President Sound representing for Manchester and Aces International for Brum (I'm sure there was a big Jamaican Sound with the same name).

All these Sounds would have their own Dub Plates, namechecking and biggin' up their Sound - bit like a competition/battle - usually good-natured. Always great music and entertaining too.

A big night on the town, getting ready to show them cockerneys how to do it...

Strangely enough The Coolnotes did a guest spot at The Ritz of all places, on a Monday night: punk/alternative night.

Very strange P.A. indeed! Anyway they went down very well and sang 'Come Around and Spend the Night' - nice slice of British funk for the mid 80’s.

I was stood right at the front and one of the girl singers ran her fingers through my straggly scraggly hair, in a show-bizzy kind of way. I was quite taken and didn’t wash it for at least a week!

The Aaben Cinema was the only arthouse cinema in Manchester in the mid-70s to mid-80s, I believe.

A Twelve Tribes gathering. Apparently some Maoris believe they are descended from the lost tribes of Israel. They surely love their reggae music.

Home grown teams...

A Welsh Sound System. Well, why not?

a.k.a Killamantarus Sound. Remember going to the Moss Side Carnival after the riots in '81 and I'm sure there were more cops than people; certainly looked that way.

Dubwise-er writes: Horace at The Russell, well pre- his Massive Attack days. Seen him a few times, last time not so long ago supporting Luciano, the singer. Now, much as I like Luciano it should have been the other way round.

Another Twelve Tribes Do...just jump on a Wythenshawe bus.

One from Hulme Carnival ’84. The Octopus was actually a local community paper.

There was a body popping comp and bingo on the day; what more could one ask for?

A few local bands on as well, Big Flame probably being the best known.

Another fashion flyer.

Photograph of the New Ardri club in Hulme, Manchester. The photo is taken from the book 'Irish Manchester' by local broadcaster Alan Keegan, Sutton Publishing, 2004.

Photo date unknown - 1980s?

A long-standing Irish venue, bought by Tommy McKenna from Jim Connell in 1978, the venue hosted gigs by bands such as Fugazi and Sonic Youth in the mid-80s. Then, in the early days of dance many soon-to-be-massive bands and DJs played at the seminal Herbal Tea Party nights.

The venue was eventually demolished to make way for a business park.

It seems this was known as the New Ardri as the original Ardri club was the former College Cinema on Coupland St, Chorlton- Cum-Medlock which hosted roulette, cabaret and wrestling.

Photograph of the New Ardri club in Hulme, Manchester. The photo is taken from the book Irish Manchester by local broadcaster Alan Keegan, Sutton Publishing, 2004.

This photo shows the gable-end artwork which, the book tells us, was painted by Mike Regan in 1985 as part of his GCSE school work.

Photos of Hulme at Carnival time. Got a lot of black and white pics like this which I took while doing a short photography course at the Hulme activity centre on Clopton Walk.

This one is looking across St. Wilfred's school (a young Morrisey's stomping ground), towards Salford.

The Aaben Cinema would be in the thick of this housing just behind that large old building in the centre of picture. Guesstimating '85.

In the TSB bank in the Moss Side centre they had these fantastic floor to ceiling black and white aerial shots of the whole area on every wall, probably taken round '74 when the old swimming baths near the Bonsall St. bridge were still standing.It certainly made queueing less of a chore. Hopefully somebody salvaged them before it was all pulled down.

Looking right across the city towards Deansgate and the Kendals building. Granada Studios would be just to the left.

A fine example of Thatcher's bootboy Norman Tebbitt's mantra of getting on one's bike: some lively spark's small business enterprise on the top floor of John Nash Crescent.

Meanwhile back in the Rainy City....
"Soca, rumba..." as Toyan used to say in the old skool way. Another one sadly gone.

Frankie Paul at PSV.

Paul Blake (born 1965), better known as Frankie Paul, is one of Jamaica's best-loved and popular dancehall reggae artists. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some 'The Jamaican Stevie Wonder'.

[Wikipedia]

Artefact supplied by Dubwise-er.

The mighty Eek-a-Mouse at the Russell. Went to see him at Cleopatra's in Huddersfield (where he dressed up like a convict), because he wasn't booked to play Manchester and we had to wait at the train station after the gig 'til the following morning to get home. Wasn't much fun but he was worth it.

Then a couple of weeks later he got booked to play at The University Union on Oxford Road (this time dressed like one of the three musketeers!), so at least I got to see him twice.

Talisman had a song 'Living in a Dole Age' which used to get played in clubs a bit.

It was odd that reggae acts would often play Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield and Birmingham but not Manchester.

Having gone to see gigs in some of these towns, the crowds often seemed a bit more responsive. Towards the end of the 80s that changed though and reggae gigs in Manchester would go off!

An '85 gig by Barington Levy, whose 'Here I Come' still gets lots of spins in Manchester clubs and bars.

Winston Reedy visits Moss Side.

Artefact supplied by Dubwise-er.

Big line-up, including Ranking Joe and Sugar Minott. Also the world famous 'Miss Attractive' competition.

Ranking Joe aka Little Joe (born Joseph Jackson, 1 July 1959, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay who rose to prominence in the 1970s and had continuing success in the 1980s.

[Wikipedia]

Artefact supplied by Dubwise-er.

Another nice looking flyer.

I went to Saxon at The Russell one time. They were a big deal. I wouldn’t know/couldn’t see who was on the mike but Smiley Culture & Maxi Priest may well have been there: early outing for the young Sound.

They were a phenomenon really, brand new style, originators and home grown, sending the creative flow back to J.A. for a change.

It was really the pace and the references of chats that set them apart. 'Mi God Mi King', the 12” on the Level Vibes label, with the versions, is still an almighty track and set a benchmark to this day.

Daddy Freddy was quicker, as he proved on 'Record Breaker', but that was more for the sake of it, rather than content.