Tag: A Certain Ratio

Bolton Venues 2 to 7

This week I am concluding the tale of my attendance at the muti-venue Right to Roam festival in Bolton town centre in July 2023. Outside of a side door of the Market Hall brings you to the outdoor Bolton Patio Stage containing its own bar area. Initially we saw Minatore, a stoner duo from Nottingham comprised only of drums and guitar but that did not stop them making a mighty din with their Black Sabbath riffs.

Next up was The Empty Page, a punky band from Manchester who have just released their second album ‘Imploding’ which was recorded at Eve Studios in Stockport. The final act was Dirty Blonde, a Manchester female duo whose grungy sound channelled early Blondie and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I thoroughly enjoyed their set.  

The Bolton Main Stage was located on the Victoria Square outside the Town Hall, the square being one of the first parts of town to be pedestrianised and they hold an annual Buskers Ball there. It was an area suitable for a large capacity but unfortunately was sparsely attended especially just before A Certain Ratio’s headline set as we noted when walking past later heading back to the station. We caught the Katie West Band performing on the stage, Katie undertook her apprenticeship playing wash tub bass and piano in New Orlean’s French Quarter, then was in a duo called Truckstop Honeymoon before creating her current combo.

Right to Roam. dekyas.com

The intermittent monsoon conditions were a challenge all day, especially when sallying over to the outermost point of the festival, Bolton Northern Monk Brewery. On an outdoor pop-up stage an act called Helle were performing and in a coincidental nod to the brewery’s home in Leeds, the noisy four-piece punk band were also from the same Yorkshire city.

The weather was quite frankly awful by this point, and I had oodles of sympathy for the band on stage in those conditions as most punters were sheltering in or as near as possible to the covered brewery room.

The next venue was Bolton Octagon Theatre. The Octagon was opened in 1967 and the concept of the first flexible professional theatre in the UK was initially the brainchild of five students and their college lecturer Robin Pemberton-Billing.  This included facets of design, music, dance, film, repertory theatre, schools, education and daytime availability.

The Octagon Theatre. Image Credit uk.sports.yahoo.com

It was paid for by a combination of a large public fundraising appeal and a couple of council grants. Since it opened, around 3.5m people have passed through the doors and luminaries such as Danny Boyle and Maxine Peake learnt their trade there. 

We headed up to the small theatre room and the band on stage were called Percy who were formed in York in 1996. They still have two remaining founding members of Colin Howard and Andy Wiles and they also employed ex-Housemartin Hugh Whitaker on drums between 1997 and 2004. They provided some quirky intriguing post-punk and have just released their latest album ‘New Phase’.

Being a Northern lad and following strictly the Lancashire Hotpots advice, a chippy tea is a requisite requirement now and then and we satisfied that craving with a nosh fest at the award-winning Bolton Olympus Fish and Chips Restaurant. Whilst hoovering up my mushy peas, we were treated to a soothing set from the house pianist.

2023 Right to Roam bill. Image Credit righttoroambolton.com

The final venue on the roster was the rock pub Bolton Alma Inn situated on Bradshawgate which is over 170 years old. In 1979, the building was purchased by Burtonwood brewery who then bought out the fine arts shops next door to extend the pub. A large fireplace and range was discovered during this refurbishment which subsequently provided the site with Grade 2 listed status. They have live music on every weekend and Caliban and Raging Speedhorn have played there.

We caught up with the other chaps in attendance who were ensconced in the south facing beer garden where the stage was positioned. First up was local noiseniks Bandit followed by some self-styled ‘cosmic punk’ from Londoners Waco who have garnered support slots with Slaves, Anti-Flag and Juliette Lewis & The Licks.

The final and standout band was Riskee and the Ridicule, who are a vibrant inclusive grime punk band from Kent. They have been in existence since 2011 and recently released their fourth album ‘Platinum Statue’ and are finally receiving some overdue attention. There was a logistical challenge for us as we returned to the Alma from another venue just before their set and could not gain access as it was packed to the rafters. However, there was a novel alternative as we could watch them through a fence at the side of the venue, and thankfully the rains stayed away for the duration of their set.   

Stockport Venue 1 – The Heatons

With the Manchester HS2 leg now officially aborted and as a result potential funds being freed up for other transport projects, there have been increasing rumours about extending the current metro terminus of East Didsbury all the way into Stockport. I believe this proposed route would cross over the River Mersey and traverse in via Cheadle.

