Tag: Preston Avenham Park

Glasgow Venue 11 – Bellahouston Park

Glasgow Bellahouston Park (Pairc Bhaile Uisdean in Gaelic) is a public park in the Southern quarter of Glasgow and encompasses a tidy area of 180 acres, it first opened its doors to the public in 1896. There were additions to the site over the next few years including a municipal golf course being located there.

Between May and December 1938, the Empire Exhibition was held in the park and the opening ceremony which took place in nearby Glasgow Rangers Ibrox stadium attracted a crowd of 146,000. Despite it being an exceptionally soggy summer, the Exhibition attracted an astounding 12,800,000 visitors and it wasn’t even open on a Sunday! I know it is a long time ago as that is the year my beloved Preston North End last won the FA Cup.

A flyer advertising the 1938 Exhibition. Image Credit barnebys.co.uk

The most striking exhibit was Tait Tower (the Tower of Empire) which rose to 300 feet in height. There is an urban myth, though hotly denied, that its subsequent demolition the following summer was due to concerns around it being cited as a geographical reference for German bombers.  Regretfully of the 200 artefacts built for the exhibition, only the Palace of Art remains and even that is now a Sports Excellence Centre!

The site is a perfect backdrop for large public events. It has hosted the 1978 World Cross Country Championships, a gathering for the evangelist Billy Graham and two papal visits, the first in 1982 by John Paul II attracted a crowd of approximately 250,000. On the musical front, there have been Scottish pipe band competitions and Coldplay and Snow Patrol have also performed there.

Due to its inherent suitability, resembling a mega size version of Avenham Park in Preston, they began in August 2013 to stage three-day Glasgow summer sessions events there with Kings of Leon, Avicii and Eminem being the original cast of headliners. In 2019 Mogwai announced they were to play but in a slightly unusual twist via being in a support role to the Cure. Upon hearing this fine news, tickets and trains were purchased with Uncle George and Andy Berry escorting me on this particular jaunt.

Bellahouston Park. Image Credit Ents24.

I undertook the now extra leg from Manchester to Preston where I met the other chaps, and we jumped on to the next Avanti going North. After we grabbed our digs for the night, we had a couple of cold ones in a local bar which preceded a fish and chip tea. We then travelled on the Paisley Canal line from Glasgow Central to the station at Dumbreck, which is located 250 yards away from the park.  

There was a pleasant treelined avenue en route before landing at the security gates. Inside we met up with Marcus and his then current girlfriend Sarah who were also in attendance. The weather was unfortunately a bit tempestuous, and the ground was a tad muddy as a result. First up were the ever noisy Twilight Sad who now reside on Mogwai’s Rock Action label, and I was witnessing them for the fifth time in total.

Mogwai played under the worst of the weather and after so many years of watching them it felt hugely odd that they were not the headliners, but they were clearly honoured to be asked to play on the bill by one of their favourite bands. Their shortened set still contained the highlights of ‘Ithica’ and ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’.

Before the main act we decided to refuel with some more overpriced ale and trogged up to the hill to the main beer tent. Upon arrival, the people waiting kept snaking outwards and it wasn’t immediately evident where was the end point of what must have been the longest beer queue in the whole of Christendom! One upside was that we had a clear view of the stage, but the Cure were already performing by the time we finally reached the front.

Somewhat surprisingly, and not least to myself, I had never managed to catch the Cure live, the nearest I had come previously was at the Manchester Move Festival, but a decision was made to catch the reformed Pixies who played the night after. I had heard reports from my peers that they could sometimes be a tad ‘Neil Young contrary’ by playing a set of album tracks but on the counterpoint of that others had said they were compelling in a live setting.

The Cure on stage on the night. Image Credit youtube.com

Thankfully on the night I witnessed them, they fell into the second category. They were one of the tightest bands I have ever witnessed, bringing to minds other such accomplished bands on first sightings such as Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Wolf Alice, Electric 6 and Fontaines DC.

They were also mesmerizingly uncompromising with the refreshing attitude of if you don’t like it, move on, I have so much respect for bands like that! They performed a 27-song set with an epic seven track encore and despite tough competition, my favourite was ‘A Forest’ as I have always adored that tune.                          

On the return journey home the next day, we encountered a very strange scenario. The train ground to a halt at Lancaster station with no discernible sign of onward traction, it transpired that our forward engine was broken. Thus, the ask was for us to walk over the bridge to the other platform and swap places onto the original northbound Glasgow train, which would then retrace its route back to Preston. 

This necessitated ten full carriages of punters swapping from one train to another, including the young, old and infirm and as I am sure you can appreciate it was a fair period of time before we on our way again!  

