Thought. Tonight I'd get some good news on this exciting development before the Montagne St Emilion kicks in.

Band on the Wall gets revamp
kevin feddy
February 13, 2009

MANCHESTER'S legendary music venue Band on the Wall today set the stage for its reopening in September after a £4m revamp with a new chief executive.

Gavin Sharp, 40, from Failsworth, is returning to take over from Ian Croal, who has been in charge since 1981.

Mr Sharp was marketing and programme manager from 1999 to 2001.

Most recently, he worked at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, where he produced its Capital of Culture programme.

Band on the Wall, on Swan Street in Manchester's Northern Quarter, closed in 2005 after 70 years, during which it hosted stars such as Joy Division, Buzzcocks, Mica Paris, Desmond Dekker and Mick Hucknall's early outfit the Frantic Elevators.

It had become rundown but received Arts Council and National Lottery funding as well as cash from Manchester city council and a mystery benefactor for an overhaul.

Mr Croal, who set up the charity Inner City Music to run the venue in 1985, will stay on to develop Band on the Wall's rich archive.

Radio presenter Mike Chadwick, 46, from Salford, has been appointed music programmer.

From Crain's:
Band on the Wall to play to a new tune
http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk
April 20, 2009

Venue will have to look beyond gigs to make a profit

Four years ago the music stopped at Manchester's legendary venue Band on the Wall. In its heyday it played host to home-grown emerging talent such as Joy Division, Buzzcocks and Simply Red, but when it finally reopens this September after a major refurbishment, the management knows that income from gigs alone won't deliver a profit.

Inner City Music Ltd, the charity which owns the Swan Street venue in Manchester's Northern Quarter, managed to secure around £4m to get the project off the ground thanks to grants from Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, Manchester City Council and various private donations.

The building work is now in its final stages and the contractor, Naylor and Walkden Ltd, is due to move out at the end of May. When Band on the Wall reopens in September it will have a capacity of 300-350 for gigs but it will also have to generate revenue from other events at a time when established venues are competing for less business.

Core team

Along with 30 casual staff there will be a core team of 14 who will run the business, headed by Gavin Sharp. He returned to Band on the Wall at the end of December after a seven-year gap. Sharp previously worked as the marketing and programme manager between 1999 and 2001 and will take over as chief executive when Ian Croal steps down in September after 28 years in charge.

Sharp said: “One of the things for us is that before it pretty much stood empty all day and then sprang into life in the evening. That is not sustainable and so we're looking to maximise the time we have got. Inner City Music happens to own and operate Band on the Wall but one small venue can't support 14 industry specialists. It has got to be a business that has a skills base that we exploit and use wherever and whenever appropriate.”

To make sure the new venue appeals to cream of the music industry it is being kitted out with the latest equipment including three high definition cameras to record gigs, high specification editing and audio-visual suites and a high-speed leased internet line and server to make sure feeds coming in and out of the building are of the best quality.

Next door to the main venue is The Picture House, a former cinema and electrical shop also owned by Inner City Music, which is being converted into a conference space with a removable stage, LCD TVs for remote conferencing and presentations and catering facilities.

As well as conferences, Sharp hopes to sell it as a venue for percussion workshops to people organising corporate team building away-days.

Band on the Wall will receive £220,000 a year in revenue funding from Manchester City Council but also needs to attract corporate sponsorship. Three tiers of sponsorship are priced at £1,000, £2,000 and £10,000, all with various benefits like branding on the venue's website and marketing material and discounts on event hires.

Eight sponsors have signed up, all in the lower tiers, including property developer Argent, Manchester Airport and law firm Pannone.

Development manager Najia Bagi is in charge of pulling in sponsorship. She admitted it has been challenging trying to get businesses on board in the current climate.

Intimate gigs

Although they have yet to secure their first top-tier sponsor, Bagi said they have exceeded their expectations and are aiming to bring in another £20,000 before the venue reopens.

Tickets will cost from £12.50 up to around £22.50 for a standard gig. However Sharp said there is the potential to organise smaller, more intimate gigs with top bands for which he believes fans would pay a premium ticket price of up to £200. By the end of the first year the business is projecting a turnover of £1m leading to a £15,000 surplus.

