Tag: PJ Harvey

Preston Venues 54 to 56

When I first started visiting pubs in Preston at the tender age of sixteen, I targeted establishments where we were more likely to be served. One such venue was Lou’s Longbar down Main Sprit Weind off Church Street, the name could be rendered down to Cockpit Lane as Cock fighting was a regular event in the area in the 17th century. They had two pool tables and a fine jukebox with Cyndi Lauper receiving regular airplay, and it was 70p a pint in those days and I remember being perched on the bar in 1985 watching the boxer Barry McGuigan win the World title.  

The other pub of choice was Yates Wine Lounge where occasionally you did run the risk of police raids when they decided to have exercises where they clamped down on underage drinking. Between these two pubs was the old Odeon cinema and Clouds nightclub which recently sadly burnt down.  

Also located round there is Preston Hopwoods Tap House which opened in March 2022, the owners made a conscious effort to retain the historic design of the building. They also incorporated a commemoration to artefacts found pertaining to the Victorian tobacco business WH & J Woods which employed 200 staff at its peak and originally resided on the same site.  It is a long thin bar, and they have over 100 different beers available and also stock products from Preston’s local breweries.

Hopwoods Tap House. Image Credit goodbeerguide.co.uk

A group of us visited the venue for the first time in April 22 and I was also recently there celebrating the attendance of my 1000th PNE game, which has only taken the small matter of 46 years to achieve that milestone! On the original visit there was a singer/songwriter called Mick playing away on a stage by the front door.

Near Preston North End’s football ground there used to be Legends nightclub where remarkably PJ Harvey once played, prior to that it was PNE Supporters Club where Matt Monro graced the stage in the 1960’s. On that site in more recent years there has been located the Preston North End Fan Zone where fans could gather pre and post-match. I attended there once prior to a league Cup tie versus Liverpool in October 21.

Matt Monro. Image Credit blogspot.com

They had some fine Moorhouses brewery beer on tap, and I had a cheeky flier just before the match and there was a noisy band called Magic Club playing in the corner of the marquee.  At the end of last season for whatever reason they then decided to discard the Fan Zone area and it no longer exists.

Back in the city, off Lune Street lies the roomy 1842 restaurant and bar which resides on the site of the foyer of the old Public Hall, and it has many incarnations since, Flax and Firkin, Assembly and Corn Exchange to name a few. I have watched a few PNE and England matches in there but never seen a band, though I did see one setting up but left before they struck a chord!  

Diagonally across from there on the corner of Georges Road you will find Preston The Angel, now known as Angel 39. It was established in 1838 and not a pub I have regularly frequented as I always thought it struggled to find its own identity. When we visited there in December 2017, we witnessed a solo artist called Renee.  

Preston Angel. Image Credit flickr.com

Preston Venues 21 to 22

For my sins, I have been a lifelong Preston North End fan and have been attending Deepdale regularly since 1978. I have walked up and down Moor Park which is opposite the stadium countless times commuting to the matches. I for many years lived in the Withytrees area in Fulwood and the inbuilt Sat Nav would kick in at 2.40 on a Saturday and off I would trot to the ground.   

Moor Park being the location of Prestonian Tom Benson’s famous walks in the 80’s, Tom was an endurance walker who became the world record holder by covering 314 miles non-stop around the perimeter of the park. He was an unsung hero who also undertook the walks for charity, a fine man and there is a street named after him in the city.

Being a proud Preston lad, I would obviously always advocate the local cuisine. Thus, when living at Lane Ends opposite the city’s best bakery Deans a pre-match snack would be a hot Butter Pie, teacake (barmcake!) and almond slice whilst watching Football Focus which set me up in good stead for the rest of the day!

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Deepdale Stadium. with club shop (previously Legends) to the front right with Moor Park trees visible in the foreground. Image Credit youtube.com

As you may have gleaned from earlier blogs, I am a numbers person and I always thought it was likely that I would achieve the 1000 figure in football matches prior to attending 1000 gigs. However due to my gig attendance increasing exponentially in the last few years, it now appears I will hit the gig landmark first. My third target is for a century of blood donations thus the current totals as at April 21 stand at Football 967, Gigs 940 and Bloods 91, so hope to complete the triumvirate of these milestones by 2023.

Now I could wax lyrical about all the great games I have witnessed at Deepdale but this is a music blog so I shall refrain from that approach!

Periodically there have been musical performances either prior to or at half time in the matches. One of those was a pre-famous Russell ‘The Voice’ Watson who belted out a couple of tunes including a rousing version of Nessun Dorma prior to a game against Man City around the turn of the century. As he is a Man United fan he was somewhat predictably booed from the away end of the ground.

As I am now living in Manchester, I have been occasionally been asked if I am a Red or a Blue and my reply is that I am a White from the Home of Football (let us not forget PNE are the original Invincibles!) which confuses them immensely.

The other performance was from local legends Lancashire Hotpots who performed at half time around 2008 and obviously included the North West National Anthem ‘Chippy Tea’ in their short set with the refrain ‘I don’t want Lobster Thermadore or your Raspberry Coulis, I’m a working man from Lancashire and I wants a Chippy Tea’.  

Deepdale is an old-fashioned ground in that two sides are surrounded by residential houses and not in a soulless industrial estate like many new grounds. However, the nearby pubs have gradually dwindled over the years resulting in losing the Deepdale, Withytrees, Old England, Garrison and the original jewel in the crown the Sumners!       

Located just outside the ground was Legends nightclub which is now where the Club shop stands. It was a dingy scuzzy venue that I attended a few times to play on the snooker tables. Unbeknownst to me, they very occasionally had gigs there. I remember John Dewhurst telling me he once rather astonishingly saw PJ Harvey there. I just adore the tales of future big names playing in these kind of backwater venues. I wonder what the subsequent Mercury Prize winner made of the place!

There was a two-storey indoor market hall in the centre of town for many years which I used to frequent regularly, where amongst other items I could purchase my fruit and veg, have keys cut or buy cheap misshaped chocolates. I also used to buy gig tickets and LP’s from House of Records located in the complex. The market was sadly demolished a few years ago.

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The original Preston indoor market. Image Credit blogpreston.co.uk

Alongside the indoor market the outdoor market stretched from the top of Orchard Street up to Lancaster Road where the Great Times Chinese restaurant stood for many years. This recently went through a regeneration where they created a new smaller indoor market space with a new craft beer venue called the Orchard Bar located there.

Prior to this regeneration on a Sunday in July 1999 the Outdoor Market was the location for an event named Summerfest. They erected a temporary stage where a few local bands played. On the bill were Steve Parriss, Flatline, Bridge and Treehouse 3.