Press
The Smiths
The Hacienda
1984

Looks like he gave those daffs a jolly good flogging that particular night!
From City Life 7, March ’84. Review of a Smiths gig but it doesn’t say where..... I remember that song “A Crack on the Head” from when they played it on a “Rock Goes to College” type of programme where the audience rammed the stage at the end. For all I know it might be a well known track or on a collection of B sides, but it stuck in my head because, as the review says, it was notable as a piece of left field funk. I wouldn’t mind finding and hearing it again, I’m sure it’s not hard to do....
Other stuff in this issue:- Manchester leading the way in waste recycling.
The booming sport of windsurfing, with Sale Water Park being the local Mecca for the activity. Used to enjoy walking across Chorlton Meadows to Jackson’s Boat back in the day, looking for mushrooms as we wended our way. It was a good excuse for a walk in the fresh air with a bonus on top.
Review of Gil Scott Heron’s return to The Carousel with a dig at the audience for reciting “B Movie “ almost ahead of the man but doing the standing still to “The Bottle”. Meanwhile over at the “Rafters Revival Night” at Legends on the same night, d.j.s Colin Curtis and John Grant killing it by spinning Evelyn “Champagne’ King’s “Shame”, “Take it to the Bank” Shalamar, “Running Away”, Roy Ayers presumably, and that old floor stomper “Ain’t no Stoppin’ us Now”....."think I wanna dance now! ".Used to be partial to Mary Jane’s “All Night Long” too, with that slinky bass line. Even had one of those big street poster promos for the single up on the landing wall, with them all wearing the “big” hair look so favoured at the time.
Under the “Folk” section, a review of a newly published anthology called “Manchester Ballads” to be handed out in schools. One song recalling the visit of “The Great Shah of Persia” seems to have been quite ominous in predating that other Shah, of the Eddie variety, a contemporary and particularly North Western version of a Packer, Murdoch or Conrad Black....the shape of things to come...../ Michael Chapman, ex Family at T.B.O.T.W.; had a bit of a soft spot for the likes of him and Kevin Coyne...
In the “Out and About” section a rambler’s review of Alderley Edge with reference to Alan Garner’s series of books about the area; ripping good yarns for school kids of the day.. References it being influential on a formative Echo and The Bunnymen and claims U2s guitarist took his name from the same. Often times we would have a day out there and like many would do the “walk round the Devil’s cave three times backwards and see if you can conjure up old Beelzi Bob himself” routine. Don’t know if anyone ever managed to summon him but the smell of piss evoked some sort of diabolical presence.
At the flicks; “The Dresser” ,featuring local heroes Albert Finney and Tom Courtney on in town; “King of Comedy” (all time fave) on at The Aaben.
And so on......
As I’m going through these mags (don’t have that many of them thankfully!), I’m obviously summarising from each issue the general goings on in the broader Manchester community at the time , as I think it may in some small way, be telling as to the workaday life and business of the “Everyman /woman” of the day. In that context, I’m hoping this hints at what music and gigs may have been like, influenced by and more importantly meant to everyday punters .Don't know if that’s how it comes across at all, or if it’s a futile exercise, but at the very least it may be evocative to some of the elder gentry and maybe spark some forgotten trail or tale of nightlife in the Rainy City a couple or more decades ago....then again perhaps not.......
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