London · first lightMay 1964
Five from Newcastle, their gear on a wagon, and a basement two flights under Kingsway.
Two flights down
Burdon · Price · Chandler · Valentine · Steel
A Newcastle band pushed their own gear to a studio under an office block and came out with a record that went to the top in Britain and America. Load the cart and take it down.
Tyneside · the 1950s to 1964
Walker
Walker · Walker, east Newcastle, on the Tyne
Eric Burdon calls himself a Geordie from Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne.
He began in Newcastle, soaking up American blues and jazz. The B-side of the band’s first single, released on 27 March 1964, was Gonna Send You Back to Walker.
A riverside district of east Newcastle. Walk the Tyne path; no house here is named or pinned.
Teens
Newcastle City Hall · Northumberland Road, Newcastle
As a teenager he heard Muddy Waters rehearsing inside Newcastle City Hall.
Burdon says many of the great blues and jazz players passed through his home town.
Still a concert hall: go to a show.
1960
Site of the Downbeat · Carliol Square, Newcastle
The Downbeat was in a former school building in Carliol Square; it opened in 1960 and ran for about four years.
Its upstairs room was basic, with posters on the walls and a tiny stage at one end. As the club turned to rougher sounds, the jazz quintet gave way to the Animals. The building was demolished; the slow lane of the Central Motorway East took its place.
The building is gone, under the Central Motorway East. Carliol Square is a public street.
Percy Street, Newcastle · 1962–1968
The Animals were the resident band. The club belonged to Mike Jeffery, later Jimi Hendrix’s manager.
It was a tiny room: scooters outside, a doorman with dogs, entry about the price of a couple of pints. The Rolling Stones, the Who, the Yardbirds, Cream and Pink Floyd played there. People still remember Hendrix’s gig there in 1967.
The arcade was demolished in 1987 for a car park. A plaque was unveiled there on 8 September 2022.
A car park now, with the club’s plaque. Some of the old arcade’s iron roof is kept inside Eldon Square.
Percy Street today
Club aGoGo opened in 1962 above the Handyside Arcade on Percy Street and closed in 1968, when it became a prize bingo hall.
The name
The band begins as the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo and takes the name the Animals once Burdon joins.
Castle Keep · Castle Garth, Newcastle
An early publicity photograph of the five was taken at the Castle Keep, probably in early 1964.
In it, left to right: Eric Burdon, vocals; Alan Price, keyboards; Chas Chandler, bass; Hilton Valentine, guitar; John Steel, drums. The Keep is a Scheduled Ancient Monument of four floors.
Open daily 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm); closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays from November to March, except school holidays. Adults £13.65, an annual pass.
Castle Garth, Newcastle upon Tyne · Adults £13.65, an annual pass
The Keep and the Black Gate. Open daily 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm; closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays from November to March except in school holidays.
Plan a visitCastle Garth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1RQ · Book direct
A hotel on Castle Garth, beside the Keep where the five were photographed in 1964, with bedrooms, suites and serviced apartments, a restaurant and a bar.
Check roomsKing’s Cross to Kingsway · May 1964
On tour with Chuck Berry, the band took a train with their gear from Manchester to King’s Cross. They loaded it on a push wagon and moved it through the early-morning streets, which were nearly empty. Burdon remembers it as a Sunday, the band’s day off.
About 1.7 km in a straight line between the two pins; nobody recorded the way they went.
King’s Cross station
Load all five, push four stretches, and the basement opens here.
A working main-line station, open daily.
1697 Broadway, New York · 1964–1966
The Animals played The Ed Sullivan Show six times. First, on 18 October 1964: I’m Crying and House of the Rising Sun. The audience was so unruly that Sullivan had to quiet them several times.
18 October 1964
I’m Crying and House of the Rising Sun
The house is screaming.
Ed Sullivan Theater · 1697 Broadway, between West 53rd and 54th Streets, New York
They were back on 24 January 1965 with Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, and twice more that year. On 6 February 1966 they played We Gotta Get Out of This Place and Inside Looking Out; the last show, on 14 August 1966, had Shake and Don’t Bring Me Down.
The theatre opened in 1927 as Hammerstein’s; the Sullivan show moved in, as CBS-TV Studio 50, in 1953, and the building took his name in 1967. Its lobbies and auditorium have been a New York City landmark since 1988. The Late Show signed off there on 21 May 2026.
