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In the last 30 days the archive has grown by 27 new artefacts, 21 new members, 5 new people and places.
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22 Jul 2025

Artefact of the day

Programme
Free Trade Hall
1964
Added 2nd February 2014
by dave
1
In an ongoing campaign to preserve Manchester gigs over 50 years old, here's the front of a concert tour programme from the Free Trade Hall, 1964.

The gig was an evening with Ella Fitzgerald plus the Oscar Peterson Trio. Gig was organised by Norman Granz and Harold Davison.

Another Free Trade Hall classic show from yesteryear.

This week's video

Projects

SFTOC Audio Map

Help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sounds From The Other City festival by recording your memories and stories.

RNCM50 - Throwing Open The Concert Doors

A Golden Anniversary celebration project marking 50 years of RNCM

Connecting Manchester's Music Archives

This is the digital space where archival repositories and projects containing Manchester’s music heritage can connect up, share stories and promote their collections.

MDMArchive Research Lab

MDMArchive member and hardcore data-fiend Kate Mullen has been working on plugging our database into electronic frogspawn. Stick your hands in and have a swirl.

Telling Stories Conference

17-19 November 2022
Registration, Speakers and Schedule

Lapsed Clubber Audio Map

Recording the memories of Greater Manchester's rave community, 1985-1995

Online Exhibitions

The World Of Twist Scrapbook

Created by Ian Rainford 1990-1994

My Life Through Ticket Stubs

A personal journey through music gigs in Manchester

Electric circus

An exhibition of artefacts from the Electric Circus, music venue now no longer around

Doodlebug Nuggets ALL FM 96.9 radio archive

Maxwell Hall Archive

An exhibition of the musical heritage of Maxwell Hall, University of Salford

Don't Mention The Hacienda - In Search Of Alan Wise

We Are Dynamite! Northern Carnival 1978

The Northern Carnival against the Nazis, a rally and concert held on 15 July 1978 in Moss Side.

RNCM50: Throwing Open the Concert Doors

Queer Noise

Exploring the hidden history of Manchester’s LGBT+ music culture and club life.

The Roadhouse closes its doors

Huge exhibition of photos and memories from the Manchester music institution.

Moss Side Stories

Inspired in part by MDMArchive’s hugely prolific member, ‘Dubwise-er’, who uploaded almost 1000 artefacts to our website.

Mole Express - A Magazine for Manchester's Counter Culture

A truly alternative, grass-roots publication first issued in 1970 which ran for seven years.

Andrew Weatherall A Herbal Tea Party Celebration

A celebration of the dearly missed Andrew Weatherall.

In celebration of the life of CP Lee

A place to collect all the wonderful stories, memories and images of our founder member.

Record Shops of Greater Manchester

An ongoing project aiming to document every record shop of Greater Manchester, past and present.

City Fun: The Hidden History of Manchester's Favourite Fanzine

Comprehensive fully transcribed archive of City Fun.

Suffragette City - women in Manchester music

Exhibition celebrating women in Manchester music developed in tandem with our physical Suffragette City exhibition at The Refuge.

Manchester Academy Memories

Concerts & Club Life at the University of Manchester - full of great stories from true music fans 1954-2016

A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music

Founded in 1920 by Hilda Collens, the school specialised in training music teachers until it merged with the Royal Manchester College of Music to form the RNCM.

Kate O'Donnell (Trans Creative)

A personal archive of Kate's flyers, posters and press articles.

Electric 50: Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall Redux

Manchester Digital Music Archive celebrated this outstanding event with a fundraising concert to mark its 50th anniversary.

Square Peg, Round Hole: decades of (gay) involvement in Manchester.

Huge personal collection of flyers, photos and articles from designer / promoter duo Glenn & Brendon.

Paradise Factory, January 1998

A photo diary of a night out in Paradise Factory.

Rave in Greater Manchester, 1985-1995

To celebrate the launch of the Lapsed Clubber Audio Map, we've started an exhibition about rave in Greater Manchester.

25 Years Of Paper Recordings: 1994 - 2019

A quarter of a century of music, parties, good times & many memories of Paper Recordings.

