Back in the 1980’s the only available train from Preston to Manchester was an once an hour service into Manchester Victoria Station and the last train home was at the rather useless hour of 10.30pm, in those days the band may not even have hit the stage as gigs had much later start times. Any track into Victoria also always appeared to be a Northern all stopper exploring the delights of Lostock, Blackrod and Adlington on its journey over.
The station was designed by George Stephenson and built in 1844 and now caters for around 10m customers per annum. It also contains a central hub of the metro system and I have caught a few trams home from there. It has an ageing grandeur within, and one interesting fact is that I had my best ever Hot Chocolate from one of the kiosks here prior to a last train.
I once slept in a waiting room on the platform following my first Husker Du gig at Manchester International in 1985 on a cold Friday night before catching the first train at 6am on the Saturday morning. Much like Piccadilly Station the Preston trains annoyingly departed from the furthermost point from the entrance which is the full length of the station and to add insult to injury you then need to head up and over some steps to reach the platform. I have witnessed many punters whilst sat on the last train doing a comedy slowing down run when they realise the chase is futile, I have also on a couple of occasions been one of those punters!
Victoria is located adjacent to the MEN arena from which you can exit directly onto the station. On the 03/11/17 whilst waiting to meet Gill I witnessed the King Division Brass Band playing on the concourse.
Not being a natural shopper, I tend to skirt around Market Street in the centre but traversing home one evening just after we moved to Manchester on 20/09/17, I was distracted by a full set up called Marley Band playing some reggae/dub sounds on the sidewalk opposite Skechers.
Within the sanitised environs of the Arndale Centre nearby in April 18 I witnessed a huge roving combo containing a plethora of drummers called Sergeant Pepper Band who produced bizarre Beatles covers.
Now, the purists out there may scoff at the three venues outlined thus far and I admit they are a smidge tenuous but in the spirit of fair debate I would refer you back to my previous Definition of a Gig and a Venue blog article as evidence for the defence!
However, I will finish this week with an undisputable venue. This one perhaps best portrays my dedication (nee fixation) in sourcing new venues. Thus, upon leaving the Ritz on 25/03/14 after an early set by Band of Skulls me and Uncle George jumped into a cab to locate the Eagle Inn in Salford.
The pub is located on 18-19 Collier St, a 5-minute walk from Vic Station but literally buried deep within some ramshackle windswept streets. It is a Grade 2 listed building dating from 1902 and is a traditional Joseph Holts brewery back street boozer.
There is a terracotta plaque of an eagle with a name above the door but is also known by the name of the Old Lamp Oil. The attached cottage was converted into a live music venue that opened in October 2013 and is now a separate room off the main bar with a small stage built into the brickwork.
On the night in question, we arrived after the main band Buller had taken the stage and I negotiated a reduced-price entry after I explained our considerable detour to arrive there.
It was an interesting venue and worth a visit, and we had wisely pre-ordered the original cab to take us back to the station for the last leg home. Further out into Salford from there is another enticing sounding venue called the White Hotel which I have not yet managed to visit, but I plan to rectify that one day!