Manchester Academy
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Manchester Academy is a brand name used by the University of Manchester Students' Union for its four concert venues in Manchester, England, which reside on Oxford Road both within and adjacent to the main Students' Union. building. 'Manchester Academy' was originally the name of the largest of these venues (see picture), but became an umbrella term for both itself and the union's other venues in 2003. It has hosted such big names as Ian Brown, The Stranglers, Super Furry Animals, Deftones, Pink Floyd, The Cure, The Coral, Blur, Oasis, George Clinton, Nirvana, Manic Street Preachers,The Libertines, The Ramones, Billy Talent, Fightstar, Lost Prophets, Babyshambles, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Supergrass, It Bites Skipping madrid and Prodigy.
The main venue Manchester Academy (sometimes referred to as Academy 1) is just south of the students' union. It opened in October 1990 and was first performed in by the Buzzcocks. It was closed between March and October 2007 when a major refurbishment and rebuilding programme began, set to be complete by early 2008[1]. It had had a capacity of 1500 and hosted about 50 gigs a year prior to closure, though the capacity will be increased when work is completed.
Academy 2 is on the second floor of the Students' Union in the union's Main Debating Hall, which lead to the venue originally being advertised as the 'MDH', though the 'Academy 2' is now used instead.
Academy 3 is on the third floor of the Students' Union. It was formerly known as the 'Hop and Grape' and originally as the 'Solem Bar.'
Club Academy is in the basement of the Students' Union. It was refurbished and opened to the public in September 2005, before which it operated under the title of 'Cellar Disco', and generally only hosted student-only events.
Prior to the construction of what is now their largest venue (and hence the name Manchester Academy) in 1990, the students' union has hosted a wealth of artists including The Yardbirds, The Who, Nazareth, The Moody Blues, Stevie Wonder, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Captain Beefheart, Pink Floyd, Slade, Fairport Convention, Joe Cocker, Hawkwind, Procul Harum, The Wailers, AC/DC, Dire Straits and The Cure over the last fifty years.[1]
Shows usually start at 7:30pm Monday through Saturday and 7:00pm on Sundays, usually ending at 11 o'clock.
The Manchester Academy one recently underwent a refurbishment program that was scheduled to be completed in Autumn 2007. However, the venue re-opened in September 2007 with much of the refurbishment incomplete. For example, customers have to exit the concert venue and use portable toilets which are located outside of the actual venue and the new balcony area is also not open. It was also noted that no cloakroom is currently available and only one small bar is open (to the right of the stage.) The Manchester University (which runs the venue) has come under much criticism for opening the venue under these conditions.
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