RNCM Archives

Welcome to the Royal Northern College of Music Archives

Making Music in Manchester during WW1

This exhibition showcases some of the archives of the Royal Northern College of Music, the Hallé Concerts Society and the Henry Watson Music Library.

Defining Me: A Musical Adventure in Manchester #1

Michael Barnes-Wynters (aka Barney Doodlebug, and MDMArchive trustee) snapshot of a musical journey.

Fanzine: Ghast Up

How to make a fanzine. Behind the scenes photos and letters including all issues of seminal fanzine.

Fanzine: God Is A Newt

Another great punk fanzine.

Fanzine: Out There

Paul Morley's self-published fanzine 'Out There'.

Fanzine: Manchester Rains

Another great DIY fanzine.

The Mancunian Gay Magazine

Uncovering Manchester's LGBT music history within the pages of the Mancunian Gay magazine.

Oh Manchester, so much to answer for

M20 Festival, Withington 2018

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of Factory Records

Melanie Smith - Mudkiss Photography

Manchester-based music photographer Melanie Smith shares some random photographic memories.

King Kayak: 2006 to 2009

Manchester Postcards

A collection of early 20th Century postcards illustrating brass bands and old venue spaces.

Manchester, North of England

Cherry Red Records box set as selected by members of MDMArchive.

Licktronica : a design aesthetic and an electronic music night

A collection of Rob Bailey's iconic poster designs from Licktronica.

Manchester Musicians Collective

Late 1970s Manchester musicians-led grass-roots movement.

Cry Wolf 1975-1980

Lifting the lid on late 70s gig scene of Poynton, Cheadle and beyond.

Fictitious Names

A treasure trove of images of this Radcliffe-based band.

Manchester, Punk and Beyond...

OT's punk nuggets - it is good to own a Shy Talk and a Ghast Up, a John Cooper Clarke poster and the Electric Circus flyers.

Happy Mondays 'Rave On' 1989

My Smiths and Morrissey collection

Since stumbling across The Smiths on the Old Grey Whistle Test I've never looked back.

Latest Artefacts

Latest Discussion

“RIP Luc CS.”
Written by scherben, view artefact
20 Jul
“Hi Ian, thanks for the interest in my photo. Yes, it's one I took in about 1989. Could you let me know what the nature of the website is you'd like to use it for? Cheers.”
Written by Garreth Hughes, view artefact
18 Jul
“Hello Garreth, is this your photo? I'd like to use it on a website and wanted your permission. Many thanks.”
Written by Ian74, view artefact
17 Jul
“Was anyone here at this??”
Written by brmcr, view artefact
16 Jul
“Still here Martin, and still common. Do I presume that you've now put the keyboards down and accepted your gong in the new year's honours list?”
Written by TheMard, view artefact
14 Jul
“I was there also and remember Carole King was fantastic. The weather was great, me and my future wife lay in the sun and got really sunburnt. My wife died suddenly 3 weeks ago but I will always remember that concert, our first of many together!”
Written by Rjamesb, view artefact
13 Jul
“I used to work as a steward here. 74 - 77. Loved it. Worked for loads of bands, got paid and could take in a "mate" for free. Had a lot of "mates"😉”
Written by richdac, view artefact
02 Jul
“Hi, Yes I still have all my ticket stubs and memorabilia in my collection.”
Written by Sully67, view artefact
27 Jun
“Hi, yes still got the ticket, happy memories ! Were you there too? Nick”
Written by nickjc, view artefact
26 Jun
“hi, do you still have this ticket stub by any chance?”
Written by yaramelki, view artefact
25 Jun

Latest People & Places

Marple Record Centre - Place MDMAshley 21 Jul
Jackie 'O' - Band / Artist inthesunitiswarm 20 Jul
Green Room Theatre - Place MDMAshley 14 Jul
Ups ‘n’ Downs - Place MDMAshley 09 Jul
Club X - Place MDMAshley 26 Jun
Umberto - DJ drwgovier 18 Jun
I-Beats - Band / Artist Roger B 13 Jun
David Crellin - Band / Artist Helen Walker / Everyday Records 13 Jun
Martin Prendergast - DJ Mcrscenestories 11 Jun
Tony Hawkins - Person archivesplus 20 May
Philip Birch - Person archivesplus 20 May
Roger Finnigan - DJ archivesplus 20 May
Phil Griffin - DJ archivesplus 19 May
Tony Emmerson - DJ archivesplus 19 May
Tom Tyrell - Person archivesplus 19 May

