Month: September 2023

Manchester Venue 95 to 97 Chorlton – Part 2

In May 2009, we watched PNE lose again in the play offs, this particular time to Sheffield United and post-match the discussion turned to attending another event on the weekend of the play-off final. Thus, a couple of weeks later Uncle George, John Dewhurst and I took a car down the old M63 to South Manchester and found some cheap digs near Old Trafford football ground.

We then purloined a cab over to Chorlton and I recall visiting the Sedge Lynn Wetherspoons pub which used to be an old billiards hall. The venue we were gravitating towards was the Irish Club on High Lane, which was originally founded in 1956 to serve the local Irish community. In more recent times, it has had numerous financial difficulties and was put up for sale in 2020, and its future remains very uncertain.

It held numerous community activities and also hosted comedy nights with Peter Kay and John Bishop performing in the building. It also periodically had gigs on and the week before our attendance Sad Day for Puppets played there, whose debut album I thought was a decent output. I do recall however the NME reviewing the gig and inexplicably scoring it 0 out of 10, which withstanding the fact of personal preferences aside as there are bands I really do not like, I would never provide a score of zero for a live performance!  

The venue reminded me of a large doctor’s surgery house, in a good way. Firstly, there was Chorlton Irish Club Acoustic room where I saw a set by Manchester band Bugs in Ember who were at that point crafting their debut album ‘Take These Bones’.

Chorlton Irish Club. Image Credit the businessdesk.com

Next to there was the Chorlton Irish Club Downstairs stage and first up was a five-piece from Matlock called Bicycle Thieves. They were followed by Marple boys the Dutch Uncles who had only formed the year before and were just releasing their self-titled debut album. They have links to the afore-mentioned local football club of West Didsbury and Chorlton and have in fact performed a promo on the pitch and their post-punk sound is still going strong as they are now six albums in. 

The Dutch Uncles on the pitch. Image Credit The Quietus

On the Chorlton Irish Club Upstairs stage we initially saw LoveLikeFire who were an enjoyable San Francisco dream pop band.  The main act was Pains of Being Pure at Heart, a shoegaze band from New York. I was always a huge fan of this band and treasure their self-titled debut album and this performance was very early in their career and about their sixth date in England and first in Manchester.

Refreshingly and in the spirit of old Manchester International days, they only took the stage at 11.45pm and were leaning on the wall next to me just prior to their performance. They were always best where they had oodles of volume and they were thankfully pretty thunderous in that regard that night.

They opened with my fave track ‘Contender’ and were spellbindingly good and were clearly taken aback by the hugely favourable and noisy audience reaction, at subsequent performances they always referenced this special night. They understandably only played about a 35 minute set as that encompassed all the tunes they had at that stage. After the show I managed to sweet talk a bouncer into letting us into a local late bar for a last drink before our 1am taxi pick up.   

  

Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Image Credit beardedgentlemenmusic.com

I have thought about this event after the fact and it ticked so many boxes for me with the multiple self-contained venues, a discerning likeminded crowd, great music, and late performances which  places it firmly as a Top 20 gig in my all-time list!    

Manchester Venue 94 Chorlton – Part 1

My local tram stop about 20 minutes’ walk away is the current line terminus at East Didsbury. There are provisional plans in place to eventually extend this line through to Stockport, which would be an excellent addition but in truth is probably a fair few years from fruition.

On the metro route into town, you can jump off at either Chorlton or St Werberghs Road station which provide different access points into Chorlton-cum-Hardy (though I have never seen the Wheelies!). The Fallowfield Loop cycle and walking route follows the metro line at this juncture and terminates at Wilbraham Road by the tram stop.

Chorlton tram stop. Image Credit philweiland.com

Nearby to there is the Carlton Club at Whalley Range who have periodic gigs and the snooker player Steve Davis’s band has played there a couple of times, but I have never yet graced its doors.

The derivation of the area harks back to 610 AD, when the forest was initially cleared by those cheeky Saxons! Four such hamlets were merged in the 19th century and the name of Chorlton-cum-Hardy was created.  

The ‘quaint’ practice of bullbaiting was introduced in the 13th century and was active on Chorlton Green until it was finally thankfully made illegal in 1835. At this point half of the green was a private garden owned by Samuel Wilton, who lived in a house next to the Horse and Jockey, the pub remains to this day.

The population burgeoned following the introduction of a regular horse drawn service to Manchester city centre in 1864, following this there was also a train station built and an electric tram service opened in 1907. In more contemporary times (2011) the metrolink expansion 3a to the area further enhanced the commutability aspect.      

The River Mersey end of Chorlton route starts initially with the water park and then a path leads you past West Didsbury and Chorlton football club’s ground. I visited the stadium for the first time recently for one of their biggest ever games, but they unfortunately lost their FA Vase quarter final tie on penalties to Ascot United.  

West Didsbury and Chorlton FC during the aforementioned penalty shootout. Image Credit blogspot.com

The recent success of a couple of promotions has presented a conundrum for the football club who are recognised locally and simply as ‘West’. The resultant increase in attendances and attention has exponentially increased the demand for match day parking in an area that already had a dearth of parking areas which has naturally caused friction with the local residents!

Beyond there you then arrive at the leafy suburb of Beech Road with its bars and restaurants. My pal Matty Allen informed me that this street had the most prolific postcode in the country of Guardian readers, which sounds like a discerning crew to me. On the musical heritage front the Bee Gees went to school in Chorlton and performed their first gig in the area.

The other conurbation of bars is situated five minutes’ walk away around Wilbraham Road, one of those establishments is Chorlton Mary and Archies. It was their second branch to open in 2016 following their original site located in West Didsbury which subsequently closed in 2018. It is a cosy little bar with an outdoor space, and they occasionally have acoustic acts and on the one night I visited a lass called Sally was performing.  

Chorlton Mary and Archies. Image Credit confidentialguides.com

There is a swathe of bars near to the tram station and a particular favourite of mine is the Chorlton Tap right across the road. You are also within ten minutes’ walk of the Old Trafford cricket ground, where I have previously seen REM and Pixies perform. I also visited recently in a sporting capacity for a truncated day of Ashes action, the lack of play was a cause and effect of the ever-reliable Manchester rain!