Tag: Manchester International 1

Manchester Venues 130 to 132

Levenshulme is a suburb south of Manchester, residing on the A6 equidistant between there and Stockport. If you drive out of the city centre past Manchester Apollo, you will then pass through this area. It is historically badged under Lancashire before falling under the Manchester borders in 1909. Levenshulme is situated next to the suburb of Longsight where the fabulous venues of Manchester Internationals 1 and 2 were located in the mid to late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

It has its own small train station, which is on the London Euston route. A quirky fact is that the 77-yard stretch of road the station is located on has never been christened. Thus, via lottery funding in 2007 an unofficial road sign was erected with the informal locally used moniker of ‘The Street With No Name’. Sadly, though I don’t think Clint Eastwood’s character ‘The Man With No Name’ from Sergio Leone’s ‘Dollars Trilogy’ westerns has ever visited the road!

The Street With No Name. Image Credit flickriver.com

Close to the station is where the weekly local markets were held from 2013, but due to rising costs were closed in 2023. The old ‘dandy’ highwayman Dick Turpin used to frequent the old Blue Bell Inn, a pub which still stands to this day, now owned by Samuel Smiths brewery and an Italian restaurant named Cibus on the A6 has just been awarded the Good Food Guide of best local restaurant in the North West.

Nearby to there your nostrils are assailed by the fine aromas emanating from the McVities biscuit factory. Liam and Noel Gallagher’s mum Peggy used to be employed by them and bring home the rejects and broken biscuits to the two lads which Noel then used to increase his popularity to taking them into school earning him the nickname of ‘Gallagher the Biscuit’.  I became very animated when I discovered they had a shop on site, but then instantly distressed when I subsequently uncovered that it is only open to employees! I think I may need to raise this ultra important anomaly with my local MP!

McVities Factory. Image Credit themanc.com

Levenshulme alumni include actors Arthur Lowe who played Captain Mainwaring in Dad’s Army, and Gwyneth Powell who was headmistress Bridget ‘The Midget’ McClusky in Grange Hill. From the musical spectrum you have Oasis drummer Tony McCarroll and Wayne Fontana who fronted the Mindbenders.  

When it became apparent this year that my accumulation of gigs could feasibly result in attending 200 singular venues in Manchester, I have begun to make a concerted effort to achieve this aspiration by invoking Project 200. In this regard I took advantage of the fact that Levenshulme is the key Irish enclave in the city, therefore they had events on and around St Patricks Day that I could advantage of.

In July 2023 Aunty Ji’s restaurant closed and was taken over by an Irish and Scottish establishment called Manchester Bia Café Bar. They apparently excel with their fried breakfasts and also commendably provide ‘free porridge breakfasts’ every morning for school children where the need arises. They are also licensed and have periodic live music acts.  On the Sunday afternoon of my visit there was an Irish duo called Grace Kelly & Debbie Garvey playing in front of a packed venue.

The Manchester Union Inn is a traditional sports and music pub where on the same Sunday I saw a Manchester University student violinist Coleen Langan perform. As of today’s date, I am now sat on 192 Manchester venues, so a remaining 8 required for my double century!  

The East Levenshulme district was original known as the Talleyrand, allegedly named after the French statesman of that name who was in exile there during the French Revolution. Respecting that tradition there is now an establishment on the A6 called Manchester Talleyrand.

It is a very homely establishment as you initially enter into a dimly lit continental style beer café, and then encounter the in-house STOCK art gallery. They also utilise the small back room as a multi-functional arts space which includes live gigs in its schedule. The establishment is owned by pals Tom Hughes and Dean Brocklehurst, who met when they were working together at HOME.  

The Talleyrand. Image Credit creativetourist.com

I became aware that they were hosting some interesting eclectic sounding bands, and previous acts who have performed are John Otway, TV Smith and Laetitia Sadier from Stereolab. In April 22 we decided to make our debut visit with my pals Paul Catterall and Mark Barry in tow. The latter named is a fine fellow, highly knowledgeable muso and a serial gig goer back in the day but alas now only a very sporadic attendee, so I had to coax him out of semi-retirement!     

