Author: jimmyc1968

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!  

London Tenth Trip

A Northern invasion of London is always to be savoured when Mogwai decide to play in the capital city. Thus, when they announced they were to be incorporated in the bill for the Meltdown Festival in 2014 by playing Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank we jumped at the chance to attend.

Uncle George, John and Tony Dewhurst and I headed down on the Virgin express to and dropped our bags across the road at our digs at the handy Premier Inn opposite Euston Station. We met Nigel who had headed in from Brighton at a boozer in Borough Market where we discussed my gig list and the very early germination at that stage of the idea to create this very blog!

We progressed down the river and had a drink at the bar within the Globe Theatre. As we passed London Tate Modern, I witnessed a young singer called Jolie Fox on a makeshift stage. We continued down the river afterwards to then arrive at the London Royal Festival Hall.

Globe Theatre. Image Credit travellousworld.com

The Festival Hall was opened in 1951 after an expenditure of £2m and was built as part of the Festival of Britain which was instigated to provide a boost to the national morale after the Second World War. It sits alongside the Hayward Gallery, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Purcell Room within an 11-acre site all under the auspices of the Southbank Centre, with the main venue having an all seated 2900 capacity.

It has been run as an independent concern since 1988 and the building has Grade 1 listed status. In 2014, their Festival of Love concluded with 70 couples, including 15 same-sex couples marrying on the main stage. On the musical front, Grace Jones and Patti Smith have played there and Brian Wilson premiered his sixth album Smile with a live performance.

Royal Festival Hall. Image Credit circular1.com

We mulched about briefly in the downstairs area and I purchased a new Mogwai t-shirt from the merch stand, Clinic had supported that night, but we had missed their set. We headed upstairs and grabbed our seats and admired the surroundings before Mogwai took the stage. I thought ‘Travel is Dangerous’, and a thunderous ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ were excellent, with the latter track ending the initial set, before the aural assault continued into the encore with ‘New Paths to Helicon Part 1’ and We’re No Here’.   

Afterwards we jumped on the nearby tube for the commute to the final gig of the evening, but annoyingly I left my newly purchased T-shirt in the carriage when disembarking! Our destination was Chalk Farm station which takes you instantly into another of those innumerable London suburbs with its own high street, bars and community.

The tube station is next to the Roundhouse venue where many fine bands have undertaken residencies there, our next venue was not as highbrow and was namely London Chalk Farm Fiddlers Elbow.

Chalk Farm Fiddlers Elbow. Image Credit londonsubscene.net

It was a filthy rainy night (not in Soho!) and we struggled to locate the pub, but we landed eventually much to our relief. The hostelry was built in the 1840’s and was previously known as The Old Mother Shipton before holding the Fiddler’s name since the 1970’s. It is a Grade II listed building and a homely venue with Chesterfield sofas and a music room with a 150 capacity.

It is an independently run concern and they host alternate event such as poetry readings and book signings, but their main pursuit is live music, with both the Vibrators and The Damned having played there back in the day.

On the night of our visit, the band on stage were the MOBBS, who billed themselves as ‘garage punk rock ‘n’ roll at one hundred miles per hour’ but unfortunately, they did not quite live up to that rather enticing preamble!