The Phoenix & The Student Precinct 1974-2012
In the early ’80s, my comprehensive school’s corridors heaved with perrys, bovver boys and Blondie/Siouxsie/Chrissie Hynde pretenders. So at sixth form, I was startled to encounter a throng of heavy metal fans from local girls’ grammar schools; they seemed to inhabit a parallel universe where it was still 1975, and their self-confidence was so overwhelming that it was me who seemed out of step, not them.
They had curly perms, hippy skirts and fringed neck scarves and they openly discussed the merits of David Coverdale’s leather trousers without a trace of embarrassment; this behaviour was as alien to me as the prospect of someone opening a fire-door and actually letting me walk through it. (Civilised corridor ettiquette was a new and confusing concept.)
The odd shortage of metal-loving boys at college didn’t seem to worry the hippy-rock-chicks. Their sights were set on The Phoenix; here they would seek out their preferred romantic targets - UMIST students - in an unquestioned social ritual which seemed to date back to the dawn of time.
I discovered that The Phoenix was where geeky long-haired male science under-graduates habitually mingled with under-age, private-school or convent-educated girls… each group apparently providing an antidote to the other’s cultural isolation… while the abundance of weed and snakebite distracted the girls from the scarcity of David Coverdale.
For months I had no idea exactly where The Phoenix was; it became a destination of legend in my imagination. Verbal descriptions led me to envisage an illuminated golden bird, hovering over Oxford Road, sign-posting a nearby medieval torch-lit chamber, as might befit the aesthetic preferences of the clientele.
In fact I’d passed The Phoenix regularly, on the bus into town, but as there was no sign or street entrance, I had no way of knowing. The club was inside the Manchester Education Precinct, which straddles Oxford Road and runs along the length of Booth Street:
The red brick exterior, escalator and motorway service station decor were not what I expected at all; they made the allure of the place a real puzzle.
It’s also a bit random that UMIST socials were held in the Education Precinct because it was part of Manchester University, which was separate from UMIST in those days.
Manchester Education Precinct was commissioned in the mid-1960s by Manchester Corporation and Victoria (Manchester) University. (Victoria and UMIST merged in 2004 to form the University of Manchester.)
Architects Hugh Wilson & Lewis Womersley produced plans for the new campus prior to beginning work on their redesign of Hulme (now demolished) and the Arndale Centre, but the development wasn’t completed until 1974*.
The initial concept involved the pedestrianisation of Oxford Road, and ideas about the best way to develop the Oxford Road Corridor are once again being debated. The Education Precinct is the only one of Wilson & Womersley’s mega developments in Manchester which remains almost unchanged since its conception.
But not for long. The enormous building, which includes Manchester Business School, the University Shopping Precinct and St Peter’s Chaplaincy, is due to be updated and redeveloped.
Phase One will involve the construction of a new hotel on the Hulme side of the Manchester Business School. This will free up MBS’s existing internal accomodation, which will allow a phased refurbishment of the interior.
The plans for the Shopping Precinct have not yet been finalised but changes are obviously afoot because the shops’ leases are not being renewed. Blackwells staff believe that the bookshop will remain where it is, but who knows what will become of the bizarre escalator and the perversely stepped access ramp? Will developers Bruntwood have the imagination to preserve these architectural gems?
*http://www.stpeters.org.uk/history/dates.php
I am be totally wrong on this but in my recollection the UMIST socials, namely the Saturday rock discos, were held in the Umist student union building near Piccadilly station. The Phoenix rock nights were in those days the place to go on a sunday night. There were also rock clubs like Jillie’s and the Banshee and plenty of places like the Playpen/42nd street that attracted a mixed crowd, so the week was full and as far as I knew the only connection between Umist socials and the Phoenix was the clientele, and even that had differences as one particular motorcycle club went to Umist on saturdays and another club went to the Phoenix on sundays. Anyway sorry to be pedantic, it is just how I remember it. Keep up the great work.
David thanks! I’m sure you’re right! I’ve got the Phoenix rock nights mixed up with the UMIST socials.
Spent many a good night trying to ‘get off’ with the female ‘Rock’ students at the Phoenix…….yes..not sure, but might of been the Slaves/or the Disciples, who also seemed to rule the roost ( mostly ‘Bouncing’) at the doors of Manchesters other Rock clubs,Jilly’s,Banshee, Salisbury pub…………one plus was as a Biker, you were often guaranteed to get in for free………………!!!
Yes, The rock night on Saturdays was at UMIST in the Main Debating Hall of the Barnes Wallis building (Student Union). I was one of the DJs there between 1980 and 1984. Survivors of heavy Night (7pm - 1am) trundled onto Jillie’s for the last hour or two. Malcolm - owner of Jillies (formerly Henrys) opened the Banshee around 1983, I think. The Phoenix was very busy on Sunday nights with rock clientele and was frequented by the Satan’s Slaves. The Swinging Sporran, opposite UMIST and almost part of the multi-storey car park that was there, also had a mix of rock in the basement and disco upstairs - popular with students and locals - and was busy on Wednesdays and weekends. Great memories - thanks very much for reminding me.
Thank you too, Chris, for all the info!
Quick question, I stumbled across this blog looking for something else but you might just be the person to help me….what was the name of the record shop in the University Precinct that had yellow bags with Laurel & Hardy on them …it’s doing my head in
I don’t know - but hopefully somebody else will see this and reply… I’ll ask around in the meantime and get back to you.
Great blog, Great memories. Good bar, decent door staff, free parking on the waste land opposite and great music. I used to go around 1976-1979 that weird time when prog / punk and metal intertwined; Steve Toon’s Friday Rock Nights got me through many a grim week at work. Can’t remember the guy who did Saturday’s but they were pretty good to.