He's seen the light... Paul Hanley's Top Ten Manchester music venues.

Depending which day you catch him on, Paul Hanley is either a powerhouse drummer, author of music books like Leave the Capital and Sixteen Again or co-host of the Oh! Brother podcast with sibling Steve. Oh, and he was in The Fall too. His latest book Das Gruppe on the Wall is about The Fall’s relationship with cult Manchester venue Band on the Wall. So, Cult Manchester asked him to choose his Top Ten Manchester Gig Venues. Some are still with us; some are long gone. How many did you visit? Photo by Katherine Macfarlane.

Paul Hanley: Obviously this is an entirely subjective list – I have no doubt you will disagree with me about both the selections and the order. You may also disagree with my decision to only write about venues that meant something to me personally - I could easily have written about the importance of the Electric Circus, the Twisted Wheel et al, but that would have been a matter of research and reportage - nothing wrong with that, of course, but this is much closer to my heart. 

10 - The Squat 

One of the key punk venues, it stood alone amid the rubble of its erstwhile neighbours like Ozymandias’ legs in the desert. The fact it was literally on the edge of destruction and had been saved from demolition by the squatters who gave it its name, afforded it a degree of glamour possibly unwarranted by its shabby demeanour. It was the sight of some seminal gigs in the late 70s and early 80s, including a show by Warsaw, who at that point still had Tony Tabac on drums, and the night Tony Friel left The Fall.  The only time I attended was to witness New Order’s first gig with Gillian Gilbert on guitar and keyboards. They played a seven-song set which ended with the magnificent ‘Ceremony’. I was far from convinced they could successfully pull off the transition from Joy Division, which shows what I know.  

Devas Street, off Oxford Road, city centre. Closed in 1982.

9 - Gorilla 

This venue started out as the Green Room, which specialised in art, theatre and comedy. It ultimately failed and was shut for years, before rebranding itself. It’s nestled under one of Whitworth Street’s flagship railway arches, directly opposite The Ritz, itself a strong contender for this list. Gorilla gets the nod mainly because it was where I saw Pete Shelley for the last time, being interviewed by Dave Haslam on 10 June 2018. Pete was on great form, as you would expect, and evidently delighted with his lot in life, which makes his untimely demise just seven months later, seem even more cruel and arbitrary. The same could be said of Neil Innes, a favourite of Pete’s, who I saw joyously romping through The Rutles’ back catalogue in June 2019 before being sadly taken from us in the December of that year.

Whitworth Street, city centre. Still there

8 - International II 

Not the most salubrious of venues, and certainly not a place that was over-concerned with health and safety. I include it here because it was the scene of what was genuinely one of my favourite gigs ever, Stray Cats on 7 March 1989. Sweat poured down the walls, and the balcony bounced worryingly up and down in time with the punters. The group turned in a white-hot, truly mesmerising performance. What more could one ask for from a gig? I also saw Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel here, and somewhat surprisingly, Duran Duran, a gig that was so tightly packed I feared lives would be lost. Genuine overheard conversation at the front desk: ‘There’s no guest list tonight, love, it’s Duran Duran’… ‘But I’m Yasmin Le Bon’.

Plymouth Grove, Longsight. Closed in 1992, the site is now housing and apartments.

7 - Manchester Polytechnic 

The system whereby the Student Unions were able to book great bands into their venues may have had its problems in terms of professionalism and business practice, but at least they weren’t constantly on the lookout for ways to fleece the punters (service fee, handling fee and facility fee? To download the ticket to my phone? Do me a favour). The Universities and Polys up and down the country staged some of the best gigs I ever played and/or attended. Alas they’re another victim of Thatcher’s Britain and corporate greed now controls the university venues that survive. One that didn’t survive, Manchester Polytechnic, was a fantastic performance space.  I was lucky enough to play there several times, most notably at an all-dayer which also featured Orange Juice, Josef K, The Au Pairs and The Hamsters among others, with John Peel DJ-ing. Tickets were £1.50, about eight quid in today’s money.  I also saw Buzzcocks play on 22 May 1980, when Pete Shelley dedicated the utterly appropriate ‘Strange Thing’ to Ian Curtis, who had died four days before. You miss them when they’re gone.

Cavendish Street, city centre. Closed in 1982 - the last band to play was The Fall. The building is now part of Manchester Metropolitan University.

6 - The Haçienda

I know, I know. But it’d be weird not to include it, wouldn’t it? I was there on the opening night, when Bernard Manning may as well have been speaking a foreign language (as if!) for all we could hear. I saw Johnny Thunders play a blinding set one evening, despite being very clearly strung out (him, not me).  Yazoo were better than I thought they were going to be and utterly unhampered by the fact that Vince Clarke appeared to spend the whole set doing absolutely nothing. I even saw Terence Trent D’Arby when he was promoting his second album Neither Fish nor Flesh (or ‘Neither Bought nor Sold’ as it was soon re-christened). The stage was in the wrong place, as we know. Of course, it really came into its own later on, but I’d stopped going by then. 

