Band on the Wall
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Band on the Wall is a live music venue on 25 Swan Street in the Northern Quarter area of Manchester City Centre. The Building dates back to around 1862 when a local brewery, the McKenna Brothers, built it as the flagship pub of their operation. It was called The George and Dragon; the first license on the site was granted to Elizabeth March in 1803. No-one knows when music started playing at the venue but market pubs were well known for their musical connections, and the nearby Smithfield Markets and textile factories ensured that this was a bustling area with many musicians and buskers. Manchester was then at its height as the first industrial city at the forefront of the industrial revolution.
The 'Band on the Wall' was a nickname from the 1930s when the landlord of the time Ernie Tyson placed a stage high on the far wall of the pub for the musicians to play from. A regular band of two Accordions, piano, drums, a singer and occasionally a saxophone would play.
During World War II the venue was popular with servicemen from British, American, Canadian and French armed forces as well as the local market traders and mill workers. Italian Prisoners of War and deserters were rumoured to frequent the establishment. The band often played on during air raids, particularly as they became more common.
The area fell into decline during the middle of the last century as the textile manufacturing industry moved into decline and many people left the area, the market was also suffering.
In 1975 local jazz musician Steve Morris and his business partner Frank Cusick bought the George & Dragon with the idea of turning it into a Jazz club, a conversation with Johnny Roadhouse convinced them to name it The Band on the Wall, jazz musicians from the local area as well as international artist played at the club. The late seventies saw the emergence of a new sound - Punk and it was at the Band on the Wall that many of the Manchester punk bands played. This was part of the New Manchester Review nights, a fanzine and listings magazine which was the starting point for the now deceased City Life (Magazine). Many notable post-punk bands played during this time including Buzzcocks, Fast Cars, The Fall amongst others. The venue was also used by the Manchester Musicians Collective. An album entitled "A Manchester Collection" was released by Object Records featuring some of those members in April 1979. Several other bands later released music through Factory Records played including Joy Division and A Certain Ratio. In 1982 the venue briefly closed for some internal redevelopment work. It was after the re opening that the Dizzy Gillespie logo was first used. It was during this decade that the venue began to gain an international reputation for so-called "World Music" and a programme that covered multiple genres. Performers who went on to gain international reputations included Mick Hucknall, who played on several occasions as Frantic Elevators. Other notable performances came from Purrkur Pillnikk who supported The Fall for three dates in 1982, supporting vocals came from a young Björk.
[edit] Rebirth
Band on the Wall is operated by Inner City Music Ltd, a registered charity and is currently closed for major refurbishments and alterations. The organisation was awarded £3.2million in July 2007, in combined awards by Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of a £4 million project to transform the venue into a 21st Century centre for music.
