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A worthy walk down a distinguished musical memory lane
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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.
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