The iconic Manchester building will open as a gig venue next year
Salford Lads Club in Ordall, Manchester has become a landmark building in part due to a very famous 1986 photo of The Smiths standing outside its front doors. The club is now undergoing renovation and the owners plan to put on a series of gigs next year.
Club spokesman Leslie Holmes has said that the club has been visited by some large acts including Ryan Adams, “Ryan Adams visited and was clicking his fingers and saying ‘oh that’s amazing’,” He said, “But at the time we didn’t have the capacity to offer him a concert. But because we have put in new fire escapes and a lift we have improved access to the building with a grant, and now we can have 200, and the sound gets better the more people you have in the room.”
The Manchester Evening News have also reported that Charlatans singer Tim Burgess has checked out the 116 year old venue’s concert hall in recent months.
“We could have small exclusive gigs.” Holmes added, “In the past we had a secret XFM gig with Liam Fray, of the Courteeners, and we have had Billy Bragg here. We had a limited number for the concert hall, and since we did the work with the Sport England grant we can accommodate more.” Going on to say that he felt acoustic gigs would be ideal for the venue pointing out the club’s history of working with musical acts “I think acoustic is the perfect medium for the space. We have had Manchester Literary Festival do concerts here and the Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert hall was purpose built. The club had male voice choirs, minstrel troops and bugle bands.”
Check out a heartfelt letter left by Ryan Adams in The Smiths room below and watch this space for more information on the Salford Lads Club revival.
