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Back from a mini tour of Yorkshire and Stockport and cheering for supporting act Indignation Meeting
A worthy walk down a distinguished musical memory lane
A bout of nostalgia warms Tony Burke’s heart and soul
ALISTAR FINDLAY is mesmerised by this multiple ‘Visions of Scotland’ assault on the audience’s eyes and senses
The Star's critics ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MICHAL BONCZA reviews I Am Love, The Penguin Lessons, Freaky Tales, The Thicket
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
New releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
Peter Mitchell's photography reveals a poetic relationship with Leeds
A uncomfortably misogynistic authorial voice that sometimes seems to lack insight troubles FIONA O’CONNOR
Were You There - Popular Music At Manchester’s Free Trade Hall 1951 – 1996
By Richard Lysons
Empire Publications £20
Manchester’s Free Trade Hall was built on the site of the 1819 Peterloo massacre as a public hall celebrating the repeal of the Corn Laws. It took three years to construct between 1853 and 1856 and in 1858 it became the home of the Halle Orchestra.
Bought by the Manchester Corporation in 1920, and bombed in 1940 it was rebuilt as a concert hall in 1950 and 1951, eventually hosting countless jazz, folk, blues and rock concerts including a number of legendary gigs — not least the famous 1966 Bob Dylan “Judas” concert.
More from this author
New releases by Samba Touré, Santrofi, and Piers Faccini & Ballake Sissoko
The towering figures of the North American right and the South American left are set to clash this summer as Brazil hosts Brics, an alliance Trump is determined to smash, reports TONY BURKE
The looming Trump presidency has forced unions to rebuild their unity and strength, writes TONY BURKE, as the SEIU returns to the AFL-CIO, healing the 2005 rift over organising priorities and getting ready to fight the right together
A horn of plenty, no less!
