Preston Venue 31 – 53 Degrees Main Hall

I have previously covered the Club venue and in this week’s blog I am going to concentrate on the 53 Degrees Main Hall. The venue’s opening in 2005 spelt the death knell to Preston Mill as a gig going concern as there was patently not room in Preston for two such singular locations.

The main hall comprised of a capacity of 1500 and had a sizeable bar facing you on entrance. There was a large, raised area before steps dropping down into a sizeable pit in front of the stage. In their time, they attracted some decent acts here but overall, I always felt it was a golden opportunity missed where they could potentially have attracted better acts, maybe that slightly biased perception gleans from certain fave bands that I thought would have great to see in that setting!

My first visit there was on 20/05/05 when I went to see Supergrass. They were in good form as they had a commendable back catalogue and played my two cherished tracks of theirs, namely ‘Caught by the Fuzz’ and ‘Late in the Day’. Our group was stood off to the right-hand side of the stage where it felt very draughty, but reasons for that became evident as I had an unpleasant bout of man-flu for about 10 days after. The lurgy nearly denied me the opportunity to watch PNE playing West Ham in the Championship play off final (I wish it had!)

Now I have never warmed at all to Blur, talented musicians, and all that, but for whatever reason their music grates on me. Whilst up in Scotland for Hogmanay we were listening to John Peels festive 50 and they featured a couple of half decent tracks from the bands lead guitarist Graham Coxon. This led to an attendance at one of his gigs in October 2006. Most of his set was based on his Ramones influenced latest album ‘Love Travels at Illegal Speeds’. He had his moments and with the shortness of the tracks swiftly whipped through more than 20 songs.

A couple of years later I saw my standout gig there when the Subways were in town. They had so much energy with lead singer Billy Lunn a whirling dervish on stage and his then girlfriend Charlotte Cooper a perfect ally to his antics. It was arguably one of the most joyous moshpits I have ever encountered when they played ‘Oh Yeah’ off their terrific debut album ‘Young for Eternity’. You could never fault these kids for effort! They were supported by Enjoy Destroy.

In October 2010 a group of us headed into town to watch Half Man Half Biscuit, only to discover the gig had been cancelled at the last minute. It was rearranged for six weeks later on a Friday evening clashing with a North End game. We left the match early resulting in missing the first couple of songs of their set. They were very enjoyable, and they have such a devoted following that it always results in a cracking atmosphere.

In 2011, we went to see John Lydon’s combo, Public Image Ltd. I was far from an expert knowledge on their output but appreciated their intelligent songcraft which stood up well in a live environment.

When I was young whippersnapper at the tender age of 14, I went through a short Adam Ant phase and 30 years hence I was persuaded to go and see him again and this was my final gig there.

The place was packed to the rafters and access to the front area was tricky. There was an eejit and bully from my youth in residence who was blocking the accessway who I navigated past but who then somewhat predictably nudged me down the steps, but I maintained my footing and more importantly didn’t spill a drop of my beer! He was and obviously remains someone just not worth bothering with in any format! The gig was also a bit of a limp affair capping off a forgettable night.