For over two hundred years, our venue on Swan Street has played a significant role in Manchester’s musical landscape. In our former incarnation as The George and Dragon pub, regulars, in what was a Market district on the fringe of the City centre, would affectionately refer to the Band on the Wall as the place where musicians quite literally played on a stage halfway up the back wall. This makeshift performance space was installed by the landlord in order to make more room in his busy pub. Regular house musicians of Italian and Irish heritage were known to perform here, alongside billings of dance bands.

During the mid-20th Century, Band on the Wall gained a reputation for the latest in Jazz and Blues, and as Manchester welcomed a growing post war Caribbean community, we provided a home to the growing number of Reggae & Roots events. By the 1970s Band on the Wall found itself at the centre of the post-punk scene in Manchester, with bands such as The Fall, The Buzzcocks & Joy Division performing some of their earliest gigs at our venue.

Over time, various staff held on to an assortment of company records, reports, as well as previous promotional material. This was relegated to the rafters and was safely stored out of sight in our attic. It wasn’t until our recent redevelopment when this space had to be emptied in order for work to begin, that the true extent of this treasure trove of material was realised. Fortunately the collection was noted to be of significance and thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Echoes from the Attic project was born.

The aim of Echoes from the Attic was to not only correctly store these valuable and unique pieces of ephemera, to further preserve them for future generations, but to catalogue and be able to share them with our audiences.

It is with thanks to staff at Manchester Archives, the team at Band on the Wall and many hours of Volunteer input that we are able to share this with you today. So take a look around our site and keep your eyes peeled for our upcoming digital exhibitions.