Kev Beard writes:

BOTOX was a one off performance off-shoot by Simon Arrowsmith (the DJ & original brains behind 'Bollox') and occasional Bollox DJ Kev Beard (The Beards).

This Performance led event was a chance to put on a more avante garde show that couldn't be done within the confines of the Bollox club space or the sunday sessions in the now defunct Gaia.

Bears walked about dressed in medical gowns offering large syringe shots of Absynth.

Yr Mum Ya Dad nearly started a fight by spilling someones pint and spitting milk over the crowd!

The mics kept dying, the mixer kept shorting out...

It was chaos...but daring...

Mindbender writes:

Before he becomes a major selling artist. Here's a set list for gig supporting Stephen Fretwell on 15th July '06. It was many people's first hearing of Cherry Ghost and the crowd's reaction was amazing. Simon Aldred said that this would be his last acoustic concert but did a load more...

The last song on the list is a cover of CeCe Peniston's 'Finally'.

In 2013 Simon released an album under the name Out Cold that touched upon his experiences of coming out, and other love-related musings.

BUM THE PAST.

This was the Homo Electric 'Fringe' Pride party of 2006 featuring the world-conquering Horse Meat Disco DJs, Kath McDermott and Divine David.

'Music is life, gym is the coffin, be ugly' is a typical anti-Canal Street, anti-commercial, anti-body fascism sentiment.

Thanks to Owain Richards.

Cherry Ghost perform 'People Help The People' on Jools Holland. The song won an Ivor Novello award out of the blue, introducing the openly gay Simon Aldred and his band to a bigger audience.

Ste McCabe writes:

Programme from alternative Pride "Get Bent", held in 2007 over the week of Pride, as a protest to the commercialism and lack of genuine queer art help at Manchester's mainstream "Pride". The festival boasted workshops, live music, comedy and loads more. The only thing that let it down was being so last minute organised so not as many people knew about it as should have done. On the plus side it was inspiring, alternative, kick-ass and a very memorable series of events. The live music event was AMAZING with queer bands from all over the country performing in the contact theatre.

Ste McCabe writes:

Some of my favourite ever gay nights in Manchester - Disco Opposite Tesco!. Small, sometimes absolutely dead, sometimes hammered. Trashy, queer nights in Rusholme, downstairs in Saki Bar. Power Ballads at 3am when there were about 2 people left. Ste McCabe got on an amp and showed his bum to the audience once, for no reason. Always a great live queer act from across the UK every month. This one saw the return of Valerie, local queer heroes who hadn't played for years. They complained (warmingly) that all of their friends were at a house party and should have been there instead.

Ste McCabe writes:

A one-off queer performance and music night featuring a load of bands and performers who all played for free, some travelling from across the country, to raise money for Iraqi LGBT's being targeted for torture and murder. The night sold out and raised nearly 1000 pounds for Iraqi LGBT. It was WILD.

The original Sex Pistols-styled poster that coincided with the launch of the alt.queer club night Bollox. 'The name Bollox was in reference to the gay scene ‘bollox to the gay scene’ - not male genitalia!', says DJ and promoter Rod Connolly.

Rod is a great DJ who defies expectations by playing a wide range of indie, rock and pop. Bollox is now hugely successful monthly party based on the idea that not all gay people want to hear handbag house and chart pop all night. He does throw in some Kylie and Madonna bombs, etc, but these will be nestling in amongst riot grrrrl, grunge, indie and electroclash gear. Zoe from the all-girl trio Hooker is Bollox's other resident DJ, and is well-known for picking out lost pop gems and looking gorgeous whilst she's doing it.

Homo Electric extravaganza with Simian Mobile DIsco and Reverend and The Makers.

This was a 4-room 'extravaganza' with high profile guests. The feel of Homo Electric began to change as the guests and club space got bigger and bigger.

Thanks to Owain Richards.

Poster for Kiki and Herb appearing as part of Queer Up North, 2007.

Kiki and Herb (Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman) are an American drag cabaret duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer. Mellman portrays her gay, male piano accompanist, known only as "Herb."

Although Bond and Mellman are only in their late thirties and early forties, their characters are, according to their elaborate fictional biographies, more than seventy years old.

A poster for the Queering The Pitch music festival featuring Hooker, Fake Fang, The Dirty Cakes, Dolby-Anol and more.

Photo (C) Rachel Adams 2007

Fake Fang from Scotland perform at Retro Bar as part of the Queering The Pitch festival, run by Craig White.

Photo (C) Rachel Adams 2007

A great Club Brenda poster by Rachel Goodyear.

Brenda organiser, Jayne Compton, decided to take her gang over to Berlin for a weekend of mischief.

The trip was a great, sell-out success.

Cherry Ghost play live at Contact as part of the Queering The Pitch festival 2008. Organiser Craig White said at the time:

"Not everyone's gay, the bands especially are mixed, as you'd expect. But it's about having something to offer a gay crowd."

“QtP is about great music, whichever way you swing! Above all the artists we choose to promote are making music that has style, substance and are just waiting for the public to catch on to a great thing.”

In 2013 Simon Aldred of Cherry Ghost released the album 'Invasion of Love' under the name Out Cold. The record documented his feelings about coming out, amongst other things...

Photo by Rachel Adams

One of two fundraising alternative punk/electro events for Ladyfest Manchester, organised and performed by local queer acts. Small and cosy nights which raised a few hundred quid each time.

Rod Connelly writes:

"A general poster I used to try and discretely promote the night by showing the club night name and the music boundaries we veer towards via Morrissey and Crystal Castles. In hindsight I don't think it worked well as a promo campaign because not many people knew about Bollox around this time.

Now I'm looking at it, I think I'll print some off and knock them about town again."

Veba - one of Manchester's greatest soul voices - live on stage with Groove Armada in Australia, 2008. Veba is also a successful DJ, particularly known for playing nights alt-queer nights like Club Brenda.

Photographer unknown.

This is my pass for April's Club Brenda. I DJed alongside Jayne Compton, Debbie Jump and laptop pop extraordinaire Zoe 'Hooker' McVeigh. I had a great time playing strange records early doors and made a spectacular failure of managing Divine David Hoyle's intro music. This was David's first Manc gig for a number of years. He painted a selection of disturbing portraits of audience members and railed against the excessive amount of babies in the world (amongst other things), suggesting, memorably, that they be burned to solve the renewable fuel crisis.

Later the same evening I popped along to Paradise Factory to see Derrick Carter. The club smelt like an abbatoir, and a lot of very bog standard house records were played, but all-in-all a pleasant night in the Original Modern TM.

In 2008 the Queering the Pitch festival graduated to the Contact Theatre.

No Bra, seen here, were described thus:

'London’s most talked-about avant-industrial duo join the dots between Peaches, Throbbing Gristle and Suicide. They’ve jarred audiences far and wide with their brand of ‘doleful pornographic poetry’ and gratuitous toplessness, notching up supports with The Gossip, Patrick Wolf and Fischerspooner.'

Photo (c) Rachel Adams.

Bishi plays live at the 2008 Queering The Pitch festival.

Photo by Rachel Adams.

This is a flyer for Genesis - a new and highly successful Lesbian club night. Great shot of Thatcher's '98 Homoelectric debut, which saw the iron lady rinsing a crapload of NYC garage.

DJ/Promoter Rod Connelly writes:

Bollox's gay shame event over the Pride weekend of 2008. Some village establishments refused to display the posters due to the term 'gay shame'.

The Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus at the HIV and AIDS Candlelit Vigil Sackville Gardens Manchester Pride 2009 performing Sign Your Name.