So, where to start? – taking my cue from the theme tune for arguably the finest ever foreign drama The Bridge which advises you to go back to the very beginning…
My first Manchester venue was planned to be the Hacienda in 1985 to see Hüsker Dü but despite having tickets we could not find a mode of transport to be able to get home. Last train to Preston in those days was a 10.30 bone rattler from Victoria and the band would not even arrive on stage at that point so the trip was canned. Regretfully, I never got another chance to visit the Hacienda.
Having heard of our plight, my parents offered to give us a lift to any gig the following night so an Apollo gig of Stanley Clarke/George Duke (previously of Funkadelica) was chosen which also incorporated Philip Bailey of ‘Easy Lover’ fame and support provided by Hugh Masakela.
My current standing is 10 gigs at the Apollo but to be fair not that many memorable ones as I am not a great fan of the venue due to the overzealous bouncers at times, tricky location and layout (seats at a Pogues gig makes no sense to me). I witnessed them physically ejecting a peaceful though slightly over enthusiastic group from a 10,000 Maniacs gig only to be summarily bollocked by lead singer Natalie Merchant which was a joy to behold and they were subsequently re-admitted. To be fair those incident were in the 80’s and 90’s and conditions there have improved.
It is an old fashioned somewhat cavernous theatre with reasonable acoustics and there was just one battered old Wilsons pub in the vicinity down an adjacent side street. Taxis started to increase in later visits making the commute back into town a tad easier.
Other bands seen there were Garbage, Morcheeba, Scissor Sisters (campest gig I have ever attended), Feeder (twice) and Devo on a later tour (faded glories!). There was also one failed attempt when heading to a Red Wedge event in the late 80’s featuring Billy Bragg where there was an automotive breakdown on the dark streets of Salford which involved a train home, no gig and car retrieval the next day.
My abiding memory of the venue was on my last visit on 29/06/08 to see My Bloody Valentine. It was on a Sunday and Simon Price wrote a review in the Independent that day imploring that they were the loudest band he had ever seen. On arrival, they were handing out free ear drums but me being a stubborn git declined that offer as I had witnessed many cacophonous bands before. However, even the first strum of guitar on stage made me step backwards with the clout it carried, They were recorded at 120 decibels which is the equivalent of a plane taking off and I masochistically enjoyed it but was somewhat glad at the end it would be a one-off experience.
https://academymusicgroup.com/o2apollomanchester
So from one of my least favourite venues to my overall favourite in Manchester Venue 2 blog…