Location: Winter Gardens & Opera House, Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, England, FY1 1HU.

Website: http://www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk/index.html

Capacity: Up to 3,000, but only 1,000 if you're holding a banquet.

Come to see: Big bands by the seaside in beautiful surroundings. And being by the seaside there's naturally also a whole load of variety for all the family too. Big name alternative and more traditional comedians rub shoulders with 'Strictly Come Dancing,' kids' TV stars and Royal Variety performances.

The atmosphere: This is one venue where it really does depend on the entertainment, which ranges from sedate ballroom dancing and party political conferences, to full on rock n' roll mayhem. If one of your heroes is booked into this ornate, elaborate hall you can however expect your evening to be an absolutely magical experience.

You saw them here first: This is the venue that brought Madchester to the mainstream. When the Stone Roses rolled into town bringing 3,000 flare-wearing devotees with them, the rest of the UK finally caught up with Manchester's best-kept secret. Their gig at the Ballroom on Aug.12 1989 is the stuff of legend and the number of people claiming to be there could fill the place several times over. The Beatles also dropped by in the 1960s.

Claim to fame: The Stone Roses show at the ballroom was shot for a live DVD and also featured in the video for their 'She Bangs the Drum' single. It was also the venue that the White Stripes chose to shoot their first live DVD release, 'Under Blackpool Lights.' The band's two shows on Ja. 27 and 28 2004 were captured on Super 8 cameras during touring duties for their 'Elephant' album.

At points throughout the footage the word "obnoxious" can be seen written on Jack White's arm, while at others it changes to "noxious." This is apparently due to Meg White who is said to have written the words before both shows as a joke on director Dick Carruthers. As the film features footage from both nights, the differing words created a clearly visible continuity error.

You should also know: The Empress Ballroom is part of a bigger complex of venues called the Winter Gardens. The complex opened in 1878 and was added to in the 1930s to increase the facilities on offer. So synonymous is the venue with political conferences that the owners claim that every British Prime Minister since the Second World War has addressed an audience there.

Booking now: Basement Jaxx, Them Crooked Vultures, The Prodigy, Enter Shikari, Status Quo, Here Come the Girls Tour featuring Lulu, Anastasia and Chaka Khan.