LOOK behind the scenes at Ventnor Winter Gardens during English Heritage’s Open Heritage Festival.

The iconic art deco building is opening its doors on the afternoons of Saturday, September 21, and Sunday, September 22, offering guided tours rounds the parts of the site not normally open to the public.

The building opened as the Winter Gardens Pavilion in August 1936, arguably too quickly as the paint had not dried in the concert hall, resulting in members of the audience being 'daubed in paint'.

Since then it has been at the heart of the Ventnor community.

On the tour, visitors can stand on the stage where many great names have performed and hear how Davy Jones honed his act as resident band across the summer of 1965 to emerge as David Bowie less than a month later.

See the dressing rooms, which could tell tales of interesting happenings over the years, maybe how Dick Emery cemented his relationship with his second wife who he met on the Winter Gardens stage in 1950.

The venue used to be in public ownership but was closed by the Isle of Wight Council in 2011.

It was bought by the Hambrough Group and reopened as a private enterprise.

Tours are free. Just turn up between 1pm and 5pm on either day.