Review of The Slits joined onstage by an extended line-up of musicians. I love the description of the stage set up featuring lampshades, washing lines and all things domestic, a tonge-in-cheek stiff middle finger to the misogynist punk rock assholes.

Taken from the Mancunion newspaper, written and edited by University of Manchester students. With thanks to James Peters at the University of Manchester Archives and Ben Ward at University of Manchester Students' Union.

Story by Stuart:

Ticket for The Damned - supported by Bury's notorious Varicose Veins with their tribute to the newly-wed Charles and Diana, allegedly banned! Who knows how they blagged it. Don't remember many other VV gigs, to be honest.

The Damned setlist was probably still heavy on The Black Album at this point. In 1981, they released "Friday the 13th", a four song E.P. on NEMS which featured original tracks "Disco Man", "Billy Bad Breaks", "Limit Club" (a tribute to late Malcolm Owen, former lead singer of punk band The Ruts) and a cover of The Rolling Stones '60s song "Citadel".

Paul B writes:

The University Rag Week Ball on 24th Feb 1982. The headliner was the HeeBeeGeeBees, a comedy band that featured Philip Pope, Angus Deayton, and Michael Fenton Stevens before they were famous, doing pop song parodies. Very sparsely attended, but I thought they were really funny.

A front page obituary following the demolition of The Squat, an adopted extension of the student's union. The Squat played a pivotal role in both alternative student life and Manchester culture; being used as a refuge during the student housing crisis, hosting early gigs by influential punk and reggae bands including Joy Division, developing theatre productions and being a general community and societies space.

The building was previously an old music college and was given its name after students started squatting inside back in 1973 when the building was due to demolished to make way for a carpark (It eventually became a carpark!).

Deceased 3rd February 1982.

R.I.P. THE SQUAT

A great listing line-up for Spring 1982 featuring the influential Bo Diddley, legendary Ronnie Scott and the beginning of success for Level 42.

Taken from the Mancunion newspaper, written and edited by University of Manchester students. With thanks to James Peters at the University of Manchester Archives and Ben Ward at University of Manchester Students' Union.

Paul B writes:

Don't you hate it it when they tear your ticket in half like that! What a comedy line-up, though. Alumni Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, with Nigel Planer, as the Young Ones - I don't remember Christopher Ryan doing it, though I could be wrong. Plus Rik Mayall's character Kevin Turvey from A Kick Up The Eighties. Brilliant.

Sheffield post-punk band Comsat Angels hit MDH with The Group and Border Incidents. The had previously supported Captain Beefheart and Yellow Magic Orchestra in Manchester, both times at the Apollo.

Story by Dubwise-er:

Eek a Mouse (reggae star and early example of a 'singjay') was dressed like one of The Three Musketeers for this gig.

Benjamin Zephenia (self-proclamied poet, writer, lyricist, musician and naughty boy) was support. There were a few spoken word artists around at this time: Linton Kwesi Johnson and Attila the Stockbroker to name two.

The Union used to put on lots of good bands but unless you could get hold of a dodgy student card you had to rely on students to get you in. It was a tad difficult at times.

Interesting flyer. Whilst the Sisters gig on 4th May 1984 (front) is listed on the main Academy website, none of these other gigs (rear) are. The Sisters returned to MDH in October of the same year.

Ticket for the Sister of Mercy's second gig at the Union in 1984. This was there Black October tour.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

In late 1983, following the highly successful "Temple of Love" single, the band signed a contract with major record label WEA. At the same time second guitarist Ben Gunn left in an atmosphere of unanimous bitterness. Gunn stated that he did not agree with the direction Andrew Eldritch was taking the band—which, according to Gunn, started out as a joke on serious rock 'n' roll outfits, but eventually became one. G.

Gunn was replaced by Wayne Hussey in '84, who concentrated on 12-string electric and acoustic guitars while also contributing as a songwriter. His studio experience with Dead or Alive also proved to be invaluable as the Sisters set out to record their first full-length album.

The incendiary Dr Feelgood are booked for the UMIST Christmas bash, plus Manchester's loudest and brightest disco. This would have been the post Wilko Johnson line-up with John 'Gypie' Mayo.

PHOTO: CRAIG SMITH
Rahiel Nasir writes:

I attended The University of Manchester from 1985 to 1989. But most of that time was spent in offices of The Mancunion where I became arts editor.

This is me c.1986 outside the student union in Oxford Road.

The lapel button badge I am wearing was pink and had the word "Baby" on it. I recall now that I must have recently been to see Everything But The Girl 'cos that's where I got the badge. They were on tour promoting their third album, "Baby, The Stars Shine Bright", and I think they played at the Manchester Apollo (or was it The Ritz?)

Dr. Robert's Blow Monkeys play the Solem Bar (now Academy 3). Their debut LP of 1984 had attracted a little attention, but their first big hit 'Digging Your Scene' wouldn't arrive until the following year.

Some sort of newsletter/fanzine for freshers from 1985. I can just about make out Rory Bremner, Frank Sidebottom and Tenpole Tudor. There is an urgent call out for 'Humpers', PA technicians, stage managers and DJs.

I like this scuzzy photocopied schedule for 'Intro Week '85'. Sorry I've not been able to acquire a higher-res image of this.

It looks like the Union were offering a barn dance with folk dancers and a Jazz Funk society at this point, as well as a gig from John Robb's Membranes.

Story by Dubwise-er.