The Late Show signed off on 21 May 2026 and the theatre’s next use has not been announced. See the marquee from Broadway.
The line-up changes
Alan Price left in 1965 and John Steel in 1966; the original line-up had eight Top 40 hits between 1964 and 1966. Chandler left the Animals in 1966 to manage talent.
MacDougal Street and Kingsway · 1966
129 Kingsway · two flights down · 18 May 1964
The Animals recorded The House of the Rising Sun there on 18 May 1964, with Siddle engineering. It was the studio’s first No. 1.
The studio was two flights below the street. Burdon recalls a soundcheck and one take, about fifteen minutes; a contract he found later put the session at £34.
Café Wha? · 115 MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village, New York · 5 July 1966
On 5 July 1966 Chas Chandler went to see him there, sent by Linda Keith; the Animals had just arrived in New York to start a tour.
Hendrix, then calling himself Jimmy James, played in the Café Wha? house band. Hendrix opened with Hey Joe and also played Like a Rolling Stone; Chandler said the second song convinced him.
Still a music club, below the Players Theatre. Its house band plays Wednesday to Sunday.
New York
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Compare toursMonterey, California · 16 June 1967
Cable · 12 June 1967A cable of 12 June 1967 from Alan Pariser addressed Burdon, the Animals and Hendrix about arrangements for getting there.
Burdon calls Monterey the first gig of the new Animals; they played without a rehearsal.
The Monterey International Pop Festival ran from 16 to 18 June 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. On the Friday night they followed Johnny Rivers; their Paint It Black added an electric violin. Burdon wrote the song Monterey about it.
For the fiftieth anniversary in 2017 the festival came back to the same fairgrounds; Burdon played the Friday.
A 22-acre state-owned event ground; the office is open 9am to 4pm (closed noon to 1pm). Go for an event.
Eric Burdon, January 1967
Burdon hopes Monterey and San Franciscan Nights catch that weekend and that summer. He lived among San Francisco’s flower-power crowd, then moved to Laurel Canyon.
Heaton, the Tyne and Cleveland · 1938 to 1995
1938
Second Avenue, Heaton · Second Avenue, Heaton, Newcastle
He worked as a turner at the Swan Hunter shipyard and at Parsons, learning guitar and then bass in his spare time.
Chas Chandler was born in Heaton on 18 December 1938. A black city council plaque is on the wall of his former home on Second Avenue.
A private house on a residential street. Its council plaque is on the wall; look from the pavement and let the people who live there be.
1995
Utilita Arena · Arena Way, Newcastle
Chandler co-founded and backed the ten-thousand-seat Newcastle Arena, which opened in 1995.
He died at Newcastle General Hospital on 17 July 1996, aged 57.
A working arena: go to a concert or a game.
1994
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame · 1100 Rock & Roll Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio
The Animals were inducted in 1994.
The plaque names John Steel, Hilton Valentine, Eric Burdon, Chas Chandler and Alan Price. The original members came together again for the induction.
Open daily 10am to 5pm from September to June, Thursdays until 9pm. Adult tickets are $45.
1100 Rock & Roll Boulevard, Cleveland · Adults $45
The museum of the Hall that inducted the Animals in 1994. Open daily 10am to 5pm from September to June, Thursdays until 9pm.
Buy ticketsWhere it is now
In Newcastle, Percy Street, the City Hall and Carliol Square are a short walk apart, with the Keep down by the river and Walker and Heaton to the east. In London, King’s Cross to Kingsway is a walk south. In New York, Broadway and MacDougal Street are a subway ride apart.
12 places you can visit, from Walker to Cleveland. The Downbeat and Club aGoGo are gone; their sites are pinned on public streets. Chas Chandler’s old home in Heaton is private: the street is named, not mapped.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A riverside district of east Newcastle. Walk the Tyne path; no house here is named or pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Still a concert hall: go to a show.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The building is gone, under the Central Motorway East. Carliol Square is a public street.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A car park now, with the club’s plaque. Some of the old arcade’s iron roof is kept inside Eldon Square.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open daily 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm); closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays from November to March, except school holidays. Adults £13.65, an annual pass.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working arena: go to a concert or a game.
Walker, east Newcastle, on the Tyne
Eric Burdon calls himself a Geordie from Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne.
A riverside district of east Newcastle. Walk the Tyne path; no house here is named or pinned.
