(Sam Riley as Ian Curtis in 'Control') An extremely exclusive preview of Anton Corbijn’s Joy Division film ‘Control’ was cancelled on Monday afternoon (14.05.07). The film was due to be shown to a small number of guests at the Cornerhouse cinema before its premiere at the Cannes film festival, but had to be abandoned after Corbijn was unable to attend. The photographer and filmmaker was on his way to Manchester for the screening but was delayed when someone unfortunately threw themselves under his train. Salford Lads Club has launched the next stage of its money-raising efforts. The Duke of Gloucester, who is patron of the Federation of Boys Clubs, visited the club in Ordsall last week to help publicise the campaign. Over the last year, £250,000 has been raised for structural repairs to the Grade II listed building, but a further £750,000 is required for further repairs and modernisation. The club - best known as the location of Steven Wright’s iconic photograph of Manchester band the Smiths, which was used on the band’s ‘The Queen is Dead’ album sleeve - has been providing facilities for local kids for over a hundred years. Currently, over 200 members visit the club every week, taking part in sporting and recreational activities, including boxing, football and martial arts. The venue is also used as a meeting space for local community activities and puts on regular exhibitions. The campaign will encourage local businesses and past members to contribute, and aims to ensure the club’s future at the heart of the local community. (MEN) A brass band from a Rochdale school has been awarded the title of National School's Champions of Great Britain. Wardle High’s Youth Band is just one of five brass bands at the school, where over a quarter of the pupils play an instrument. The school’s bands have performed at the South Bank Centre in London and at Birmingham Symphony Hall, and the school has been awarded the Artsmark Gold Award for the North West region, recognising its status as a specialist performing arts school. Despite these successes, it has not all been plain sailing for the school: in 2005, it was criticised for poor teaching standards by Ofsted inspectors, and was in danger of being closed. However, improvements over the last two years have led to the school passing its most recent inspection and, as its latest musical success has shown, it seems to be headed in the right direction.

On a similar theme, TV star Robbie Coltrane tried his hand at conducting a brass band when he visited Manchester last week. The actor was filming part of his new series, Robbie Coltrane’s Incredible Britain, at Chetham’s School of Music in the city. After some instruction from the school’s Director of Music, Stephen Threlfall, the Cracker and Harry Potter star got the chance to lead the school’s brass band. The series will be shown on ITV in August, and will follow Coltrane as he journeys around Britain in a vintage sports car. (MEN) A well known face on the Manchester music scene has died in a fire at his home. Michael Edwicker worked as a sound engineer at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, recording hit records for bands like Thin Lizzy, Barclay James Harvest, and 10CC. He had performed himself, as a folk singer, in the late 1960s, and worked as a roadie for a number of bands. At Strawberry, he was also in charge of renting out equipment and instruments to bands. Michael died from smoke inhalation and burns at Wythenshawe Hospital earlier this month; he was 62. (South Manchester Reporter) Ian Brown has announced details of his upcoming UK tour, which will follow the release of his new album in the autumn. The 22-date tour will see the former Stone Roses singer play his home town of Warrington on October 6th, with gigs in Manchester and London expected to be announced at a later date. Brown recently played a set at the ‘Manchester Versus Cancer’ charity event at the MEN Arena, and also attended the Manchester United Player of the Year awards at Old Trafford last week. He has been working with Andy Rourke (ex-Smiths) and Paul Ryder (ex-Happy Mondays) on the new album, which will be called ‘The World is Yours’. Brown reportedly plans to complete the album in various locations, including Latvia, Mexico and Amsterdam. Manchester-born pop star, Shayne Ward, is to be honoured by the Variety Club of Great Britain. The X Factor winner will be the centre of attention at a tribute evening to be held at the Palace Hotel in Manchester on September 8th. Ward will perform some of his hits in front of a specially invited audience of celebrities. The singer, from Clayton in east Manchester, is thought to be the youngest ever recipient of the award. Tickets are available to the public for £60. (MEN) A local rock group have signed a publishing deal in America. The Virgin Marys, a three-piece from Chorlton in Manchester, have signed with Windswept Pacific Records, where they will be joining the likes of Snow Patrol and the Kings of Leon. The band, which has been compared to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, has only been together since late last year, but has been gaining attention for their traditional approach to the classic rock format. They have just got back from recording in Los Angeles, and are currently completing the video for their debut single, ‘Soul Vampire’, due to be released in July on Manchester record label, M20. They will also be headlining the Hide and Seek Festival at Manchester’s Dry bar on the 25th of May, with more dates to follow. For details, see www.myspace.com/thevirginmarys. (South Manchester Reporter) The John Rylands Library in Manchester has received a surprise donation from a man who last used the historic library over 50 years ago. Joseph Hamilton made the library the sole beneficiary in his will, which will result in a windfall of about £200,000. Mr Hamilton was a regular visitor to the library in the late 1940s and early 1950s, but it seems that he then moved away from the area. Yet, when he died last year in North Wales, he used his will to repay the kindness that he was shown by the then librarian, Henry Guppy, many years before. The library has just reopened after extensive restoration, and Mr Hamilton’s bequest will be used to help pay for the £16m program of improvements. Another £1 million is still needed to complete the restoration. (Metro) If you have heard an interesting Manchester music story this week, or have been involved in something please email it to us and we'll stick up here for posterity.