Sharp admitted it would not take much for the figures to swing the other way, leaving Band on the Wall with a first year deficit. And being a not-for-profit organisation, there won't be the option of tuning to shareholders to cover the shortfall, he added.

Sharp said: “Most businesses wouldn't project any kind of surplus in year one. You're talking about a one-and-a-half per cent margin and so if it goes the other way and our figures go slightly wrong then we could be £50,000 in the red. But we are confident the business model stacks up.”

Vaughan Allen, chief executive of city council-backed exhibition venue Urbis, said Band on the Wall has been missed. Allen said more venues are needed both in terms of visual arts and music to bring back a sense of excitement to the Northern Quarter.

He said the corporate market for Urbis has changed over recent years following the rise in the number of city centre hotels offering meeting and conferencing facilities.

He cautioned that getting Band on the Wall established again will not be an easy task, despite the fact that many of the city's most influential figures have fond memories of going to gigs there when they were in their teens.

He said: “I think everyone is aware it is going to be tough. There is probably a reason why there isn't a major music venue in that part of town at the moment and nothing has come in to replace it.

“Band on the Wall has got something different and there is a reason to have a corporate there rather than at a hotel. There are a lot of people who are lawyers, architects and accountants in their 30s, 40s and 50s and I think it will appeal. There is a lot about the history and the archives that could be quite enticing, but it's very tough and sponsorship is really withdrawn.”

Allen said Band on the Wall would have to build up the business over a period of years before it manages the next step of bringing major live music sponsors, like telecoms company, 02 on board.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v397/jrb041067/band.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v397/jrb041067/band2.jpg

Ticket to moving pictures of history

Exclusive: Chris Osuh

April 25, 2009

TREASURES from the earliest days of cinema have been found at an iconic music venue.

Tickets and a film magazine from 1914 have been found in the building next to Band on the Wall, which is undergoing a £4m revamp.

Electrician Daniel Elias, 24, found them while fixing a ceiling light.

They stake a new claim for the Grade II building in Swan Street to have been the oldest cinema in the city - and offer fascinating insights into the dawn of the film industry.

The magazine, a trade publication called the Moving Picture Offered List and Cinema Trade Buyer and Seller, features ads for films like When the Hurricanes Visited the Doughnuts, Who Will Marry Mary? and The Devil's Gap, which it promised had 'fine acting, magnificent photography, full of excitement and sentiment'. It also showcased fight films featuring legendary boxers like Freddie Welsh, Billy Papke and Sam Langford.

Published three months before the First World War, the magazine advertised products like the Climax Ticket Machine, promoted firms like Ruffell's Imperial Bioscope Syndicate and featured an article on Growth of the Cinema Trade.

Daniel, from Audenshaw, said: "We had found bits and bobs, like an old Guinness bottle with a label saying the drink had been bottled at Longsight and a torn bit of newspaper with football scores, but nothing like this.

A look into the past

"It's a really good find in great condition - a real look into the past. It's possible it was left there on purpose, for us to find in the future."

Until now, local historians were convinced the first cinema on the site was the Cosy Corner, which opened in 1915.

But the eight tickets refer to Swan Picturehouse and the Palatine Picture Theatre and suggest that two others had opened and then gone out of business before the Cosy Corner opened.

Band on the Wall archivists now think a cinema may have existed there before Oxford Street's Picture House, which opened in 1911 and was the first licensed cinema.

Malcolm Duffin, marketing manager for Band on the Wall, said: "It's like the building is offering up its treasures to us.

"We couldn't hope for any more. This magazine shows Manchester was at the centre of the early film boom at the turn of the last century.

"It's interesting to see that people were watching much the same sort of films as today - action movies, romances, westerns and book adaptations.

"There's something poignant about young people going to the cinema on a date, with the storm clouds of war brewing.

"Swan Street was the main 'going out' area at the time and everybody involved in the Northern Quarter hopes it will become that again."

The Band on the Wall site has featured 'licenced premises' since 1803, but the venue did not earn its name until 1937, when the landlord installed a stage on the wall for jazz bands.

