Rock on.

Kate Feld previews the re-opening of Band on the Wall, one of Manchester’s most loved live music venues.

It was the place with the funny name hanging on up there in the city’s Northern badlands. Edgy, hard, grotty, a bit studenty. Renowned as the vertigo-inducing stage where young and hungry Manchester bands like Joy Division, The Buzzcocks and Oasis got their first breaks, and where a whole generation of music lovers developed an appreciation for the jazz and world music they couldn’t see live anywhere else in town. And then, in 2005, it closed.

Although some swore it would never happen, a reinvented Band on the Wall is set to open later this month. A swarm of hard-hatted workers are putting the finishing touches to a £4m Arts Council-funded renovation that has transformed the once-decrepit alehouse on Swan Street into a sleek multimedia music space. The fine Victorian bones of the building have been revealed and a new sound system is being installed, along with all manner of shiny new AV kit. The biggest surprise may be the bright and stripped-down new Picturehouse space – for daytime chilling, art and smaller events – adjoining the concert hall.

Expectations are high for Band on the Wall’s opening month of gigs, and new programme manager Mike Chadwick has the hefty challenge of keeping the joint’s myriad tribes happy. While BOTW has always been a bit eclectic in its booking policy, Chadwick acknowledges the difficulty of ‘trying to be all things to all people’.

‘Band on the Wall’s traditional audience is so diverse – we’re talking about 35 years of history here,’ he said. ‘But the main thing was that I wanted everything on the brochure to be quality, and for us to be as forward-thinking as we could about new developments within genres of music. We’re trying to show people: this is what Manchester has been missing.’

Things kick off on 25 September with a sold-out performance by Mica Paris. A Certain Ratio (26 Sept) supply the Manchester punk cred while singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky (10 Oct) and Northumberland’s Unthanks (19 & 20 Oct) will keep the folkies happy. Fans of funky electronic vibes will be pleased to hear about Jazzanova’s two-night stand (5-6 Oct) and The Bays’ gig on 27 September. And Mad Professor, The African Jazz Allstars and Bluesmeisters Nine Below Zero will all be gracing the stage in the first month.

The venue is also setting out its stall as a home for live arts events by hosting the fourth annual Manchester Blog Awards (21 Oct) and spoken word/music collective Speakeasy’s 10th birthday bash on 23 October.

Some people are bound to say it isn’t the same and inevitably there will be those ready to bitch about slick transformations somehow robbing cherished old venues of their soul. They’re entitled to their nostalgia trips, but we’re excited about having another place to see good live music in this town. Long may it rock.

Band on the Wall, Swan Street, Northern Quarter, re-opens on 25 September. Full programme available here.

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