A What’s On for freshers’ week ’85.The Stems popped up a lot at Band On The Wall around this time. Same with Deep Sea Jivers. Baron Von Nasty had been part of The Dancing Tarantulas till they imploded due to chaos and resolute apathy, a lethal combination. He’d got himself an Equity card and ended up doing quite a lot of supports and some work as an extra on telly. I think this may have been an early outing for Little Frank...

Story by Dubwise-er.

Another What's On 'Rage Page' from Solem Bar (now Academy 3). Quite a cool line-up with ACR and Jayne County, plus the 'Extremely Wild and Wacky Cellar Disco'.

We’d often go on a Friday after the Poly closed, where you’d have to go round the back of the building and see if you could get in. We got to know the bouncers and although from time to time we’d get barred for being mischievous, they usually let us in, especially Dave, the silver-haired ol’ fox who was head of security and I think had a bit of a soft spot for us; most of the time we were just messing about or being young scallywags.

They used to stamp you with a fluoro stamp which glowed under an ultra-violet light as you went in to see bands. Of course by wetting the back of your hand you could transfer these stamps to each other and unless they got checked they usually did the trick. Occasionally you could blag it in with a band by pretending you were one of the roadies, XTC helped us out that way.

I also remember watching the best part of a Pretenders gig with UB4O as support from high up in a tree outside the hall...quite a good view really but hard to dance. Siouxsie and her Banshees, The Damned with The Anti Nowhere League, Slits with Don Letts were good ‘uns. Gang of Four, Misty in Roots, Squeeze, Deke Leonard, Doll by Doll, Bo Diddley, and quite a lot of other gigs, many of which I’ve probably mentioned along the way. A particularly memory, though, was John Cooper Clarke coming on at the end of a Wreckless Eric gig and them singing “Mad Dogs And Englishmen”, pure class...

The downstairs disco was good too. Lots of choice music and cheap booze and the occasional waft of poppers, (lots of brain cells I hopefully was never gonna need probably walked on by...). Of course you’d be leaping around like a frog in a sock and be as mad as a cut snake, as certain people are wont to say. One time, when hearing one of my firm favourites...perhaps Stranglers “Nice and Sleazy” or Cabaret Voltaire “Nag Nag Nag”, I got it into my head that it would be a good idea to charge across the dancefloor and finish with a somersault, but as I hadn’t really thought it through (and I didn’t know how to somersault) I just ended up flat on my back, and as I was wearing one of those heavier than lead bullet-belts (the height of fashion that particular season), I felt like what it must have felt like to be shot in the back. I’m not sure if my altered state had anything to do with it but I could hardly walk for a week. served me right for being a poseur.

We used to go to The Squat as well, which stood on the wasteland between The Union and the Contact Theatre where the Academy now stands. The last gig I saw in Manchester was Vic and Bob’s Big Night Out, Nov. 1990 in the newly opened building.

Excerpt from stoneroses.co.uk

The Roses had just released their debut single, So Young/Tell Me, which had sold well around Manchester. This was one of the biggest gigs an unknown band could play in Manchester at the time – the hall held 900 people. Pete Garner (original bassist) remembered: “It was the first gig where we got out of the van and people carried our gear in for us. There were loads of students helping us to carry our gear in.” Supporting the Roses were The Brigade, a Clash-soundalike band.

AshD remembers:

When they came on Ian Brown said "This is us in our new shirts".

This was the pre-Mani days, Andy Couzens on rhythm guitar, Pete Garner on bass. It was in the Debating Hall and the shirts if I remember rightly after all this time were paisley. Pete Garner definitely played - he used to work downstairs in Paperchase in St Anne's Square and was a nice bloke. Don't remember a second guitarist. Thought they played 'Tell Me' as well but may be getting that mixed up with International gig.

There was recording of this gig. The setlist was:

So Young
The Hardest Thing In The World
All Across The Sands
Boy On A Pedestal
Here It Comes
Adored
The Sun Still Shines
This Is The One
Sally Cinnamon


Andy Couzens remembers:

Yes, I definitely played that one.
The shirts were striped!

Photo: CRAIG SMITH
Rahiel Nasir writes:

As it does today, the Greater Manchester area hosts a huge student community as well as a thriving arts scene. As a result, The Mancunion was considered fairly influential, and getting press passes for gigs, events, opening nights, etc., (purely for review purposes, of course) wasn't much of a problem.

The many late nights spent producing each issue of The Mancunion surviving on nothing but takeaways from Abdul's was, at times, a tough labour of love for a core group of wannabe hacks. Getting the paper out to a high standard was reward in itself, but the icing on the cake was winning the NUS/Guardian Student Media Award for Best College Newspaper in 1987. Then editor Alan Brown (pictured) went on to an illustrious career in broadcasting.

Photo: Craig Smith
Rahiel Nasir writes:

Free prophylactics. The risks of HIV and AIDS were top of the agenda during the period - so much so that condom makers sent boxes of free prophylactics to distribute to wanton, unprotected students.

As we were good little boys and girls who barely ventured out of The Mancunion office (which is seen here and was located on the second floor of the Union building) the only use we could find for them was as wall decorations.

Story by JSZ:

A ticket for a gig by Felt. This was notable for its two support bands which were The House Of Love whilst they were still a 5-piece (inc. Andrea), and for an appearance by Metro Trinity who featured Jez from Sub Sub/Doves on guitar.

Story by BM:

Ticket for Smiths Convention, an 24hr affair that featured footage of the band, and from what I remember a disco and live band (can't remember who). A lad called Lee was one of the organisers. There was also stalls selling memorabilia and fanzine sellers. An enjoyable event that many took sleeping bags to.