In following years, it played host to giants of world music and Madchester favourites alike. It closed in 2005, but it is now having a makeover with £4m of public funding.

The building next door will become the Picturehouse, housing Band on the Wall's archive and audio-visual studios.

Band on the Wall is now appealing for information on the history of its Picturehouse.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1111869_ticket_to_moving_pictures_of_history_

For me this is hugely exciting.

THe BOTW will occupy that bit of the manchester live scene that is missing between indie grunge of the Roadhouse and the more corporate orientated Academy and Apollo.

I think the Bury Met does a tremendous job in attracting roots, folky type bands and its location next to the Metrolink opens it the most of the city region.

But the BOTW is poised to offer us a dimension that has been lacking, with facilities that the old version sorely lacked. (cos the old one was a kip!!)

Nice one. The Fringe bar and then this.

Band on the Wall unveils launch showcase

We've got news of music legends playing at Band on the Wall when it reopens in September

If you're into live music, you'll have felt a Band on the Wall-shaped hole in your life over the last few years. When this concert venue and bar closed for redevelopment in 2005, it left the city's gig goers with a thinner spread than they'd been accustomed to. Band on the Wall had been part of Manchester's music scene since the 1930s, when accordionists entertained the fruit and veg traders from the Smithfield Market next door. Without it, Swan Street seemed oddly quiet and featureless.

New venues like The Ruby Lounge and Moho Live sprang up but there was still something missing on the gig scene. Band on the Wall was always a very individual venue – in its atmosphere and its programme of music, which featured respected, sometimes legendary artists from across the spectrum, rather than just whoever was scaling the charts at that time.

It's not easy to classify its music policy; 'quality' could be the best word. Back in the 1970s it was a jazz venue before it became a centre point for the city's burgeoning punk scene with acts including The Buzzcocks and Joy Division playing there. In the 1980s it branched out into world music, bringing renowned artists from all over the globe to Manchester audiences.

On 25 September, Band on the Wall finally reopens with month-long international music showcase that shows it hasn't lost touch with its roots, despite the new features, such as a top new sound system, a concert grand piano, and audio-visual and sound studios in a multi-use social space called the Picturehouse.

The opening concert on Friday 25 September is a double bill of soul diva Mica Paris with legendary jazz pianist Julian Johnson. Punk (or post-punk funk to be more accurate) is represented by Factory Records signing A Certain Ratio on Saturday 26 September. World music fans will be excited by an appearance from internationally acclaimed Malian ngoni player Bassekou Kouyate on Thursday 22 October.

Other highlights include 2008 Mercury Music Prize nominated The Unthanks (Formerly Rachel Unthank and The Winter Set) on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 October and sonic dub master Mad Professor with The Ariwa Posse on Friday 16 October.

The listings confirmed so far are below, but Mike Chadwick, Band on the Wall's music programmer, says there's many more to be announced. To get advance event notifications and discounts, sign up to the venue’s mailing list at bandonthewall.org. For tickets, call 0845 2 500 500.

Full details of artists for Back To Our Place showcase:

Fri 25 September, Mica Paris and Julian Joseph Opening Concert
Sat 26 September, A Certain Ratio
Thu 01 October, Bugge Wesseltoft
Fri 09 October, Michael McGoldrick Big Band
Sat 10 October, Lucy Kaplansky
Tue 13 October, Devon Sproule
Thu 15 October, African Jazz Allstars
Fri 16 October, Mad Professor and the Ariwa Posse
Mon 19 October, The Unthanks
Tue 20 October, The Unthanks
Thu 22 October, Bassekou Kouyate
Fri 23 October, Jim Moray
Mon 26 October, Nine Below Zero (Unplugged)
Tue 27 October, Nine Below Zero (Electric)
Thu 29 October, Francis Dunnery's Brand New It Bites
Fri 30 October, Francis Dunnery's Brand New It Bites
Sat 31 October, Kaidi Tatham Band

http://www.manchesterconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNw7pNwTrKDJ6IHqjNwB6IA

:nuts::lol:hand flapping excitement::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

followed certainly tonight in O Neills Bury by:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

then

:carrot::dance::old:

or perhaps not

Seriously that is brilliant news.

