The Castlefield area of Manchester has an abundance of historical context within its borders. It was the site of the Roman fort of Mamucium/Mancunium that evolved into the later name of Manchester, and it contained the terminus of the Bridgewater Canal, the world’s first industrial waterway initially built in 1764.
Additionally, there is another world premiere with the first ever passenger railway terminating at Liverpool Road railway station in 1830, which is a Grade I listed building and was sold for a princely sum of £1 and is now part of the impressive Science and Industry Museum.
There is also the Castlefield basin which was where the old coal and yarn wharfs where located and which has gone through a major rejuvenation over the last couple of decades. Luxury flats, pubs and restaurants have appeared including the Wharf with its decent tucker and Dukes 92 with its huge outdoor seating area, the pub being named after Lock 92 where the canals originally merged. Castle Quay there now houses Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio.
Castlefield Basin. Image Credit Manchester Evening News
Castlefield was designated as a conservation area in 1980 and then the United Kingdom’s initial designated urban heritage park in 1982. There is the elevated and rather chilly Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop, which was previously named G-Mex. There used to be a direct path that took you past the G-Mex (where 33 years ago I saw Madness) and straight into the Great Northern complex, but that has now been partially blocked off.
If you decline to take the steps down from the station you can then gain access to the Castlefield Viaduct. This was built in 1892 and there has recently been a roof garden created which can be seen from passing trains and trams and is open for visits in the summer months.
From that high vantage point there are a set of circular steps that drops you to a grassy area in front of the aforementioned fort which has been partially rebuilt. When I have traversed that route I have quite often noted that the area is home to a couple of what I shall coin as the ‘Castlefield Swans’ who own that patch. On one particular occasion I witnessed them having a fun day out as they strutted noisily down a busy Deansgate and as a result caused chaos during the peak commuter time!
There are a few more steps down from ‘Swan With Two Necks’ (not ‘Lake’ as there is no water feature!) which brings you into Castlefield Bowl. The site was rebuilt in 1993 by creating an amphitheatre with a semi-cantilever structure which became a natural home to stage gigs and events with a capacity of 8,450.
Castlefield Bowl. Image Credit ilovemanchester.com
The first show there was Ian Brown on Millenium eve 1999. Other bands to play there include Noel Gallagher, Arcade Fire and New Order and the site was utilised as a Fan Park during the 2010 Football World Cup. In 2017 it was decided to set up an annual event of shows across a couple of summer weekends under the banner of the Sounds of the City festival.
I had always wanted to visit the arena after seeing it regularly when heading into the city on the train, and my first opportunity presented itself at the 2018 shindig. The gig on Friday 6th July was during the sweltering 2018 World Cup summer, and I recall our group watching the second half of the France v Uruguay quarter final in the Footage pub on Oxford Road before grabbing some tea in the nearby Hatch complex.
We then gravitated to nearer to the venue with a visit to the Deansgate pub. Upon arrival, I discovered it to be a well-designed area with a good view of the stage from any vantage point. The spur for purchasing the tickets initially was to catch the old troubadour Elvis Costello for the first time who was the designated support act on the night. However, he became ill shortly before and had to cancel a few dates including ours and he was replaced by the Buzzcocks.
The headline act was Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott who most certainly have the tunes including in my view one of the finest ever opening lines of ‘I love you from the bottom of my pencil case’. An entertaining aspect was that as the trains have a panoramic view of the stage, one stopped for a decent length of time on the overlooking bridge as the guard was obviously a fan. He was taking numerous photos resulting in cheers from the crowd alongside some highly bemused punters looking out of the other train windows!
My other attendance was on the 5th of July 2022 where the pre-drinks and nibbles venue this time was Mackie Mayors. In the bowl, there are some seats set back in front of the stage, and I could hear my name being hollered repeatedly in the style of Dustin Hoffman in the Graduate. It turned out to be none other than my pal Ian ‘Milly’ Millington who was perched on the back row. I then navigated a route through the busy crowd to have a parlay, and my ascent resembled Pat Cash at the Centre Court at Wimbledon. Numerous punters asked me as I passed if I was Jimmy, before chortling to themselves!
The Pat Cash clamber. Image Credit wimbledon.com
The support band were Slow Readers Club followed by the headliners Pixies. I decided for old times sake to drag my young 54 year old body into the vibrant mosh pit. One of the crew Tim accompanied me wearing his newly purchased Primark trainers that were in a sorry state by the end of the gig. There were appraising looks from one group of young whippersnappers due to my age before mosh pit etiquette was applied, and a respectful nod of the head was provided!