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De Roma in Antwerp has a rich history. It was built in 1934 as a gigantic cinema (seating over 2000 people) and variety theater. It has seen all of Belgium’s artists and a whole range of international artists too. However, in 1982 it closed its doors and fell into decay.

In 2003 a group of enthusiastic neighbors started to renovate this amazing building in their spare time. In the beginning, there were only shows in the summer. Nowadays, the revue is restored in its original, breathtaking stage.

I believe the first concert after the renovation started was given by El Tattoo del Tigre, a major Belgian mambo big band that was founded in 1999 in Antwerp. They gave their farewell concert at the AB on January 31, 2009. The repertoire of the 28-piece show band was predominantly Hispanic classics and original songs. The orchestra was supplemented with various solo singers including Nele Bauwens, Esmé Bos, Tine Embrechts, Pieter Embrechts, Tine Reymer, and Bart Voet. The performances were usually with a lot of machismo, presented by the “masters of ceremony” Adriaan Van den Hoof andPeter Van Den Begin. Several members of the band came from the theater group The Kakkewieten. In 2001, the virtuoso trumpeter Theo Mertens part in the band, along with his son Carlo Mertens.

Pieter Embrechts and Thomas Prince (former pianist of El Tattoo del Tigre) have put together a new band: The New Radio Kings.

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