Tag: Hold Steady

Manchester Venues 209 to 210

Alongside many other likeminded music fans, I have always had a strong affiliation with records shops from an early age. Everyone will have their own tale of how they obtained the latest vinyl that they desired in their formative years, either via a local or national chain or somewhere broader based like the bargain basket at Woolworths.

In my youthful days in Preston there was Bradys and also House of Records on the upper floor of the indoor market, though the jewel in the crown was always Action Records down on Church Street where I spent my ready cash. The shop initially opened in 1981 and remains to this day under the tireless stewardship of Gordon Gibson.

I would also at this stage like to take the opportunity to pay homage to Gordon’s comrade in arms Allan Atkinson (Big Al) who worked with him all throughout that period. He passed away a couple of years ago, and I remember chatting to him at many local gigs, he was a thoroughly decent chap and a gentle giant.      

Big Al. Image Credit blogpreston.co.uk

In relation to Manchester, I have covered Piccadilly Records in extensive detail in previous blogs so in this article will initially concentrate on Manchester Fopp Records. The Fopp story began with an English geezer called Gordon Montgomery opening a one man market stall in Glasgow in 1981 armed with the commendable ethos of competitive pricing.

The name was derived from a 1975 track by funk band The Ohio Players off their third successive platinum selling album ‘Honey’. The bands influence carried forward sufficiently to be sampled/re-recorded by Salt & Pepper, Snoop Dogg and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.  

Fopp’s stature peaked in 2007 with over 100 UK branches after they took over Music Zone. However, soon after they encountered financial difficulties and went into administration before being taken over by HMV but retaining their name. They later moved under the ownership of Canadian record chain Sunrise Records. There are now only six shops remaining in the UK, though a new one was opened in Nottingham in 2024.

Fopp Records Manchester. Image Credit recordshop.directory

The Manchester branch is located on Brown Street, just off the main Market Street shopping area and opposite the Norfolk House blood donor centre. In August 2019 I randomly visited and headed downstairs to purchase the latest Hold Steady release.

Whilst I was perusing their wares, I heard the unmistakeable sound of an electric guitar going through a sound check process. With my interest now piqued I looked around and noticed for the first time that there was a bit of a gather, and it was instantly obvious that there was a band about to play a promo set.

I rapidly checked their website and was pleased to discover the act literally right in front of my eyes was Murder Capital, who I had heard on 6 music radio the previous evening. They are a five piece post punk combo who had formed in Dublin the year before and were promoting their debut album ‘When I Have Fears’ which was only 4 days old.

They had a mean and moody aura about them which I admired, and they could certainly play but their music was admittedly a tad dour for me. The lead singer edged out of the room as the final song began to fade, presumably to prep for the signing session that took place upstairs. They shortly after headed out on a sold out UK and European tour, so I was fortunate to catch them in such a small setting.  

Manchester HMV first opened its doors on Market Street in the 1980’s where it was wedged between Topshop and Thomas Cook with a C&A branch close by. It later moved to its current location within the Arndale Centre. Like many other record shops, they have periodic live acoustic shows, and I attended one there in June 2024.

HMV in 1981. Image Credit manchestereveningnews.co.uk

After queueing up and obtaining my pre-purchased CD with enclosed ticket included, I headed upstairs to where the makeshift stage was located. The band performing was The Mysterines who I had kept a close eye on ever since their excellent debut album ‘Reeling’.

They are Liverpool based and have a powerful lead singer in Lia Metcalfe, who despite having a sore throat belted out the tunes and I very much enjoyed their abbrievated set. Unfortunately, a couple of months later they at very short notice cancelled their headline European tour and have not been heard from since. Hopefully they will reappear at some future point.  

Liverpool Venues 25 to 27

Firstly, this week I will look at the latest hostelry visited within the cornucopia of establishments within the Matthew Street enclave. The lineage of the very traditional Liverpool White Star can be traced back to the 1880’s and this is proved by a reference to the White Star Carvery and Bar within an 1887 Empire Theatre programme. It is named after the Titanic shipping owners White Star Line.  

Apparently, the pub in those days remains relevantly unchanged from today, apart from the fact there used to be a back yard and there was living accommodation upstairs. Astoundingly there were no ladies lavatories in the building until 1987, the wafer thin justification for this was due to the premise of endeavouring to discourage visits from the large number of prostitutes working in the city post Second World War up to the late 1980’s.    

After the war, a punter called Mr Quinn purchased five pubs in the city, including this one and on all that quintet he inscribed the word Quinns on the front windows. To a degree that name stuck to the level that the good beer guide named the pub as the White Star (Quinns 2).

The Beatles ‘back wall’. Image Credit pinterest.com

In the 1960’s, two promoters named Bob Wooler (the original DJ in the Cavern Club) and Alan Williams arranged for bands to play in the back room, and that is where the Beatles played their first ever gig. That room is also where the bands were paid after they had performed at the Cavern and naturally contains Beatles memorabilia, known locally as the ‘Beatles back wall’.

Apparently, Brian Epstein also discussed with Mr Wooler there in 1963 about their upcoming appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show which provided their first exposure to American audiences. On my one foray there I saw a local singer called Siobhan performing.   

Across town on Renshaw Street within the Grand Central building, you will find the Liverpool Liffey Bar, and as I am sure you can glean from its moniker it is yet another Irish themed hostelry, this time named after the river which permeates straight through Dublin city centre.  The plethora of such bars is no surprise when you factor in that 75% of Liverpudlians have Irish descent, the highest heritage of any British city apart from Glasgow.

The pub was subject to a long running rental dispute with a former tenant which resulted in the pub suddenly closing in March 2022, the disagreement also impacting on the Smokie Mo’s and Nelly Foley bars, which were reviewed in a previous blog. The Liffey was closed for around a year and grabbed that fallow period as an opportunity to undergo a £200,000 refurbishment.

The Liffey Bar. Image Credit liverpoolecho.co.uk

From a business profit viewpoint, they ensured that they managed to reopen in time for St Patricks Day on Friday 17 March 2023 and must have expected a busy one by stocking fifteen barrels of Guinness which equates to 1500 pints, you would be a tad merry after that! They have live music every night and on my visit, there was a singer called Paddy performing.

The Liverpool Sound City festival is an annual multi venue music shindig similar in structure to the Dot to Dot events. It was founded in 2008 and acts such as White Lies, White Denim, Gil Scott Heron, Swans and Hold Steady played in some of those earlier years.

It also runs in conjunction with the John Peel World Cup which is a British Heart Foundation led event where teams derived from band members and music industry bods play in a five a side tournament. It is a gala that I have always yearned to attend and in May 2025 that came to fruition.

Now, my football team Preston North End had proceeded to make an absolute dogs’ dinner of the end of the season, and this allied with some unfeasibly spectacular results from their rivals meant that the spectre of relegation had gone to the last game. Thus, I was nervously checking the scores on the train commute over but results thankfully went in our favour and we achieved safety. I could now relax, and as a result the first cold one did not touch the sides!

The hub points for picking up our wristbands and then our first venue was Liverpool Spanish Caravan. The bar and tapas restaurant is located on Slater Street, and the side wall of the building contains a large mural of ex Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. There was a spacious indoor bar and beer garden and a decent choice of beverages.   

Spanish Caravan complete with mural. Image Credit liverpoolecho.co.uk

At our visiting time the singer on the small stage at the end of the bar was a chap called Oscar Blue who maintained our Irish theme by hailing from County Clare. He had a busker vibe about him and has apparently been a hit on social media where his initial debut singles have been streamed over 10 million times globally.