4th & 5th September Blondie
• 1982  9th September Mike Oldfield

• 1982  16th September UB40

• 1982  17th September Elvis Costello          
• 1982  19th September Saxon

• 1982  29th September John Martyn

• 1982  1st October Roxy Music

• 1982  7th October Shakin’ Stevens

• 1982  10th & 11th October AC/DC, support band Y&T

• 1982  12th October Hall & Oates

• 1982  16th October Kate & Anna McGarrigle in concert with Ali Bain & Tich Richardson 

• 1982  18th October Joan Jett & The Blackhearts         

• 1982  20th October  Depeche Mode
• 1982  21st October Hawkwind

• 1982  26th October Japan

• 1982  29th October Stiff Little Fingers
• 1982  31st October Julio Iglesias (note misspelt ticket)

• 1982  1st November Duran Duran

• 1982  4th & 5th November Elton John

• 1982  6th November ABC

• 1982  7th November Gillan & Spyder 

• 1982  16th November Siouxsie & The Banshees (Robert Smith on guitar)

• 1982  17th November Ultravox

• 1982  18th November Yazoo

• 1982  22nd November Culture, & Mystical 13

• 1982  23rd November Budgie, support Bernie Torme

• 1982  25th November Billy Connolly

• 1982  1st December Michael Schenker Group

• 1982  2nd December The Kinks

• 1982  4th December Cliff Richard

• 1982  7th December Dire Straits

• 1982  9th December Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

• 1982  19th December Simple Minds

• 1983  16th January Echo & The Bunnymen (rescheduled from 27/9/82).

• 1983  11th February The Stranglers

• 1983  28th February U2

• 1983  2nd March 10cc

• 1983  17th March Thin Lizzy 

• 1983  19th March Fun Boy Three (rescheduled from 26th February 1983)

• 1983  20th March Mari Wilson           
• 1983  30th March UFO

• 1983  31st March The Undertones

• 1983  7th April Marillion

• 1983  8th & 9th April Eric Clapton

• 1983  18th & 19th April Joni Mitchell

• 1983  22nd April Spandau Ballet

• 1983  23rd April Steve Hackett

• 1983  27th April Orchestral Manouvres In The Dark, Support band The Cocteau Twins

• 1983  13th May Iron Maiden

• 1983  20th May Kajagoogoo         
• 1983  21st May Robert Palmer

• 1983  11th September Van Morrison

• 1983  14th September Peter Gabriel

• 1983  18th September Big Country

• 1983  19th September Depeche Mode          
• 1983  22nd &23rd September Rainbow, supported by Lita Ford

• 1983  14th October Cliff Richard

• 1983  28th October Kiss

• 1983  30th October Michael Schenker Group

• 1983  20th November Ozzy Osbourne, support Heavy Pettin’

• 1983  23rd November Robert Plant          
• 1983  28th November Y & T, support band Rock Godess

• 1983  6th December Tears For Fears

• 1983  8th & 9th December The Police

• 1983  20th December Whitesnake

• 1983  31th December Marillion

• 1984  18th January The Pretenders

• 1984  12th February Saxon

• 1984  19th February Marillion

• 1984  20th February Tina Turner

• 1984  23rd February  Hawkwind 
• 1984  24th February Simple Minds

• 1984  3rd March The Clash

• 1984  8th March Manowar         
• 1984  11th & 12th March The Thompson Twins          
• 1984  31st March Nik Kershaw        
• 1984  2nd April Pallas

• 1984  16th March Barclay James Harvest

• 1984  26th April The Cure

• 1984  17th June Siouxsie & The Banshees

• 1984  20th & 21st June Elton John

• 1984  22nd September Dio, support band Queensryche

• 1984  6th October Kiss

• 1984  8th October Big Country

• 1984  12th October Echo & The Bunnymen

• 1984  14th October The Style Council
• 1984  18th October Depeche Mode

• 1984  26th October Elvis Costello & The Attractions

• 1984  2nd November Motorhead, support band Persian Risk (Not Gas as shown on ticket)

• 1984  5th November U2

• 1984  6th December Runrig

• 1984  24th, 26th, 30th & 31st December Big Country
• 1985  4th February The Rocky Horror Show

• 1985  17th February The Stranglers

• 1985  27th & 28th February Eric Clapton, & special guest Chris Rea

• 1985  3rd March Howard Jones
• 1985  28th March Shakin’ Stevens

• 1985  29th April Rick Wakeman       
• 1985  30th May The Firm        
• 1985  31st May The Hollies

• 1985  1st June The Damned, support band The Fuzztones

• 1985  8th June Wishbone Ash          
• 1985  11th June Foreigner          
• 1985  6th July BB King

• 1985  23rd August Runrig

• 1985  7th September Saxon, Support band The Pretty Maids 

• 1985  15th September Gary Moore

• 1985  21st September Marillion       
• 1985  22nd September The Cure         
• 1985  24th September The Smiths

• 1985  4th October Van Morrison

• 1985  5th October Magnum          
• 1985  11th October Siouxsie & The Banshees, support band The Scientists

• 1985  17th & 18th October The Thompson Twins          
• 1985  27th October Reo Speedwagon

• 1985  31st October Billy Connolly 

• 1985  17th November The Everly Brothers

• 1985  18th November Hawkwind       
• 1985  21st & 23rd November Cliff Richard

• 1985  29th November Elton John

• 1985  13th December Nik Kershaw         
• 1985  14th December Paul Young          
• 1985  30th December Dire Straits

