#HereForCulture | Band on the Wall | #RoyalTrainTour
Manchester’s legendary music venue Band on the Wall has been a bedrock of the city’s cultural scene for two centuries, and started out as a pub, The George and Dragon, in 1862.
It became affectionately nicknamed the Band on the Wall as musicians would literally play on a makeshift stage that sat halfway up the back wall, to make room in the busy pub.
The venue recently received £211,000 from the government's £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which will help it to put on shows again next year. It is currently closed for renovation, and — Covid restrictions permitting — will reopen in September 2021.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are embarking on a Royal Train Tour on 7 and 8 December 2020, visiting music, arts and performance venues like this one, which have benefited from the government’s £1.57 billion fund.
For their Manchester stop, the royals enjoyed a performance by the Manchester Inspirational Voices Gospel Choir, regular performers at Band on the Wall.
Watch an interview with founder of the choir Wayne Ellington below, filmed a few years ago.
The venue is known for being at the forefront of the Manchester music scene, from pioneering jazz and blues groups in the 1930s, to post-punk bands like Buzzcocks and Joy Division in the 1970s.
It prides itself on its multicultural music curation, and keeps an online archive of its performances. You can watch old performances on its YouTube channel.
All images courtesy Band on the Wall.
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