(film still from MDMArchive interview with Johnny Roadhouse in 2004)

Source: City Life/MEN

By Chris Osuh and John Prince

Tributes have poured in to Manchester music legend Johnny Roadhouse, who has died aged 88.

The saxophonist, who owned a music shop on Oxford Road, was known as a friend to the stars with customers including Paul McCartney and Oasis.
 
In his career as a saxophonist he worked with the likes of Elton John and Bob Hope and played with the Halle, Liverpool Philharmonic and English Philharmonic orchestras.
 
Former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce said: “Every single band in Manchester has gone through Johnny Roadhouse Music at some stage – it’s impossible not to.
 
“Music shops come and go, but Johnny Roadhouse stays. It’s synonymous with Manchester music.”

Johnny, a grandfather from Chorlton, died in his sleep on Saturday morning at Manchester Royal Infirmary. His death followed a short illness.

His partner of 20 years, Ann Cowan, 66, of Chorlton, said: “Everywhere Johnny went people remembered him. But he wasn’t a bighead – he wouldn’t brag about anybody.

“Music was his life, although he never had a music lesson, and when Sir John Barbirolli of the Halle wanted a sax he would always insist that Johnny played.
 
“He was a very good man and his loss will be deeply felt all over the world. To me he was a very special person and a special father to his four children.”
 
Touring bands would often call at the store to chat and seek advice from Johnny.
 
Oasis paid homage to his shop in 2006 when it appeared in one of their videos animated to look like an LS Lowry painting.

Paul McCartney hired an acoustic guitar from the store to play on a session at the nearby BBC. Restrung to the former Beatle’s specification, it was kept on display at the Oxford Road store.
 
But Roadhouse’s roots went back a lot further. Jazz musician John Dankworth was a regular at the shop and Les Dawson would regularly meet his agent there before he became famous.

Born John Roadhouse in Sheffield, he moved to Manchester as a boy and grew up at Lloyd Street, Moss Side.

In the early Fifties, he bought a shop for £4,500 in what was then known as the All Saints area of Chorlton-on-Medlock. As well as dealing in instruments and bric-a-brac, he acted as music coach and agent for bands in the region.

Mike Joyce, former drummer for the Smiths and DJ for Manchester Radio online said: “Johnny Roadhouse was such a character, and his shop used to buy and sell all sorts of stuff.

“I remember going in as a 13-year-old boy with a pair of old ice skates that I had polished and buffed with a fine piece of sandpaper. He gave me a couple of quid and I felt like I had been had!

“In the years since I’ve bought loads of stuff from there. Every single band in Manchester has gone through Johnny Roadhouse Music at some stage – it’s impossible not to. Music shops come and go, but Johnny Roadhouse stays – it’s synonymous with Manchester music.”

TV and radio presenter Terry Christian said: “The man was an absolute institution in Manchester. All the biggest bands have been through those doors since the days when Top of the Pops was made in the city.”

Stone Roses tour manager Steve Atherton said: “It’s a sad day. He was a local legend.

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Graham Massey of 808 State/Toolshed/Sisters of Transistors commented on this site:

Two-fold Johnny was an important musician in Mancheseter's history, having led various dance orchestras and TV orchestras, and played in the Halle. Then, of course, there was his much-loved shop
on Oxford Rd.

Since the late '50s it served as a hub for local musicians, visiting musicians, as a teaching centre, and, I think, as an early recording studio (can anyone confirm this?).

Speaking on behalf of  Manchester's Acid House community, the fact that Johnny's shop was flogging 'old' synth technology in 1987-88 at knock-down prices was an important link in the story.  A Guy Called Gerald named a track after him and 808 State namechecked him on various albums... a link between one Madchester dance era and the other.

Biography 'Sax of Gold' by Wally Lindsay is a good portrait of a well-loved Manchester Legend.