• 1986  14th January Sting           
• 1986  22nd & 23rd January AC/DC
• 1986  8th February Motley Crue, support band Cheap Trick 

• 1986  16th February Ozzy Osbourne        
• 1986  16th March The Robert Cray Band

• 1986  23rd March Big Country
• 1986  10th April Accept, support band Dokken

• 1986  22nd April Twisted Sister

• 1986  9th May Dio

• 1986  11th May Public Image Ltd

• 1986  14th May The Ramones (Moved forward from the Empire on the 16th May, but this ticket was bought after the reschedule)

• 1986  29th May Black Sabbath

• 1986  19th-23rd August Rowan Atkinson

• 1986  11th September New Order         
• 1986  17th September Motorhead
• 1986  29th September Five Star          
• 1986  15th October The Damned, support band Blue In Heaven 

• 1986  23rd October Big Audio Dynamite

• 1986  24th & 25th October The Stranglers

• 1986  26th October Huey Lewis & The News

• 1986  27th & 28th October Iron Maiden

• 1986  30th October Wasp, support band Warlock

• 1986  2nd & 3rd November Ultravox
• 1986  12th November Bon Jovi

• 1986  13th November Hawkwind           
• 1986  25th & 26th November Alice Cooper, support band Doctor & The Medics

• 1986  27th November George Benson           
• 1986  29th November Randy Crawford

• 1987  9th February The Psychedelic Furs (rescheduled from 16/12/86)

• 1987  18th February Nik Kershaw         
• 1987  6th March  Deep Purple

• 1987  10th March Simply Red
• 1987  19th March The Thompson Twins          
• 1987  18th April Slayer

• 1987  28th & 29th April  Duran Duran         
• 1987  16th June Iggy Pop

• 1987  2nd September Def Leppard

• 1987  20th September Motorhead

• 1987  4th October Jethro Tull          
• 1987  9th October Five Star
• 1987  21st October Echo & The Bunnymen

• 1987  5th November Anthrax

• 1987  7th November Ben Elton          
• 1987  13th November Tom Waits

• 1987  3rd December Inxs
• 1987  5th December The Cult

• 1987  17th, 18th & 19th December Marillion

• 1988  7th & 8th January Whitesnake

• 1988  17th January Depeche Mode
• 1988  12th February Roy “Chubby” Brown

• 1988  26th &27th February Heart

• 1988  22nd March Ted Nugent, support band Krokus

• 1988  1st & 2nd April Alice Cooper

• 1988  13th April Hawkwind, & Tubilah Dog

• 1988  14th April Def Leppard

• 1988  28th April Clannad           
• 1988  9th May Fleetwood Mac & The Adventures

• 1988  17th June Judas Priest          
• 1988  17th & 18th November Dave Lee Roth

• 1988  19th November Cinderella

• 1988  21st November Iron Maiden

• 1988  23rd November Night Of The Guitars

• 1988  26th November Billy Connolly           
• 1988  28th November The Mission, support band The Mighty Lemon Drops
• 1988  6th December Hawkwind

• 1988  13th December Siouxsie & The Banshees

• 1989  18th January Eric Clapton
• 1989  29th January Big Country
• 1989  20th February Simply Red
• 1989  9th March Anthrax

• 1989  15th March BB King

• 1989  16th April  Duran Duran
• 1989  27th May Big Country
• 1989  1st & 2nd June Elton John, special guest Nik Kershaw           
• 1989  21st September Jethro Tull
• 1989  16th October Transvision Vamp, support band And Why Not 

•  1989  21st October Yes

• 1989  25th October Runrig         
• 1989  28th October All About Eve

• 1989  31st December Big Country
• 1990  5th March The Stranglers (rescheduled from 27th September 1989)

• 1990  27th March Fish

• 1990  9th May Jeff Beck

• 1990  6th October Bruce Hornsby & The Range

• 1990  20th October Hawkwind
• 1990  31st October Tangerine Dream

• 1990  1st November Queensryche            
• 1990  22nd November Thunder, & The Electric Boys

• 1991  20th January The Robert Cray Band

• 1991  11th March Deep Purple

• 1991  28th March Judas Priest           
• 1991  30th March Megadeth        
• 1991  17th July Kraftwerk

• 1991  6th October Level 42

• 1991  8th October Alice Cooper
• 1991  3rd November Slayer, & special guests Mindfunk 

• 1991  5th November  Kylie Minogue

• 1991  31st December Fish

• 1992  16th March Lou Reed

• 1992  17th March Jethro Tull
• 1992  18th March Ozzy Osbourne

• 1992  1st May Hawkwind        
• 1992  8th July Erasure

• 1992  31st August Van Morrison

• 1992  2nd September Black Sabbath

• 1992  29th October Genesis

• 1993  1st February Joe Satriani

• 1993  1st & 2nd June The Velvet Underground, & Luna 

• 1993  4th June Brian May Band

• 1995  7th April Bob Dylan         
• 1998  17th April Yes

• 2001  21st May Alice Cooper, Special guest Dio

• 2002  22nd June Andy Williams

• 2003  6th July Yes

• 2003  26th October Simply Red          
• 2004  27th March Joe Brown & Marty Wilde