Manchester Venue 8 – Academy 1

Manchester Academy was built in 1990 about 100 yards from Manchester Students Union on Oxford Road and was renamed as Academy 1 in 2004 when the Academy venues merged. It is the largest of the group with a capacity of 2600, but I have always found it to be an accessible venue and tend to head down the right side to endeavour to have the best vantage of the stage. Generally, though it is a decent view from any area in the venue. The bar by the entrance however is brutally hard to get served.

Since my first visit on 24/05/91 I have attended there 30 times placing it at No 3 on the venues most attended list. That first gig was a starry double bill of Wedding Present and Buffalo Tom and was the first gig where we caught the 1.20am ghost train back. That train became a staple for many years after. I saw the Weddoes there again in 2007.

My next two visits in 1992 and 1993 involved stalking Sugar (Bob Mould’s new band after Husker Du) on their initial tours. The following year I saw Kristin Hersh (previously of Throwing Muses) and remains one of only about five gigs I have ever driven to, because quite frankly why would one want to drive to a gig?

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Sugar publicity pic. Image credit Spin

In the tail end of the 90’s Billy Bragg played twice with a Spiritualised gig in the middle of those two.  In 2000 I had high hopes for Queens of the Stone Age but despite a great first track it disappointedly petered out.

2002 saw Rocket from the Crypt imitators The Hives in town, the gig did not work for me at all. That was followed by two gigs involving legendary bands I had chased for a while, Sonic Youth and Fugazi. Both were excellent but on reflection Fugazi shaded it. The band contained Ian MacKaye (previously of Minor Threat) and they cut an intelligent and engaging presence.

Somewhat unsurprisingly I have caught every Mogwai Manchester date and they graced the stage four times between 2003 and 2011, all of consistently high quality. The only gig I have never attended due to illness was a Hundred Reason show, so I immediately rectified that by catching them on their next tour in 2004.

The Vines and Mercury Rev were splendid gigs and I also saw Go Team and Nine Black Alps there in 2006. Later that year I saw a proper high energy set from the Subways which turned out to be my 100th gig in Manchester.

We went to see Explosions in the Sky in 2008 missing an important North End relegation game against West Brom. We were keeping ourselves updated and confirmation of the final result – a 2-1 win induced whoops of delight which coincided with a very quiet passage on stage generating quizzical looks in our direction from the band!

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Explosions in the Sky on stage. Image credit asialive365.com.

Further gigs followed from Ash, Buzzcocks and Hole. The final one inducing regret that I didn’t see them earlier in their career as their performance felt somewhat staged. The Hold Steady on 10/12/08 was as ever a positively uplifting experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed Eels in 17/03/13 in attendance with super fan Gary Moore who now runs the Schooner pub in Gateshead which stages live music. I have not yet had the opportunity to visit said establishment.

www.theschooner.co.uk

My two most recent gigs there were to see Toots and the Maytals, decent but too quiet and a 25th anniversary gig with Feeder in 2018.   

Blackpool Gigs

Blackpool has always been an anathema to me as a Preston North End fan, however grudgingly I must admit the place does have some merits. I had many trips when a wee pup to the Pleasure Beach and me and Gill have had some fine day trips there in the past followed by a Chinese at the Mayflower on the sea front. Additionally, my stag outing involved beer stops on the train back from Blackpool South to Preston.

Blackpool has not been a fertile ground for gigs as I have only attended 4 in total over the years. The first involved Status Quo in 1984 on their farewell tour. You may chortle at that as they are still on the circuit, but it was officially their last tour, until the intervention of Live Aid brought them out of retirement the following year. The concert was at Blackpool Opera House and was my second ever gig.

We travelled the 20 miles over on a trundly bus. It was a large auditorium and we were sat up on the front row of the balcony. They were very good value and thumpingly loud and somewhat predictably ‘Rocking All Over the World’ went down a storm. Due to the encores we missed the last bus and my mate’s dad had to undertake a mercy mission to come and pick us up.

There followed a gap of 6 years to the second gig foray into Blackpool. It was a wholly unplanned one as I was out on a works do on a Friday afternoon around Preston and my mate Spig who resided in Blackpool mentioned that the Family Cat were playing at Blackpool Jenks. I can find no history on the venue, but it has clearly since bit the dust.

This club was home to Zone in its early years.
Blackpool Jenks having seen better days. Image Credit blackpoolgazette.co.uk

After a couple of sherbets, the gig attendance sounded like a fabulous idea, so we pottered off to the train station. On arrival in Blackpool we ran into a couple of his other mates who also decided to attend. Blackpool Jenks was located opposite the North Pier and after going up an endless flight of stairs it resembled a nightclub setting with stage towards the back. Family Cat were the first band I witnessed to have four guitarists which is always an enthralling sight to me as a colossal guitar fan. The four-guitar pronged approach was repeated most effectively years later by Mogwai. It was a very late gig and I recall they made an impressive racket. The day ended with me crashing on Spig’s bedroom floor.

The third gig was to see the Proclaimers in the Winter Gardens on 21/06/08 and they were as enjoyable as ever in a decent venue with excellent visibility. The fourth and final one is a treasured one as me and Gill were lucky enough to see the Specials at the Empress Ballroom on 04/11/09. I was too young to see them on their first time round but grasped the opportunity on their initial reunion tour. It was on an apocalyptically wet Tuesday night and we had a decent Thai meal beforehand. It was a large venue with a huge sprung floor which even if you didn’t dance yourself had an instant trampoline effect and they went down an absolute storm and continue to be as relevant as ever. We squelched off for the last train from Blackpool North which remains one of the most soul less stations I have ever encountered, a proper end of the line. The other place that springs to mind resembling it is Fuengirola which is another unappetising station. There were also many reprobates on the choo-choo, but we landed home safely after what remains a landmark gig.   

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The Specials on stage. Image Credit Wikipedia.

https://www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk/