Year: 2022

Glasgow Venue 5 – Hampden Park

My overriding preference of venue would always be the smaller one man and his dog establishments where you are more liable to catch lean and hungry bands on their way up, though very occasionally I have to bite the bullet and attend larger auditoriums and stadiums to be able to see certain special bands who only play at that level. Neil Young is one such act and I first witnessed him in 1987 at the soulless Birmingham NEC, the other two times I watched him were fortunately in festival settings.

The other combo is AC/DC who I am a huge fan of despite them essentially being a two bars blues band at heart, but they do perform it with such volume and aplomb. I first saw them at Manchester MEN Arena in 2001. Their next British tour was eight years later in June 2009, and we dawdled when the tickets were released, and the tour ended up being sold out. The gig gods were smiling on us though when additional tickets were available for the Glasgow Hampden Park date, and we summarily snapped them up.   

Hampden Park. Image Credit urbanrealm.com

The first challenge was to locate a bed for the night as no city centre accommodation was available, thus resulting in our digs being a train ride and a further mile walk away (it is always further away than it looks on the map!). We visited a couple of bars down Stockwell Street near the River Clyde and the city’s pubs were highly populated as 52k gig goers were in town.

They were unsurprisingly playing AC/DC on the jukebox in the Scotia Bar, and we then frequented the Clutha & Victoria Bar, the pub where four years later there was the horrendous police helicopter crash resulting in ten fatalities. Thankfully the establishment was rebuilt and is thriving again.

Clutha and Victoria Bar. Image Credit blogspot.com

As the stadium was about three miles out of town, we hailed a taxi, which due to the heavy traffic could only reach the outskirts of the arena area. On disembarking the cab, I suddenly had an overwhelming crippling urge to spend a penny, I am sure you have all been there! I picked up pace, but the ground never seemed to arrive and then somewhat inevitably we discovered our entry gate was on the far side of the stadium. Finally, access to the venue was achieved and mission accomplished to enable me to actually think clearly again.     

The original Hampden Park was built in 1873, taking its name from the nearby Hampden Terrace and the first international match there in 1878 was a 7-2 win over England. In 1883, the national stadium was moved a few hundred metres east and then again further south in 1903 to its current site, always with the same name. The original site is now covered by railway lines.

The current Hampden (Pairc Hampden in Gaelic) has a population of 51,866 and over its timeline there has been a plethora of different sports played there including rugby union, athletics, tennis, baseball, speedway, boxing and American football. The first music concert was Genesis and Paul Young in 1987 and U2, Bruce Springsteen and Rolling Stones have graced the stage there.    

Having booked late tickets, we expected to be in a corner or in the gods, but we were astonished to discover terrific centre stage seats with a superb vantage. The Subways were supporting and did a sterling job with their high-octane performance; however, they were always to be outdone by the main act as they possessed their own individual sound system.

AC/DC opened with a thunderously loud two-minute cheeky video before launching into their current single ‘Rock N Roll Train’ off the Black Ice album, the whole sold out place literally erupted. At that very moment I almost saw the benefits of a stadium gig with the shared communal atmosphere, but only almost.

For over half of set, they were spellbindingly good and even at their advanced age were still kicking the butts of many younger wannabe acts. Towards the end there some spinal tap moments, but that is only me being slightly picky. ‘Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be’, ‘Hells Bells’, Dog Eat Dog’, Highway to Hell’ were glorious, with the highlight being ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’.

After we left the stadium there was a claustrophobic passage of old thin alleyways which brought back slightly unpleasant memories of football crowd crushes in the 1980’s and I was glad when we had navigated through that area. We considered catching a train, but local station Mount Pleasant was absolutely packed to the gills, so we undertook the hour walk back into the city.

We had a further drink in the Clutha beer garden as it was a balmy summer’s evening before a late drink in Nice and Sleazy on Sauchiehall Street. The final venue of the day was a Noodle Bar across the road before a cab back to the hotel completed a rather fine day.  

Manchester Venue 70 – The Attic

Manchester Oxford Road train station opened in 1849 and was built in the renowned local slum area of ‘Little Ireland’ and was initially a single platform station. Over the intervening period the station expanded to five platforms, and I have caught trains from them all!

When I first used to commute over to gigs in Manchester from Preston in the mid 80’s we always needed someone to drive as the only alternate was an hourly train into Manchester Victoria. The opening of the 700m Windsor Link between Salford Crescent and Deansgate in 1988 vastly improved the situation as it connected lines to the north and south of Manchester, opening up routes from Preston into Oxford Road, Piccadilly, and the Airport. The train then became the chosen mode of transport for gig nights.   

I have always been fond of Oxford Road station it as it has been my most regular arrival/departure point for nearby venues Sound Control, Ritz, and Gorilla or to the four Academy venues a short walk away down Oxford Road. Some of this allure has waned slightly as it has now become my work commute point since moving to Manchester. The station is a Grade II listed building and as a result needs a little bit of love and constant repair and it can be a draughty place. It is still listed for expansion if the Northern Hub plans ever reach fruition. 

Oxford Road station. Image Credit manchesterhistory.net

There used to be an old piano near Platform 4 where you could occasionally hear drunken punters trying to embrace their inner Mozart! I also read somewhere that on a Motown tour including a very young Stevie Wonder in the 60’s, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas once stepped off onto the platform and played a set, which I am sure would have been a sight to behold.  

The station is built on a hill and as you exit the station there is a road that slopes downwards to the left bringing you out where the Cornerhouse Cinema used to be located and opposite the Palace Theatre. Years ago, I saw West Side Story there and recently saw School of Rock, which was superb fun and recommended. Just outside the entrance they have replaced the newsagent kiosk with a new vendor called Slice Pizza and Bread Bar, and you may be unsurprised to discover, I have already partaken of their wares prior to the last train departing.

If you head marginally right this takes you to the 56 steps (I have counted them!) leading down to a trio of pubs and Oxford Road. Many times, there has been a cheeky very late beer necessitating a scramble up these steps, then the incline and then up and down a further two flights of stairs and an additional 64 steps on to Platform 2 for the last Preston train. A couple of times, it was missed, and I recall one other time when I was holding the train doors ajar much to the platform staff’s chagrin as Gill and Uncle George flew down the stairs behind me!

At the bottom of the aforementioned steps immediately to your left is the grungy Salisbury pub, which has been a meeting point for many years, and they do support the local music scene by offering a reduction on the price of your pint via producing evidence of a gig ticket for that evening, for any venue.    

Directly opposite the Salisbury at either 50 New Wakefield Street or 50 Oxford Road (the official address is unclear!) are a set of spiral stairs taking you up to Manchester Attic, which sits adjacent and upstairs from the Thirsty Scholar pub. This venue fascinated me for many years due to its location, but we had never had a chance to visit as its primary function was a late-night dance club. However, good things come to those who wait as the Dot-to-Dot festival included it on their 2013 roster.

Myself pictured recently outside the Attic venue. Image Credit John Dewhurst.

Next to there but at a lower level is the Zombie Shack which I have never visited but it was included in the roster for the recent Neighbourhood Festival held in that area encompassing thirteen local venues.  

Thus, we finally headed upwards to the Attic venue though to be fair it was fairly nondescript as a small one room setting with a bar on the right and an alcove stage at the end of the room, but it was nevertheless a huge tick in the Jimmy gig roster! Searching the internet, it remains unclear whether the venue is still operational.

First on stage were the Rivals followed by the Thumpers (often known as THUMPERS), a London indie pop duo. One of their member was previously a drummer in Noah and the Whale. They subsequently split in 2018 with their final show taking place at the Lexington in London.