Tag: Manchester Ritz

Manchester Venue 70 – The Attic

Manchester Oxford Road train station opened in 1849 and was built in the renowned local slum area of ‘Little Ireland’ and was initially a single platform station. Over the intervening period the station expanded to five platforms, and I have caught trains from them all!

When I first used to commute over to gigs in Manchester from Preston in the mid 80’s we always needed someone to drive as the only alternate was an hourly train into Manchester Victoria. The opening of the 700m Windsor Link between Salford Crescent and Deansgate in 1988 vastly improved the situation as it connected lines to the north and south of Manchester, opening up routes from Preston into Oxford Road, Piccadilly, and the Airport. The train then became the chosen mode of transport for gig nights.   

I have always been fond of Oxford Road station it as it has been my most regular arrival/departure point for nearby venues Sound Control, Ritz, and Gorilla or to the four Academy venues a short walk away down Oxford Road. Some of this allure has waned slightly as it has now become my work commute point since moving to Manchester. The station is a Grade II listed building and as a result needs a little bit of love and constant repair and it can be a draughty place. It is still listed for expansion if the Northern Hub plans ever reach fruition. 

Oxford Road station. Image Credit manchesterhistory.net

There used to be an old piano near Platform 4 where you could occasionally hear drunken punters trying to embrace their inner Mozart! I also read somewhere that on a Motown tour including a very young Stevie Wonder in the 60’s, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas once stepped off onto the platform and played a set, which I am sure would have been a sight to behold.  

The station is built on a hill and as you exit the station there is a road that slopes downwards to the left bringing you out where the Cornerhouse Cinema used to be located and opposite the Palace Theatre. Years ago, I saw West Side Story there and recently saw School of Rock, which was superb fun and recommended. Just outside the entrance they have replaced the newsagent kiosk with a new vendor called Slice Pizza and Bread Bar, and you may be unsurprised to discover, I have already partaken of their wares prior to the last train departing.

If you head marginally right this takes you to the 56 steps (I have counted them!) leading down to a trio of pubs and Oxford Road. Many times, there has been a cheeky very late beer necessitating a scramble up these steps, then the incline and then up and down a further two flights of stairs and an additional 64 steps on to Platform 2 for the last Preston train. A couple of times, it was missed, and I recall one other time when I was holding the train doors ajar much to the platform staff’s chagrin as Gill and Uncle George flew down the stairs behind me!

At the bottom of the aforementioned steps immediately to your left is the grungy Salisbury pub, which has been a meeting point for many years, and they do support the local music scene by offering a reduction on the price of your pint via producing evidence of a gig ticket for that evening, for any venue.    

Directly opposite the Salisbury at either 50 New Wakefield Street or 50 Oxford Road (the official address is unclear!) are a set of spiral stairs taking you up to Manchester Attic, which sits adjacent and upstairs from the Thirsty Scholar pub. This venue fascinated me for many years due to its location, but we had never had a chance to visit as its primary function was a late-night dance club. However, good things come to those who wait as the Dot-to-Dot festival included it on their 2013 roster.

Myself pictured recently outside the Attic venue. Image Credit John Dewhurst.

Next to there but at a lower level is the Zombie Shack which I have never visited but it was included in the roster for the recent Neighbourhood Festival held in that area encompassing thirteen local venues.  

Thus, we finally headed upwards to the Attic venue though to be fair it was fairly nondescript as a small one room setting with a bar on the right and an alcove stage at the end of the room, but it was nevertheless a huge tick in the Jimmy gig roster! Searching the internet, it remains unclear whether the venue is still operational.

First on stage were the Rivals followed by the Thumpers (often known as THUMPERS), a London indie pop duo. One of their member was previously a drummer in Noah and the Whale. They subsequently split in 2018 with their final show taking place at the Lexington in London.

2021 Gigs – Part 3

The third and final part of reviewing the 2021 gigs recommences with a couple of visits to Manchester Ritz. The venue is now firmly ensconced in my Top 3 venues visited list as I have been attending there consistently over the years since my first attendance in October 87 watching the astoundingly loud and intense Swans.

First up on 22/09 was the old stalwarts Ash, who I was watching for the sixth time, three of those being at festivals, and it was the first time I had seen them in eleven years. Prior to the gig we had a drink in Brew Dog near Albert Hall on Peter Street, coincidentally the most profitable Brew Dog bar in the world, and then feasted on a pizza that took an age to arrive in Rudy’s Neapolitan restaurant next door.

I thought they were decent but slightly one dimensional, and I always contend that their sound has never been quite as complete since Charlotte Hatherley left, though admittedly they do still have a bagful of recognisable tunes. I was at the bar mid-set when I found out that PNE had drawn Liverpool at home in the League Cup though that subsequently ended up with the usual golden chances missed and then inevitable defeat.  

Ash in Charlotte Hatherley days. Image Credit Steve Scalise.

The other attendance was to see Maximo Park on 10/10 which saw Rick Clegg toggle over for a rare appearance in Manchester and I think his first visit to the Ritz. After a trio of scoops in Yes, Lass O Gowrie and Temple Bar we headed into the venue. It was the second time I had seen them though overall not as enjoyable as my first sighting of them fourteen years earlier.   

I finally went full circle from my first ever blog and first Manchester venue by revisiting Manchester Apollo for the first time in thirteen years since being pummelled by the gentle My Bloody Valentine! There were four of us in attendance and we had a couple of pre-gig aperitifs in the Wine and Wallop in West Didsbury, the future of that chain being currently in doubt, prior to a cab to the venue.

Wine and Wallop. Image Credit DesignMyNight

When we reached the busy bar inside, we discovered they sold beer in two-pint pots which we decided to purchase though it wouldn’t accept my card asking me to input my pin details in. To my chagrin I realised the reason for this was the round cost £52, above the then limit of £50, this equated to an unacceptably brutal price of £6.50 per pint. Come on, Apollo, you can do much better than that!   

The band on stage was the ever-dependable Public Service Broadcasting who were in excellent form, and we had a cracking vantage point near the front.

My pal Marcus is a huge James fan and he persuaded me to attend their Manchester MEN Arena show in December. I had only just managed to purloin some tickets when they were released about a year earlier and was bizarrely sat waiting for an appointment in Stockport Specsavers at the time. I rather rudely had to ask for the lass to delay my appointment slightly as I had finally reached the booking page!

Our significant faux pas was to foolishly book our Covid booster appointments the day before the gig which resulted in Gill being unable to attend and myself feeling distinctly below average. We did consider watching the support act Happy Mondays only from a statistical angle viewpoint as it would have created a new personal record of 34 years between seeing a band as I first saw them in Camden in 1987, but in the end decided not to.

My record thus remains at a 28-year gap with Meat Puppets, however the Loop gig later this year will be just shy of a 32-year gap since witnessing them at my last ever gig at Manchester international 1 in 1990.

We were seated up in the gods with a side on view of the stage, the band were very good value over there 2hr 15-minute set and we watched the last track stood up by the barrier. Marcus headed off to a Christmas works do and I must have resembled a sulky teenage emo as I dragged my weary feet back from the tram stop!

We happened to be out and about of 21st December and sallied into the Manchester Parrs Wood, which will always have a special place in my heart as the first pub we ever visited on that mad day we relocated to Manchester, though there some people rather brazenly sat in ‘our seats’ from that first night! There was a band on stage called Irish Fiddle who performed the seemingly obligatory cover of ‘Dirty Old Town’.