Northumberland Road, Newcastle
Burdon says many of the great blues and jazz players passed through his home town.
Still a concert hall: go to a show.
Carliol Square, Newcastle
The Downbeat was in a former school building in Carliol Square; it opened in 1960 and ran for about four years.
The building is gone, under the Central Motorway East. Carliol Square is a public street.
Percy Street, Newcastle (now Eldon Garden car park)
Club aGoGo opened in 1962 above the Handyside Arcade on Percy Street and closed in 1968, when it became a prize bingo hall.
A car park now, with the club’s plaque. Some of the old arcade’s iron roof is kept inside Eldon Square.
Castle Garth, Newcastle
An early publicity photograph of the five was taken at the Castle Keep, probably in early 1964.
Open daily 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm); closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays from November to March, except school holidays. Adults £13.65, an annual pass.
Arena Way, Newcastle
Chandler co-founded and backed the ten-thousand-seat Newcastle Arena, which opened in 1995.
A working arena: go to a concert or a game.
Stay
A hotel on Castle Garth, beside the stones where the five were photographed in 1964.
Castle Garth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1RQ · Book direct
A hotel on Castle Garth, beside the Keep where the five were photographed in 1964, with bedrooms, suites and serviced apartments, a restaurant and a bar.
Check roomsGo there
Newcastle Castle, the Hall of Fame, and walks in Newcastle, London and Greenwich Village.
Castle Garth, Newcastle upon Tyne · Adults £13.65, an annual pass
The Keep and the Black Gate. Open daily 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm; closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays from November to March except in school holidays.
Plan a visit1100 Rock & Roll Boulevard, Cleveland · Adults $45
The museum of the Hall that inducted the Animals in 1994. Open daily 10am to 5pm from September to June, Thursdays until 9pm.
Buy ticketsNewcastle upon Tyne
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No Animals or Eric Burdon date after October 2026 was on an official page when we checked.
No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.
Take it home
Burdon’s own account, the single made under Kingsway, the first single and the first British album.
Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon’s memoir.
Find the bookThe Animals · 7-inch single, Columbia, 1964
Made in the basement at 129 Kingsway on 18 May 1964.
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Find a copyThe Animals · 7-inch single, Columbia, 1964
The first single; its B-side is named after Walker.
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Find a copyThe Animals · LP, Columbia, 1964
The first British album.
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Find a copyDates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
13 of 13 places · 22 of 22 Moments
Walker, east Newcastle, on the Tyne
Eric Burdon grows up in Walker, listening to American blues and jazz.
The first single comes out with Gonna Send You Back to Walker on the B-side.
Northumberland Road, Newcastle
A teenage Burdon hears Muddy Waters rehearsing inside the City Hall.
Carliol Square, Newcastle
In an upstairs room in Carliol Square the jazz quintet gives way to the Animals.
Percy Street, Newcastle (now Eldon Garden car park)
The band begins as the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo and takes the name the Animals once Burdon joins.
The Animals are the resident band at Mike Jeffery’s club above the Handyside Arcade.
Hendrix plays the club where the Animals were the house band.
Club aGoGo’s plaque is unveiled where the arcade stood.
Castle Garth, Newcastle
An early publicity photograph is taken at the Castle Keep.
Second Avenue, Heaton, Newcastle
Chas Chandler is born in Heaton; he will turn lathes at Swan Hunter before he plays bass.
Arena Way, Newcastle
The arena Chandler co-founded opens.
Euston Road, London N1
A train from Manchester; the gear on a push wagon through empty streets.
129 Kingsway, Holborn, opposite Holborn station
A soundcheck and one take in a basement on Kingsway.
Chandler brings Hendrix to 129 Kingsway for his first session; the bank upstairs complains.
1697 Broadway, between West 53rd and 54th Streets, New York
First Sullivan show: I’m Crying and House of the Rising Sun.
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood on the Sullivan stage.
Shake and Don’t Bring Me Down on their sixth and final Sullivan show.
115 MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village, New York
Chas Chandler watches Hendrix open with Hey Joe.
2004 Fairground Road, Monterey, California
Alan Pariser cables Burdon, the Animals and Hendrix about getting to the festival.
The new Animals play their first gig, without a rehearsal, on the festival’s first night.
The festival returns to the fairgrounds and Burdon plays the Friday.
1100 Rock & Roll Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio
The Animals are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
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