Mancky

Contains City Life Magazine Manchester Club Guide 1984

In 1982, when Carol Morley was, no doubt, already a regular at the recently opened Hacienda, I was battling with my parents to be allowed to go to Rotters:

The two clubs were reviewed 18 months later, in Issue 3 of City Life (Jan-Feb 1984) by Mick & Dean, the ‘Nightlife’ correspondents:

The other ‘mammoth’ club in Manchester around that time was The Ritz, which is the only one of the big three still standing - and for that reason I think we should all make much more of a fuss of it. It’s currently closed for ‘restoration and refurbishment’ but is due to re-open in September as The HMVRitz. I hope they leave the sign outside as just ‘The Ritz’ though; ‘HMVRitz’ won’t look very Art Deco.

Apparently, they’re going to turn the basement into a bar. It makes me wonder how ‘authentic’ the restoration is going to be. One of the nice things about The Ritz I remember was the old-fashioned cloakroom/toilets area in the basement which was absolutely massive, and looked particularly decadent when draped with Goths.

We went to The Ritz on Monday nights in the 80s but I remember being solemnly warned never to go there at the weekend because Saturday was ‘grab a granny’ night! Now I could pass as one of the grannies.

The Ritz Monday night would traditionally end with ‘The Dambusters’ Theme’ - people would charge round the dancefloor in a circle, arms outstretched like aeroplanes. I went back there in 1999 and was amazed to see that this was still happening!

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I never went to Rotters in the end. By 1983 my friends had moved on to Tiffanys, DeVilles and The Berlin, and I followed like a sheep.

Tiffanys was on the opposite side of Oxford Road from Rotters; this photo is from 1978 (although it looks more like the 60s) and is borrowed from the MDMA Archive; Peter Square is just out of sight on the far left of the shot:

My main memory of Tiffanys is the plastic palm trees; I was amazed that such things still existed in the early 80s, especially after they had been ridiculed by The Leyton Buzzards in ‘Saturday Night Under The Plastic Palm Trees’ in 1979. Then the club changed its name to Tropicana and somehow the cheesey decor seemed acceptably kitsch! Maybe ‘Club Tropicana’ by Wham (1983) had something to do with this.

DeVilles, on Lloyd Street off Albert Square, was connected to Lazy Lil’s, which was well-known for its bucking bronco ride. I think everybody in there was under-age when I went in the early 80s, even though we were just round the corner from Bootle Street Police Station.

A short write-up in City Life Issue 8 (April 1984), again from Mick & Dean, reveals that The Berlin’s Thursday ‘Private Road’ night was intended to be a Punk/Goth night, but I don’t think I took this on-board when I went there:

I was one of the dreaded ‘Straights’ who was generally lowering the tone. They also played The Cramps ‘Human Fly’, Iggy Pop ‘The Passenger’ and Nina Simone ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’.

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Here is a copy of the club list printed in City Life Issue 3 (Jan-Feb 1984):

Adam & Eve’s and Charlie Brown’s were next door to each other in Chorlton near The Feathers pub, alongside Chorlton Park; they were depressing dives full of people who wanted to punch each other.

Annabels must have been the same place as The Exit on Wood Street, off Deansgate.

The Caribbean Club is not the same place as The Caribbean Club in Hulme, which is missing from the list. The Man Alive is absent from the list too, as is The Reno, another West Indian run club, which was next door to The Nile in Moss Side, just near the Royal Brewery. The Nile and The Reno were open late… until 4 or 5am.

Cloud 9 was downstairs from Spin Inn record shop on Cross Street, opposite The Royal Exchange Theatre. I’ve been told that it was previously known as Top Of The Town, which is an odd choice of name because I’m sure it was a basement.

Playpen was renamed 42nd Street and is still going.

Placemate 7, previously The Wheel, was a large club on Whitworth Street at the Piccadilly end, made up of a warren of small rooms; I went there again in the early 90s when it was called The State - atleast I think it was the same place. It’s now called Legends.

Meanwhile, the Legend club listed in 1984 is the club on Princess Street, which was renamed 5th Avenue. Legend opened in 1980 with a state of the art sound and lighting rig installed, but this was wasted on me at the time; I assumed the place was a 70s relic because it was very much a ‘discotheque’. It’s the location of the Happy Mondays’ video for WFL which can be seen here.

Fagins (renamed Rockworld in 1990) was upstairs in St James Building on Oxford Road (or is it Street?), while Jillys, not listed, was downstairs in the same building (previously Rafters, later The Music Box.) This venue shut only last year (2010).

Thursdays must be the old Pips, as the address is Fennel Street. Pips was in the basement of The Corn Exchange… I didn’t go there until it became Konspiracy in the late 80s. Upstairs, the Corn Exchange building housed an indoor market selling a bizarre array of ‘antiques’, collectables and occult services. It was redeveloped as The Triangle shopping centre.

The Swinging Sporran is still on the corner of Charles Street and Sackville Street, near UMIST; it’s now called the Retro Bar.

A notable omission from City Life’s club list is The Phoenix, which was strongly associated with heavy metal; it was in the Student Precinct across from the Royal Northern College of Music.

The Venue, Whitworth Street, is also missing from the list but it was definitely there in 1984, just a few doors along from The Hacienda. It was a proper dive, with a sticky carpet, which we had to dance on because the dancefloor was so tiny. We went to Indie nights there and danced to The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure and Simple Minds!

I’m surprised that The International, Anson Road, Victoria Park, doesn’t appear on the club list because I went to gigs there in 1984/85, but perhaps it opened later on during the year. Perhaps ‘Sting’ on Anson Road is the same place. The International was renamed The International 1 when The Carousel became The International 2; the building is now a shop.

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Gay clubs like Archway (Brickhouse), Hero’s, High Society and Naps were listed separately in City Life magazine, on a page dedicated to gay events.

I went to the No.1 Club around 1986/87 because they were playing disco, but I was almost thrown out for not being gay. I was very surprised therefore to see this ad for the club, which also appeared in City Life Issue 3 (Jan-Feb 1984):

I had no idea that the club was originally run by Peter Stringfellow’s brother.

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The last Mick & Dean clip from City Life 1984 (Issue 11 May-June) concerns the soul scene, something which I knew nothing whatsoever about in 1984, but which I became interested in a couple of years later:

Sandpipers is still standing in Fallowfield, on the crossroads of Wilbraham Road and Wilmslow Road; it was called Robinski’s Wallet for many years, now just Robinski’s. I’m surprised that it is mentioned here as a proper soul venue because I only ever knew it as an out-of-town student club.

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The following clubs from City Life’s 1984 list have been demolished: Adam & Eves, Charlie Browns, The Carousel, The Hacienda, The New Ardri, The Nile Club and Rotters.