The little one will be made up

Argent to sponsor Band on the Wall

Property developer Argent Group Plc has signed up as a sponsor of Band on the Wall, the famous Manchester music venue which is undergoing a refurbishment before it reopens in September.

Argent said it was supporting the project to show its commitment to investment and regeneration in the city centre and its affiliation to arts and culture in Manchester.

Argent, which is developing The Hive, an office block for the creative industries on nearby Stevenson Square, joins eight other sponsors including Manchester Airport and financial consultants The Gaeia Partnership.

Argent’s marketing manager, Angela Brown, said: “Band on the Wall’s return to the city will unite both culture and business. The new arts and social facilities mean that it won’t just be a place that music fans can enjoy during the evening, but where residents and businesses can go during the day too.”

Closed in 2005 for redevelopment, the Swan Street music pub will reopen with audio-visual and sound studios and a new multi-use social space called The Picturehouse, which will host complimentary events throughout the year.

Inner City Music Ltd, the charity that owns Band on the Wall, raised about £4m in grants from the Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund and Manchester City Council. The Arts Council England is signed up as a tenant at The Hive.

The Band on the Wall needs to attract corporate sponsorship to support its events, including education and outreach work.

Various packages priced between £1,000 and £10,000 are being offered, which include membership cards for staff and discounts on event hire.

Band on the Wall’s development manager, Najia Bagi, said: “It is great to see that despite the current economic climate, the relaunch of Band on the Wall is still exciting enough for Manchester’s businesses to commit financial support, even before the building reopens.”

http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090617/FREE/906179987/1009

Just gone past this , the outside is really coming on , what is goig in the unit next door that has also been done up .

Band on the Wall up for jazz history plaque

And your votes could make it the winner

Jazz fans have nominated Manchester’s Band on the Wall as a venue that's worthy of a blue plaque for having played a pivotal role in British Jazz. It's the only North West venue to be up for this prestigious award, and with your votes, it could win it.

The (Kind of) Blue Plaque scheme, set up by Brecon Jazz Festival organisers, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Miles Davis’ seminal jazz album Kind Of Blue and the ninetieth anniversary of the first jazz performance in Britain. Band on the Wall appears in the list of 12 venues shortlisted for the plaque, along with London’s Hammersmith Hippodrome and Ronnie Scotts.

Ian Croal, CEO at Band on the Wall, said: “It’s excellent to have been nominated for this award. When the venue reopens next month our wide-ranging programme will continue to include the finest jazz from home and abroad.

“We have promoted jazz at the venue for 30 years. This has included great Americans such as Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and most of the finest UK players as well as many from Europe, Africa and elsewhere. A feature of the venue also is that, since the 1970s, it has had a jazz education programme. This will be continuing as part of our Learning and Participation programme from September.”

Voting is open now until this Thursday – go to bandonthewall.org and click on Brecon Jazz Award. The winning venue will be announced this Friday and the inaugural (Kind Of) Blue Plaque will be affixed to the outside of the winning venue in Summer 2010.

http://www.manchesterconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNw7pNwXkIlB6IHqjNwB6IA

second place for BOTW

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/8190030.stm

I havnt been there for over 5 years, it was rather dumpy lol. Battle of the bands!

More launch gigs at Band on the Wall

The renovated music venue has just announced more artists for its launch showcase

Manchester's legendary music venue Band on the Wall, which re-opens in September, has announced more gigs for their month-long launch showcase – Back to our Place.

New artists confirmed include comedy legend Ade Edmondson and his band The Bad Shepherds, Jazzanova – one of Europe's foremost proponents of nu jazz, and international superstar and prominent soukous musician, Kanda Bongo Man. Swati Natekar, a household name in India and singer on Jakatta’s 2000 smash hit ‘American Dream’, will also appear as part of the showcase.

Mike Chadwick, music programmer at Band on the Wall, said: “Having already confirmed great artists like Mica Paris, Julian Joseph and The Unthanks, it is great to see even more seasoned and well known performers from around the world coming to play here in Manchester.”

Band on the Wall reopens on 25 September after a major four year renovation. New facilities include a state-of-the-art sound system and concert grand piano, an education suite from where initiatives with local schools and colleges will be run, audio-visual and sound studios, and a multi-use social space called the Picturehouse.

