• Archive
• Videos
• Artist/Band A-Z
• Archive Docs
• 19th Century History
  • Chapter 1: An Eventful Century
    • Introduction
    • To 1820
    • On Swan Street
    • The Drinking Classes
    • Pub Entertainments
    • More Seriously
    • 1820s-1850s
    • Smithfield Market
    • The Beer Act
    • Temperance
    • Sounds of the City
    • Broadsides
    • Marx & Engels
    • 1860s - Early 20th C.
    • Pubs with Music
    • New Owners, New Era
    • Positive Trading Outlook?
    • Italians
    • Scuttlers
    • Pickpockets
    • Pianos
    • Music Halls
    • Musicians Union
    • Brass Bands
    • Classical Music
    • Ancoats Brotherhood
    • The McKennas Sell Out
  • Chapter 2: The Publicans 1803-1856
    • Landlady & Landlords
  • Chapter 3: The McKennas
    • The McKennas Were Here
    • A Pub Dynasty
    • Music on Oldham Road
    • 2nd & 3rd Generations
    • Irish Culture
    • 3rd Generation Takeover
    • Big Brewery Buyout
    • Irish Influence Remains?
    • The First McKenna Pub
  • Chapter 4: The Building(s)
    • The Buildings: Introduction
    • 18th Century Origins
    • Into the 19th Century
    • First Expansion: 1820s
    • Second Extension: 1850s
    • The Picturehouse Building
    • Further Expansion
    • Cocozza Wood Building
  • Appendices
    • Appendix 1
    • Appendix 2
    • Appendix 3
• 20th Century History
  • The 1970s
  • 70s Programme: Steve’s Jazzy Selection
  • 70s Programme: Jazz Centre Society
  • 70s Programme: New Manchester Review
  • 70s Programme: Manchester Musicians Collective
  • 70s Programme: Lunchtime Theatre and Comedy
• Links & Volunteers

Archive

Welcome to Band on the Wall's Archive.

‘This place is a landmark and its history is epic’ – Adam Poppitt

Band on the Wall, previously the George and Dragon pub, has been part of the history of Manchester for over 200 years and has been a music venue at least since the 1930s.

Almost all of the thousands of music performances over the years went unrecorded, undocumented and un-notated. Lost in time. Our archive seeks to ensure that, from now on, all will not be lost.

AV Recordings

Music and the musicians are at the heart of the archive; and contemporary audio-visual recording of performances is its core.  A huge selection of videos of performance at Band on the Wall since 2009 is available for free – just click on ‘Videos’ at the left side of the page. The videos, filmed by Band on the Wall AV Unit, also can be freely accessed in High Definition at:

·      our Vimeo page:   www.vimeo.com/channels/bandonthewall

AND

·      our own YouTube page:   http://www.youtube.com/TheBandOnTheWall

Audio

(to be added)

History

Our history document is in two sections:

Click on 19^th Century History tab (left) to read our wide-ranging early story of the George & Dragon which was then at the locus of ‘the most fundamental transformation of human life in the history of the world’.

Click on 20^th Century History tab (left) to access information about the venue in the last century. This will be much expanded by the end of 2012, when a 2000+ section also will be added

There will be a chapter about the 1975-85 decade, a period in which the venue's international credentials were established and when obstacles to its continued existence (the first of a few) were overcome. In addition to text, there will be photos, copies of Press cuttings, artefacts and publicity materials.  We also will include oral history interviews, along with memories of former staff, customers and musicians. We also plan to have a new section about the roller-coaster that was the building refurbishment project, completed in 2009.

We are also transferring various existing (pre-2005) recordings (audio & video) to digital formats and we plan, where appropriate, to make them available online.

Our archive encourages input from individuals and organisations – whether materials such as print, photos, or audio or video recordings, or simply anecdotes from the venue’s past. If you think you can help, send an email to Ian Croal -- ian@bandonthewall.org

This uniquely evolving archive has been seed-funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and Manchester City Council.

Personnel:

The Archive has two part-time workers:

Archive Manager is Ian Croal, Chief Executive of Band on the Wall from 1981 to September 2009, main music programmer for many years, principal author of the venue’s strategic plans to 2009, main fundraiser and Project Director of the venue’s £4 million capital development and the Archive.

Archive Technician Clive Hunte is a well-known musician, photographer and film-maker, specializing in music. Previous to his appointment at Band on the Wall, for six years he was Audio Visual Documenter at Contact Theatre, Manchester.