The East Didsbury metro stop with its large car park is my nearest station and lies about 20 minutes’ walk away. From there you can begin to navigate up Didsbury Road past the Dog and Partridge pub and at that point you cross over into Stockport.  

The next touchpoint is the petrol station with an M&S attached where during the dark days of Covid, one of our treats was to visit there and purchase the frites and the fresh strawberries with meringues!  

You then reach the Griffin pub which is an archetypal old-fashioned boozer run by the local Holts brewery, which remains as one of the cheapest beers in Britain. It was built in 1831 and still contains two ornate shuttered bars and other original features.

As you continue up the hill you reach Heaton Mersey Bowl on the right which is a large green area containing a couple of football pitches. I recently discovered that a Moor Fest event was held there in 2005 were Mr Scruff, Tom Hingley, Mighty Wah! Clint Boon, A Certain Ratio and Howard Marks were on the bill. Viewing it now, it would be a natural amphitheatre for such a shindig, not dissimilar in layout to Avenham Park in Preston, but the records show that was a one-off singular event.

Moorfest Flyer. Image Credit mdmarchive.co.uk

If you continue down to the right, you arrive at Burnage Rugby Club where alongside the club they have a combined football/golf pitch and putt course. A couple of years ago they held an open-air movie night on the pitch with a screening of A Star is Born featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. When we visited Australia, we witnessed people queuing for a Rocky showing in an open-air cinema in glorious sunshine in Sydney Harbour. Our event was not in the same league, it was admittedly reasonably well organised, but the issue was the apocalyptic rain, and it was absolutely bloody freezing!

Back on Didsbury Road you then reach the Conservative Club where my political persuasion has ensured I have never crossed the threshold of any such establishment anywhere in the country. Back in Preston, there was once a family christening at the Con Club off Moor Park, and I was genuinely ill and could not attend but at least my ailment took a tricky decision off the table! The local club does have musical acts on, and my gig venue ‘addiction’ was briefly piqued, but the horrific calibre of acts, for example a Michael Buble tribute act at £20 per pop quickly quashed that thought!

Further up on the right is the Crown pub which has a raised beer garden which is a sun trap in the summer months, and it is a pleasure to sit there and while away a few hours with a Dizzy Blonde (the beer!). It is a proper old-fashioned establishment with wood beams, and I believe they used to do a fine Sunday lunch, but they have not had food on since pre-covid.

The Crown pub. Image Credit blogspot.com

There is an extremely steep cobbled incline by the side of the pub leading down to the river that bears an uncanny resemblance to the ‘Hovis Hill’ from the old 1970’s adverts, though the filming was actually undertaken on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury in Dorset. The hostelry was also used for a pub quiz scene in a recent episode of Cold Feet with the characters played by James Nesbitt and Robert Bathurst having a scrap on the aforementioned street.

A little further is St Winifred’s School where their choir had a moment of fame in 1980 with their number one Christmas single ‘There’s No Quite Like Grandma’, beating tracks by John Lennon and Jona Lewie to the top of the chart. The choir included the future Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay.     

Back up opposite the Heaton Mersey Bowl is the Stockport Heatons. When I first visited at the back end of 2017 hunting a pub to watch a PNE match it was an interesting establishment called the Frog and Railway. Shortly after it closed and reopened under its current name and was more in the gastropub mould. When sampling some food there in August 2021 there was a local act called Heatons Jazz Band providing a soundtrack.

Before I go this week I must add my homage to the genius songwriting talent of Shane MacGowan. I initially missed the Pogues playing at the Paradise Club in Preston in front of about thirty people in February 1985 despite being in town that night and my brother trying to persuade me to attend. Oh, young foolish 16-year-old Jimmy!

Shane MacGowan. Image Credit withradio.org

I saw them three times after that with the second at the long-gone Manchester International 2 in December 1986 remaining one of my Top 20 ever gigs. They were extraordinary and I never since seen an occasion where about 90% of the audience were dancing, creating a huge communal euphoric experience. If only there was a way to bottle or freeze those moments in time!

I am sitting here misty-eyed listening to the marauding intent of ‘Boys from the Country Hell’ and the warped beauty of ‘A Pair of Brown Eyes’ to name but two of his astounding canon of material. RIP Shane – ‘I Will Have a Pint With You Sir’!