If you want to hear about Band on the Wall gigs first and get discounts, sign up to the venue’s mailing list at www.bandonthewall.org or call 0845 2 500 500 to buy tickets.

Full details of artists for Back to our Place showcase:

Fri 25 September 2009 - Mica Paris & Julian Joseph Opening Concert
Sat 26 September 2009 - A Certain Ratio
Sun 27 September 2009 - The Bays
Tue 29 September 2009 - Swati Natekar
Wed 30 September 2009 - Ade Edmondson and The Bad Shepherds
Thu 1 October 2009 - Bugge Wesseltoft
Fri 2 October 2009 - Kanda Bongo Man
Sat 3 October 2009 - The Sunburst Band
Mon 5 October 2009 - Jazzanova
Tue 6 October 2009 - Jazzanova
Wed 7 October 2009 - The Enid
Thu 8 October 2009 - Mike Walker Sextet
Fri 9 October 2009 - Michael McGoldrick Big Band
Sat 10 October 2009 - Lucy Kaplansky
Sat 10 October 2009 - Lefties Soul Connection featuring Corrina Greyson + The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show - DJ Set
Sun 11 October 2009 - Eric Roberson
Mon 12 October 2009 - Atom Live presents: Oui Love MusiqueXchange Tour
Tue 13 October 2009 - Devon Sproule
Wed 14 October 2009 - Five Corners Quintet
Thu 15 October 2009 - African Jazz Allstars
Fri 16 October 2009 - Mad Professor and the Ariwa Posse
Sat 17 October 2009 - Gwyneth Herbert
Mon 19 and Tue 20 October 2009 - The Unthanks
Thu 22 October 2009 - Bassekou Kouyate
Fri 23 October 2009 - Jim Moray
Sat 24 October 2009 - Eivind Aarset
Mon 26 October 2009 - Nine Below Zero (Unplugged)
Tue 27 October 2009 - Nine Below Zero (Electric)
Thu 29 October 2009 - Francis Dunnery's Brand New It Bites
Fri 30 October 2009 - Francis Dunnery's Brand New It Bites
Sat 31 October 2009 - Kaidi Tatham Band

http://www.manchesterconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNw7pNwXkKWF6IHqjNwB6IA

An app that was approved this week, for BOTW signage, including giant jack plugs and a working graphic equaliser...is this already up?

http://i32.tinypic.com/kd4lfd.jpg
http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=KN2XJVBC6K000&searchtype=WEEKLY

Sneak peak detail photo on the BOTW flickr page:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/3906583810_efeebdaf3d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27107534@N04/3906583810/)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27107534@N04/3906583810/
A sneak peak of the heritage colour palette and restoration of original architectural features in the upper tier of the performance space.

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/9168/citylifebandonthewall.jpg

BOTW/EQ:NQ - public art as it should be

Band on the Wall Lights up the Northern Quarter with Giant Graphic Equaliser

When: Tuesday 1 December, 4.30pm – 5.30pm (actual turning on time)

Where: Band on the Wall, Swan Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 5JZ

What: Band on the Wall is switching on its new, large exterior public artwork – an extraordinary sound interactive graphic equalizer on the outside of the legendary venue that will light up the night and rush-hour traffic.

The equaliser will ‘play’ the sounds from inside Band on the Wall or the noises from the outside street and display them as a lighting display, flickering and jumping like the display on a 1980s ghetto blaster.

The artwork should be an excellent visual icon for Manchester, emphasing the city as one of the world's significant music centres with the Northern Quarter at its musical core. It should stop passersby and music fans dead in their tracks on Swan Street. Well, hopefully not dead, but impressed at least.

The artwork has been created by Manchester artists Michael Trainor and Lee Donnelly as part of the much-loved venue’s refurbishment after four years closure.

The event on Tuesday will be accompanied by live music to showcase the artwork and will be attended by city dignitaries, individuals from Manchester’s music industry, and businesses in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

Confidential is in favour of this type of public art: the type of public art that can be switched off when it loses its relevance

http://www.manchesterconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNw7pNwXpKD86IHqjNwB6IA