In comparison to previous years, due in part to a short period of ill health, I made a sluggish start to my gig going adventures in 2025. Thus, experiencing some admittedly self-imposed gig scoreboard pressure, (but that is my own personal cross to bear!), I made strides to rectify this anomaly.
So, on a cold Thursday night on January 29th, I sourced a gig in the Northern Quarter area of the city at Manchester Lost Cat on Oldham Street. In 2020, the Lost Cat moved into the space which was previously held by the Eat New York bagel company and sits a couple of doors away from the Castle Hotel. It is under the same ownership as Crazy Pedro’s and is not to be confused with the nearby Mean Eyed Cat bar, perhaps this area should be renamed the Feline Quarter!
Lost Cat. Image Credit manchestersfinest.com
The venue closes at 3am every day and is in essence a cocktail bar in the ground floor area where they provide the obligatory bottomless brunches at weekends. You then head up some steps to the venue space which has a 120 capacity with a bar as you enter and a small stage at the bottom end of the room. They have recently rebadged this upstairs area as a DJ space and renamed it under the banner of FOUND club nights. They also have a rooftop terrace and cinema.
In late 2024 and into 2025 they linked up with the local Beavertown brewery and Scruff of the Neck promotions to stage a monthly sonic showcase session with upcoming bands on the roster. I picked up one of these events and obtained my free ticket and arrived there reasonably early as the ticket did not absolutely guarantee entry as it was a first come, first served principle.
Thus, my hand was summarily stamped and a bonus token provided to purchase a Beavertown beer, which I obviously took immediate advantage of. On stage was a singer/songwriter Issy Sutcliffe and she provided an enjoyable fiery fuzzy set. She is now based in Manchester but was brought up in a small Lancashire town called Ribchester.
Issy Sutcliffe. Image Credit live-manchester.co.uk
If you may allow me to deviate to the named latter town where there are three hostelries contained within it, and I have had some fine tucker at the gastropub Ribchester Arms. It is an ancient area and in 1796 they discovered a roman artefact which was in exemplary condition due to the sand protection. This became known as the Ribchester Helmet which now resides in the British Museum.
More interestingly on a musical angle it contained back in the day an utterly renowned punk venue called the Lodestar Nightclub, which I never visited because I was far too young! I am always entranced by the fact that in those days there appeared to be famous venues that were in such obscure locations where the only option was to drive.
It was open from the 1950’s to the 1990’s and run throughout that period by Margo Grimshaw who was so ingrained in the establishment that she bought the actual building in 1992. It then morphed into the DeTabley restaurant and bar before closing in 2007 and then sadly but predictably turned into housing, though they did endeavour to retain the original features where they could.
Her son Andy was the promoter and alongside the music, he held comedy nights with Phil Cool, Ken Dodd, Jim Bowen and even actor Peter Adamson (who played Len Fairclough in Coronation Street) on the bill.
On the 18th of September 1976 the Sex Pistols famously performed there prior to any record deal and played two subsequent gigs. In that period there were also shows from Adverts, 999, Rezillos, Sham 69, Lurkers, Slaughter and the Dogs and John Cooper Clarke.
Lodestar Nightclub flyer. Image Credit Analysis.
In May 1977 Boomtown Rats allegedly played their first ever UK gig where the indomitable landlady wasn’t overly impressed with them and demanded her money’s worth by making them play two sets. The 7-piece band were then paid a princely £40 in total as a result and there was apparently around twelve people in attendance, including Paula Yates.
They stayed like many others at the Clitheroe Vic hotel where Mr Geldof later referred to the night and rather ungenerously but somewhat typically called the town a ‘s#£$#*&e’, such a charmer! They returned the following year with ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ flying high in the charts and generated a significantly larger crowd.
It had the proper punk ethos, warts and all which is exemplified in the tale of when the London band the Motors played. The story goes that the crowd en masse purchased bags of crisps, urinated in them and then slung them at the band, delightful behaviour! Uncle George attended there a few times but has no recollection of who he saw.
In 2017, rather obscurely a message was displayed on the big screen at a Blackburn Rovers match announcing that Andy Grimshaw was looking to undertake an information gather on the Lodestar and was canvassing for opinions. This subsequently evolved into the Lodestar Project released in 2024 which contained illustrations, poetry, flyers and recollections from the venue’s heyday.