Whitworth Street West, city centre. The club closed in 1997 and the building was demolished in 2002. There’s a block of flats with the same name there now.

5 - International I

Located a good way from the city centre the International hosted some fantastic gigs in its prime. As an example: Big Audio Dynamite’s debut gig. They’d played a free secret gig as ‘The Westway Wonders’ but this was the first official, publicised one. My band somehow managed to blag the coveted support slot, which was quite a coup for us. ‘It’s gonna be like kick-starting a jumbo jet tonight,’ Mick confided in us before the soundcheck, but the colossal aircraft took to the skies without a hitch. For a brief moment, they really did sound like the future. Loads of brilliant groups graced the International’s stage, including the Stone Roses, who seemed to play there every week. This may have been thanks to the fact that it was run by their manager, Gareth Evans.

Anson Road, Victoria Park. Closed in 1991. It’s now a Turkish supermarket.

4 - PSV/Russell Club/ The Factory

Whatever name you choose to remember it by, this was the place.  ‘Iconic’ is bandied about far too freely these days, but it’s pretty apt here. Everyone played The Russell Club. Personal favourites include Echo and The Bunnymen when they still had a drum machine, and Public Image Limited, who played a word-of-mouth gig here on 18 June 1979. They were trying out some tracks from Metal Box, which they were in the process of recording, and appeared to be having a whale of a time – Jah Wobble played standing up for the first time.  This was such a joyous occasion that at one point even Keith Levene even managed a smile.

Royce Road, Hulme. The building was demolished in 2001; it’s now housing.

3 - Rafters.

Descending the stairs into Fagin’s cellar was a regular treat for me. In the late 70s and early 80s there seemed to be an unmissable gig on every week. The Birthday Party, for one, were astonishing. Nick Cave managed to detach a light from the ceiling, which was very low - it wasn’t called ‘Rafters’ for nowt - and lob it into the audience, narrowly missing my brother Steve’s head. When we went backstage after the gig, Steve brought it with him. ‘Here’s your light back,’ he quipped to Nick Cave. I also saw DAF, Altered Images, Bauhaus, Orange Juice and many others. One time when I was sat with Steve, Marc Riley and Craig Scanlon, none other than Nico lent over and asked me to pass her tape, which apparently, she’d left under the chair. After two minutes frantic searching, most of which involved wrestling with the large black cloth that was also under there, I realised she’d actually said ‘cape’.  She must have thought I was crackers.  

Oxford Street, city centre. Now a Tesco Express.

2 - Manchester Apollo

Perfect size, perfect ambience, perfect venue really, with caveats about the times it was sponsored by LaBatts and Carling lager respectively. ‘If You Tolerate This Piss, Then Your Bitter Will Be Next’ (© 2001 Shirehorses) as Manic Street Preachers should have said when they played there. I saw The Fall support The Rezillos here in 1978, Joy Division support Buzzcocks in 1979, and the Beastie Boys support Run DMC in 1987. Loudest gig I saw here: Buzzcocks on their reformation tour in 1989. Quietist? Kraftwerk in 2004. I got told off for talking. Quite right really, but it’s not my fault my whispered conversation was louder than the band. Special mention must go to the Apsley Cottage, the fabulous pub next door which only added to the unique vibe of gigs. Surely it can be saved for the nation?

Stockport Road, Ardwick Green. Still there.

1 - Band on the Wall

As discussed in my latest book, in many ways the Band on The Wall set the bar for Manchester venues and still does. It’s been going since 1803 for a start and has seen the back of any number of upstart venues, including all but two of those listed here. In the Second World War it was open 24 hours a day, including during air-raids - that must have been quite the atmosphere, eh?  It’s played host to any number of jazz superstars over the years and was also home to the legendary Manchester Musicians Collective, who helped kickstart the career of several Manchester acts, including The Fall, Joy Division and Mick Hucknall.  The Band on The Wall and the Manchester Musicians Collective embody the unique spirit of Manchester music, a spirit that has thrilled and fascinated me most of my life, so playing here with The Fall, who kind of embody it too, was something of a marriage made in heaven.  That, and the Band on the Wall’s continuing relevance in a world where it's increasingly difficult to run live music venues as viable concerns, is why it quite rightly sits at Number One.

Swan Street, city centre. Still there. They even write books about it… 

Paul’s book, Das Gruppe on the Wall is available here.