Stockport Venue 1 – The Heatons

With the Manchester HS2 leg now officially aborted and as a result potential funds being freed up for other transport projects, there have been increasing rumours about extending the current metro terminus of East Didsbury all the way into Stockport. I believe this proposed route would cross over the River Mersey and traverse in via Cheadle.

The East Didsbury metro stop with its large car park is my nearest station and lies about 20 minutes’ walk away. From there you can begin to navigate up Didsbury Road past the Dog and Partridge pub and at that point you cross over into Stockport.  

The next touchpoint is the petrol station with an M&S attached where during the dark days of Covid, one of our treats was to visit there and purchase the frites and the fresh strawberries with meringues!  

You then reach the Griffin pub which is an archetypal old-fashioned boozer run by the local Holts brewery, which remains as one of the cheapest beers in Britain. It was built in 1831 and still contains two ornate shuttered bars and other original features.

As you continue up the hill you reach Heaton Mersey Bowl on the right which is a large green area containing a couple of football pitches. I recently discovered that a Moor Fest event was held there in 2005 were Mr Scruff, Tom Hingley, Mighty Wah! Clint Boon, A Certain Ratio and Howard Marks were on the bill. Viewing it now, it would be a natural amphitheatre for such a shindig, not dissimilar in layout to Avenham Park in Preston, but the records show that was a one-off singular event.

Moorfest Flyer. Image Credit mdmarchive.co.uk

If you continue down to the right, you arrive at Burnage Rugby Club where alongside the club they have a combined football/golf pitch and putt course. A couple of years ago they held an open-air movie night on the pitch with a screening of A Star is Born featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. When we visited Australia, we witnessed people queuing for a Rocky showing in an open-air cinema in glorious sunshine in Sydney Harbour. Our event was not in the same league, it was admittedly reasonably well organised, but the issue was the apocalyptic rain, and it was absolutely bloody freezing!

Back on Didsbury Road you then reach the Conservative Club where my political persuasion has ensured I have never crossed the threshold of any such establishment anywhere in the country. Back in Preston, there was once a family christening at the Con Club off Moor Park, and I was genuinely ill and could not attend but at least my ailment took a tricky decision off the table! The local club does have musical acts on, and my gig venue ‘addiction’ was briefly piqued, but the horrific calibre of acts, for example a Michael Buble tribute act at £20 per pop quickly quashed that thought!

Further up on the right is the Crown pub which has a raised beer garden which is a sun trap in the summer months, and it is a pleasure to sit there and while away a few hours with a Dizzy Blonde (the beer!). It is a proper old-fashioned establishment with wood beams, and I believe they used to do a fine Sunday lunch, but they have not had food on since pre-covid.

The Crown pub. Image Credit blogspot.com

There is an extremely steep cobbled incline by the side of the pub leading down to the river that bears an uncanny resemblance to the ‘Hovis Hill’ from the old 1970’s adverts, though the filming was actually undertaken on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury in Dorset. The hostelry was also used for a pub quiz scene in a recent episode of Cold Feet with the characters played by James Nesbitt and Robert Bathurst having a scrap on the aforementioned street.

A little further is St Winifred’s School where their choir had a moment of fame in 1980 with their number one Christmas single ‘There’s No Quite Like Grandma’, beating tracks by John Lennon and Jona Lewie to the top of the chart. The choir included the future Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay.     

Back up opposite the Heaton Mersey Bowl is the Stockport Heatons. When I first visited at the back end of 2017 hunting a pub to watch a PNE match it was an interesting establishment called the Frog and Railway. Shortly after it closed and reopened under its current name and was more in the gastropub mould. When sampling some food there in August 2021 there was a local act called Heatons Jazz Band providing a soundtrack.

Before I go this week I must add my homage to the genius songwriting talent of Shane MacGowan. I initially missed the Pogues playing at the Paradise Club in Preston in front of about thirty people in February 1985 despite being in town that night and my brother trying to persuade me to attend. Oh, young foolish 16-year-old Jimmy!

Shane MacGowan. Image Credit withradio.org

I saw them three times after that with the second at the long-gone Manchester International 2 in December 1986 remaining one of my Top 20 ever gigs. They were extraordinary and I never since seen an occasion where about 90% of the audience were dancing, creating a huge communal euphoric experience. If only there was a way to bottle or freeze those moments in time!

I am sitting here misty-eyed listening to the marauding intent of ‘Boys from the Country Hell’ and the warped beauty of ‘A Pair of Brown Eyes’ to name but two of his astounding canon of material. RIP Shane – ‘I Will Have a Pint With You Sir’!