Tag: 6 Music

Manchester Venues 145 to 146

The National Football Museum was conceived in the 1990’s and subsequently opened its doors in 2001. Its location was Preston North End’s Deepdale stadium and was home to many artefacts which evolved into the Football Heritage collection. I could not think of a more justifiable host as in my view Preston is the home of football as they were one of the twelve founding members of the league in 1888. In that initial season they won the FA Cup and the league without losing a game and as a result were then forever tagged as the ‘Invincibles’.   

The original ‘Invincibles’. Image Credit These Football Times.

In the women’s game the first and most famous team was the Dick Kerr Ladies who were a factory team in Preston formed in 1917. In 1920 they defeated an illustrious French team 2-0 in front of a 25,000 crowd, a historic first international women’s football game. On Boxing Day 1920 they played a charity match against St Helens Ladies who they beat 4-0 at Goodison Park with 53,000 spectators packed in, a world record for a women’s club match that lasted for a further 98 years.

The following year the FA disgracefully banned women from using fields and stadiums controlled by FA-affiliated clubs and the ban stayed in place for an astounding 50 years until 1971. Dick Kerr Ladies stayed in existence until 1965, and they had a remarkable record of winning 682 of the 755 games they played. If I was a filmmaker that sounds like a movie script I would be interested in!

Despite being popular the museum closed in Preston in 2010 and relocated to the Urbis building in Manchester. It was caused by a combination of local council ineptitude but also ‘big city’ pressure that caused the move, and for that second reason alone I begin to chunner when I walk past the museum and have never attended there since it was moved from its spiritual home!

As I unpack my imaginary soapbox and place it back in the metaphorical cupboard, I shall move away from the Urbis building to the Cathedral Gardens that lie adjacent to it. This area was a car park back in the day and the green open space now in place was only developed after the damage caused by the IRA bomb in 1996. It is situated nearby to the flagship Mark and Spencer’s store which at the stage of its opening was the largest in the world. 

Manchester Cathedral Gardens. Image Credit Pinterest.

During the spring and summer months they have sporadic food and music events and currently have a Christmas ice skating rink in place there. One such gathering took place within the auspices of the Manchester International Festival in July 2021 as we were just beginning to drag ourselves out of the Covid pandemic period. As a result of the increased checks still in place at that stage, we were in a long queue on entry and then were escorted to a table. The stewards perhaps unwittingly placed us with a fine viewpoint of Manchester Cathedral Gardens Stage 1, but there were no complaints from myself as my 16-month drought of witnessing a live band was about to reach a denouement.    

The weather thankfully was set fair and behaving itself. There was the obligatory app available to download and link up with the surrounding vendors, thus cold beers and pizzas were summarily ordered. The first band we saw were the Goa Express from Burnley who contain in their ranks the Clarke brothers. Last year they released their self-titled debut album, and I have heard them many times played on 6 music. They provided a pleasing slab of fuzzy garage rock, reminiscent somewhat of Nine Black Alps.  

The Goa Express. Image Credit brightonandhovenews.org

At that point we spotted Tris and her pals (unfortunately not a band!) who were ensconced on a nearby table and via text messaging we surreptitiously manipulated a ‘chance’ meeting to have a quick parlay and a catch up. The other act to play was a local DJ crossover act called Chips with Everything (not half rice, half chips!) who have been part of the leftfield circuit for over two decades.

If we then swivelled and faced in the opposite direction, we had a slightly more obstructed view of Manchester Cathedral Gardens Stage 2 where we saw Porij (a deliberate mispronunciation of Porridge) play. They are a four-piece art-pop Manchester act who met initially at the Royal Northern College of Music a couple of years earlier. They have since garnered Coldplay support slots and then released their debut album ‘Teething’ in April 2024.

Manchester Venue 114 – Albert Square Festivals

One of the most famous buildings in Manchester is the neo-gothic Town Hall which obtained Grade 1 listing status in 1952 and currently houses Manchester City Council and other local government staff. The town hall was completed in 1877 after a nine-year build and the small matter of the usage of 14 million bricks! It contains within the Great Hall, which is adorned with Ford Madox Brown’s Manchester Murals, there is also the impressive Clock Tower which is 85 metres high which even has a singular name for the clock bell, Great Abel. 

Manchester Town Hall. Image Credit citybaseapartments.com

The Town Hall’s resemblance to the Palace of Westminster resulted in it being used as a location for the original 1990 version of House of Cards and the BBC drama State of Play. The venue was in fact used to announce the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum.

However, a report in 2014 highlighted the urgent need for modernisation and essential repairs to be undertaken on the building. Subsequently it was closed to visitors in 2018 to undergo a £330m renovation. I have read in the last month that due to ongoing pandemic impacts and the rise in pricing of materials the original completion date has pushed back from July 2024 to provisionally summer 2026.

The building faces St Peters Square to the South and Albert Square to the North. Due to its size and location, the latter named has been used for events and public gatherings including memorials commemorating the Manchester Arena bombing.

It is also a perfect site to host music events so in July 2018 I attended Manchester Albert Square Festival Hall when the 9-day Manchester Jazz Festival was taking place. I grabbed a couple of opportunities to dive into the site for some bonus gigs when heading from work to Manchester Oxford Road station for my commute home. On the first occasion, I saw Minor Swing and on the second I witnessed Squid Ink.

Manchester International Festival. Image Credit ilovemanchester.com

In March 2019 they also had a St Patricks day festival gathering around Cheltenham races time, and I saw the Ceilidh Boys at that soiree. A couple of months later when attending the Dot-to-Dot festival I managed to catch a bonus act called Gobe Band there at a separate event taking place on the square as they were not part of the festival roster of my event.

In 2019 the bi-annual Manchester International Festival took place with the hub location being Albert Square. It was a relaxed set up with lots of food outlets and a couple of real ale tents and with music starting at noon I also had a sally over at lunchtime on the days I was in the office. They set up the music stage under a covered marquee with comfy seats and I always had room when I visited, but I heard it was extremely busy when The Orielles and Working Mens Club played a late evening set there.    

The Orielles. Image Credit soundofbrit.fr

Thus, my first attendance was on 05/07/19 when a group of us were in town and we headed to the site and happened to see House of Ghetto. On my next visit I witnessed Chloe Foy, a singer-songwriter from Gloucestershire who subsequently released her debut album ‘Where Shall We Begin’ in 2021.

The following day there was a Welsh oriented bill hosted by 6 Music DJ Huw Stephens. He introduced a Welsh-language pop band called Gwilym (translates as William), who sounded like they have been influenced by their forebearers Super Furry Animals. Mary Anne Hobbs also hosted a 6-music show on the festival site in a temporary DJ booth and there was the obligatory appearance from the omnipresent John Robb.

The following week I saw a seven-piece local band called Kara. On the lunchtime the next day I witnessed a solo singer Matthew Whitaker and after work the artist was Hannah Ashcroft, a local indie lass who has collaborated with Beth Orton and had support slots with BC Camplight and the Lathums.

My final appearance was when I met up with Gill and we grabbed some tea on the site. Playing that day were acts called Aim Sky High and One Little Atlas who are a local two-piece dream pop combo. They had an ethereal sound and have composed a couple of film scores and have had the opportunity to play at unusual venues such as John Rylands Library and the Whitworth Art Gallery in the city.