I don’t live far away so I and my friends have been to a number of varied gigs here. I’ve seen lots of great bands and many decent comedians. Whoever books bands for this place, seem to have a good eye for great up and coming groups along with managing to get already established artists such as Paul Weller and Ian Brown.

It’s a ‘proper’ old style town hall with all the old features (that could probably do with repairing and cleaning up a bit) but the very fact that it’s old, dark and quite a small venue, gives it loads of character.

There’s some great pubs nearby as well, especially The Walkabout, directly opposite where most people congregate before going in. (The bar in the venue gets very busy!)

Contrary to what some might have you believe, it’s a friendly area and not different from any other large town centre. In all my years of visiting, I’ve always had a great time and would recommend it for a good night out. Obviously though, if the band turns out to be rubbish, you can’t blame the venue! And if you aren’t local, be on your toes about ‘The Parmo’ – I would suggest avoiding it if possible.

One thing to bear in mind when visiting the town hall is that all drinks have to be consumed in the bar downstairs. No drinks can be taken into the hall where the show takes place.

i love watching loads of comedians. i seen Frankie boyle was on at the town hall in middlesborough and wana found out when he's on.