The band playing was the Flatmates who were formed in 1985 and part of the C86 scene. The guitarist and songwriter Martin Whitehead formed his own record label The Subway Organisation and were based in Bristol. They are best remembered for their No 2 indie chart single ‘Shimmer’. They disbanded in 1989 but subsequently reformed in 2013 and provided an enjoyable set on the night. They were supported by a fuzzy guitar band from Leeds called Nervous Twitch.

Manchester Venue 122 Deaf Institute – Part 3

Today I conclude my tales of gigs at Manchester Deaf Institute Music Hall. Apparently contained within the venue is a hidden back staircase which allows bands to enter the establishment without using the front entrance and there is also an in house apartment.

Deaf Institute Music Hall. Image Credit Visit Manchester

In October 2018 Palace Winter were on the bill, my attendance sparked via a recommendation from my friend Jez Catlow. They provided an extremely engaging set of cinematic dream pop. The band comprises of Australian singer-songwriter Carl Coleman and Danish producer/pianist Caspar Hesselager, and they base themselves in the intriguing city of Copenhagen. Their name derives from an old hotel (Winter Palace) in the South of France that Carl stayed at in the summer of 2014. The tour was promoting their second album ‘Nowadays’.

In early 2019 Uncle George and I met up to see the Canadian punk rockers F##ked Up who on this occasion I didn’t enjoy as much as previous times I have seen them, the sound quality perhaps being a contributing factor in that regard. John Robb was a fellow attendee, and we had a brief chat during their set.

Later that year Craig Finn & The Uptown Controllers were in town, Craig being the lead singer of one of my favourite bands Hold Steady. His solo stuff has a gentler vibe than his main band material but still contains the requisite social commentary and life affirming lyrics. My entry point here had been their second album ‘We All Want the Same Things’ with my favourite being the mournful and beautifully crafted ‘God in Chicago’ and I was very content that it was included in their set list that evening.

My first visit post-Covid was on another Jez recommendation involving a band called The Clockworks. They are a post-punk combo from Galway who made the old-fashioned move to London in 2018 with the primary intention of furthering their career. They recorded their debut album ‘Exit Strategy’ in Abbey Road studios in 2023.

The Clockworks. Image Credit poklub.de

On the night, they nearly caught us out with an extremely early stage time, but luckily, we checked up on that when ensconced in the Sand Bar across the road, so didn’t have too far to scamper and I thoroughly enjoyed their set.  

Next on the roster created a new personal best for me. The only previous time I had seen Loop was at my final ever visit on 04/12/89 to the much missed and in my opinion the best venue in the world Manchester International 1 where I recall their thunderous aural attack reverberated off the very low roof in that venue. The date of the Deaf gig was 21/05/23 thus creating a paltry time gap of 33.46 years between appearances!

Of my fellow peers, the aforementioned Jez has achieved the longest time span of 43 years from seeing The Vapours supporting The Jam in 1979 to a reprise performance at Bearded Theory festival in 2022.    

Loop. Image Credit pinterest.com

Loop are a drone band from Croydon who I first became aware of in the late 1980’s and adored their beautifully sonic debut album ‘Heaven’s End’, complete with the inspired addition of a soundbite from Hal the computer in Space Odyssey 2001 at the completion of Side 1. I played that record within an inch of its vinyl life!

They split in 1991 with a subsequent reformation in 2013 and played their first comeback shows as they co-curated the final ever Camber Sand All Tomorrow Parties event. They eventually produced a new album called ‘Sonancy’ in 2022. They were excellent on the night with my preference being for the earlier material. I also met fellow Twitter muso Peter Latimer for the first time at this gig and despite the fact that he is from Blackpool, he is still a fine chap!       

My final gig was in November 2023 when Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai formed a super group called Silver Moth including members from Abrasive Trees, Burning House, Prosthetic Head and his talented music wife Elisabeth Elektra who provides the vocals. Elisabeth once graciously took a picture of me and Stuart when I had a rare fan boy moment at the Wickerman Festival.

They recorded the album ‘Black Bay’ within four intensive days on the Isle of Lewis and provided an intriguing set on the night. They were supported by Samana, who the year before had released their second album ‘All One Breath’. After three years of correspondence, I finally met another Twitter muso Paul, who is not from Blackpool, but is an equally fine chap!