Inspired by music - Marvin Gaye: More than a casino

Our next stop at the Midnight Live Tour was the Casino-Kursaal, one of the biggest landmarks of Ostend. It’s also located on the Albert I – Promenade like the two former stops, but closer to the center of town. The original building dates back from the 19th century, but was more a dance and concert hall than a real casino. During World War II, the Germans demolished it and put a bunker there.

The current building was constructed in the beginning of the 50ies and is a lot bigger than its predecessor. It’s not just a casino anymore! There is a concert hall and a restaurant as well. The part where the casino itself is located is rectangular, whereas the rest of the building is half-round. And as you might have guessed, one of the artists who performed here was indeed Marvin Gaye.

But organizing a concert for him in Ostend wasn’t very easy. The main problem was that Gaye had in the meantime become less popular. Two concerts in Brussels had already been canceled before, because tickets failed to sell. Eventually, he did perform at two concerts in the Casino-Kursaal, but the concert hall was only 50% full on both occasions. On the other hand, the second show was recorded for Belgian television.

This is one of the songs of that concert:

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