News
19 Jun 25
Neither Factory Records, Nor Madchester
15 Aug 24
Blue Plaques for Black Music in Manchester
10 Jun 24
Louder than Words - Black Women in Music / 50 Years of Hip-Hop
05 Apr 24
Re-Membering Music Worlds: Exhibiting the Rebel Women of Manchester’s Suffragette City
14 Oct 23
Beyond the Music - October
05 Sep 23
Echo Salford interactive music trail launches
Hulme Jubilee Weekender - A fun filled Celebration of Our Culture & Diversity 26 May 22
Manchester Histories Festival 11 May 22
Help Shape Our Future-Complete our Survey 05 Jan 21
MDMArchive in city-wide 50 Windows of Creativity exhibition 26 Oct 20
Abigail Ward steps down 10 Sep 20
CP Lee 1950-2020 26 Jul 20
22 Jul 2025

On this day in history

Wet Play DJs
Kraak Gallery
ToolshedGraham Massey
Triclops
The Briton's Protection
BuzzcocksJon the PostmanSteve Shy
Thirsty Scholar
The Alpha Western
Rampant Lion
The Alpha Western
Rampant Lion
The Apollo
The Apollo
The Apollo
1
Oasis
Witchknot
The Star And Garter
The Hacienda
Morrissey
Morrissey
RigWhat? NoiseFleaJacqueline Harte
The Boardwalk
The FallMark E SmithBrix Smith
The Apollo
The Hacienda
Kiss AMC
Kiss AMCPenny Anderson
The Stone Roses
Johnny Marr
The Stone Roses
Happy MondaysTony WilsonShaun RyderNathan McGough
Inspiral CarpetsCraig GillTony WilsonBez
Swing Out Sister
Morrissey
A Guy Called Gerald
Eastern Bloc
The Stone Roses
Man From Delmonte
Green Room
WitchwoodThe ApolloInternational 1
International 1
New Fast Automatic DaffodilsToo Much Texas
The Boardwalk
The Durutti Column
1
Man From Delmonte
Band On The WallWitchwoodGreen RoomThe BoardwalkThe Swinging SporranManchester Town HallThe HaciendaAlbert Square, Manchester
International 1
International 1
The Stone Roses
New Order
Quando QuangoRowettaMike PickeringGraeme ParkDynesty Of Two
The Hacienda
The Fall
Penny Anderson
The Boardwalk
A Guy Called GeraldHappy MondaysMike PickeringTony WilsonShaun RyderBezMandi James
Eastern Bloc
A Guy Called GeraldHappy MondaysInspiral CarpetsJamesThe Stone Roses
Happy MondaysKing of the SlumsNew OrderThe Stone Roses
The Fall
1
RigWhat? NoiseFlea
The Boardwalk
RigWhat? NoiseFlea
The Boardwalk
Rig
The Boardwalk
Rig
The Boardwalk
Rig
The Boardwalk
Rig
The Boardwalk
Rig
The Boardwalk
Rig
The Boardwalk
2
Rig
The Boardwalk
Rig
The Boardwalk
Caesarian Section
International 1
Jean Go Solo
The Boardwalk
Jean Go Solo
The Boardwalk
3
The Hacienda
1
Frank Lammar
Strawberry Recording Studios
BuzzcocksThe DronesJohn Cooper ClarkeJoy DivisionThe FallWarsaw
The Electric Circus
BuzzcocksX-O-Dus (Exodus)Paul Morley
Alexandra Park
BuzzcocksThe DronesJohn Cooper ClarkeJoy DivisionThe Fall
Hardrock Concert Theatre
1
Hardrock Concert Theatre
Our archive currently contains 4058 Bands & Artists, 802 DJs, 1556 Places, 418 People and 33183 artefacts contributed by 4700 members.
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