Press
Yes-Sir
Band On The Wall
1983

From City Life Feb ’83, B.O.T.W. regulars Yessir. Thought it was Charlie Musselwhite from the picture; another old blues legend; in this instance, of the white variety. I should check him out before he does...
Other stuff in this issue:-more articles about the state of housing in M/c. i.e. no money for repairs. Awful flashbacks of sitting for interminable and depressing hours in the Moss Side Housing over one thing and another. Quick example; I had a smashed and boarded up window for 4 years and applied to have it repaired several times. I could have done it meself but, what with designated work loads and the like, I didn’t want to cross that hypothetical moral picket line. Sometimes you’d get a calling card flirted through the letterbox saying (in)Direct Works had called, but because they moved like ninjas in the shadows as they approached your door they would be gone before you knew it. Anyway on the morning of the 4th and final year of waiting and hoping, I sat in the kitchen, perhaps darning my socks/ gazing at the ceiling, just waiting for the tell tale squeak of the letterbox , and ready to pounce like a manx cat. Anyway it came to pass, and before the “we called but no one in” card had barely scuffed across the lino I was up and at ‘em before you could say Harry Belafonte 3 times backwards. Anyway Mr. Direct Works man turned round at my behest, quite miffed by the look on his countenance, and after some protestation of insisting he’d knocked but to no avail , proceeded to discharge his duties and install a lovely brand new shiny piece of glass in the frontage of my castle in the air. Last job I ever got offered before doing the offski was for Direct Works round the Parrs Wood area and in true council fashion of the day I didn’t turn up.....just thought it was a crap job and I was leaving soon anyway. To be fair there was sod all money in council kitties by then and though Manchester City Council was nowhere near as radical as Derrick Hatton’s Liverpool mob, things in general weren’t good. Anyone who lived in areas such as the Hulme, Moss Side , Ardwick, Beswick, would have endless tales of such goings on. Phew! better steer away from that; it was another time and another place but as mentioned before, for young ‘uns it was bearable to good, for families and the elderly it was deplorable etc....
Same issue, nice picture of the Barton Swing Bridge/ An article on the proposed abolition of the G.M.C. with a sub heading stating “ the abolition of the met counties poses the greatest threat to local democracy since William the Conqueror”; hyperbole almost at its best. Perhaps things were a little bit grim up north but it always seemed to have bits of tinsel and coloured cellophane around its tatty edges. There’s also a thing about quangos (as in Quando Quango), which turn out to be councils who act like autonomies or some such. As I’ve heard Graham Norton say oft times on his tele-visual programme “who knew....?”
The “In The Pink” column features a full page interview with Holly Johnson/there’s the regular “Classical” column penned by Dick Witts, bongo player extraordinaire with the Halle Orchestra/ Main centre page spread about Manchester’s “pop t.v. overkill” with the likes of The Tube and The Oxford Road Show in town and a quote:- “has a one-eyed haircut ever flicked its fringe in the Hacienda?”; good question. Whatever happened to Perry boys and girls ?(or Townies as they so quaintly called them in the Stockport/ Glossop environs).
Article on the new fad of human telegrams, kissograms/ strippergrams and the like. Sudden flashback No. 1387C#. Sitting in The Spinners pub one winter’s night, drug supply central, (but only of the family friendly variety) , just over from Loreto playing fields, when in walks a chief constable built like a brick shithouse . Next thing the pub half empties super- rapid like ,with people darting for the exits, scurrying about like they’re about to go down with the Titanic, others racing to the bogs to take care of whatever business etc. and in the heightened hush, said officer addressed the huddled masses, enquiring is Miss such and such present. Well after the young lady in question being pointed out by one of her company, the officer proceeded to order her to her feet while he addressed her in front of the now slightly madding crowd. Well, of course you can guess the rest; turned out to be one of those new fangled strippergram thingys we’d heard tell of , and jolly japes were had by all. But whoever bright spark’s idea it was to ask for a Dibble lookalike to bring the birthday salutations ,it wasn’t a well thought through plan and was pretty touch and go for a few moments in that wild west frontier pub. Obviously the said service provider was clueless as to the type of bar he was entering which is probably what saved him from a good kicking! (The same pub where Nico would read her books alone at the bar, the owner would sometimes take her psyched up, fang bearing Doberman round the tables at last orders to make sure the stragglers cleared out sharpish etc, just your average welcome inn etc).
Theatre section about Stephen Berkoff’s “Decadence” at Oldham’s Colosseum which, as an unseasoned theatre goer I found powerful and ace!/ O’Casey’s “Plough and the Stars” at The Royal Exchange with “Boys From the Black Stuff’s” Bernard Hill in the lead; “...what is the stars?”, I often wonder myself....
Films of the day (just to put the time frame in context); Well “Never Say Never Again” was big in the box offices, though I never did see a Bond movie at the flicks meself; I must be one of the only persons I know who preferred Roger Moore as that suave Lothario.. No one could raise an eyebrow like that man and he obviously played it tongue firmly in cheek./ An Aussie film “Monkey Grip” is the big one at The Aaben, I should check it out one day....
Then there’s all the Jazz/ Folk/ fine dining experiences to be had, and so on and on it goes...