Fagin’s nightclub opened in 1970 on Oxford Street in Manchester. A venue where a host of famous faces such as Cliff Richard and LuLu performed through the 1970s and 1980s.
If you knew Fagin’s, then you also knew Rafters, also known as the Music Box, which sat directly below the former and operated as its sister venue. Many legendary live bands played at Rafters, including Motorhead, Joy Division and Depeche Mode. It was an alternative music staple throughout the 1990s.
It remained the rock destination in Manchester for the rest of the 90s and throughout the 00s, and was infamous for its ‘all nighters’ which would regularly end with a Pot Noodle and a rude awakening at 7am – when revellers would burst out of the venue’s doors and feels the effects of rocking in the dark for several hours.
At the time, there was no venue like it in Manchester, which was a city widely known for its stush venues where glitz and glam was pretty much a dress code. If you’re a millennial, then your equivalent to Jilly’s would be the now equally iconic Satans Hollow on Princess Street.
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Much like Satans today, Jilly’s spawned a community where friendships were made as regulars refused to miss a Friday night there. It spanned four separate rooms and its staple playlist included the likes of System of a Down, Metallica, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath – and many other legendary rock and metal outfits.
Both Jilly’s and The Music Box came to a close in 2010 after numbers began to dwindle and similar venues began popping up in the city. But its memories live on forever.
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However, if you miss it as much as those who would frequent it week on week, you can now re-experience it after someone decided to recreate it in VR.
Rob Prest, a former Jilly’s clubber, recently shared his initial attempt at recreating the club and asked clubbers to search their memories to help him with the details – and the results are amazing. You can even pick up a Pot Noodle at the bar, which, as previously mentioned, was a popular part of Jilly’s Friday all nighters.
You can view Rob’s walkthrough YouTube video above. Make sure you subscribe to his YouTube channel to keep up to date with his work – his 3D modelings are ace.
Music
Twenty One Pilots confirm swirling rumours and announce huge Manchester date
Daisy Jackson
Twenty One Pilots have officially announced a massive Manchester gig on their The Clancy World Tour, after fans spotted poster teasers popping up at venues around the UK.
They’ll be coming to Manchester’s AO Arena on the tour, the first time they’ve gigged here since The Bandito Tour back in 2019.
It’s set to be their biggest-ever headline tour, visiting other cities around the UK and Ireland including Glasgow, Birmingham, Belfast, Dublin, and London.
Twenty One Pilots will also head around North America, New Zealand, Australia, and Europe.
The pair have announced more than 33 billion streams worldwide and sold more than three million tickets for their headline tours.
Comprised of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, they’ve established themselves as one of the most successful bands of the 21st century.
Twenty One Pilots have also shared a new song, Next Semester, from their forthcoming album Clancy.
The album will be the final chapter in an ambitious multi-album narrative first introduced in the band’s 2015 multi-Platinum breakthrough, Blurryface.
An official artist presale for tickets will begin on 3 April for European dates.
All remaining tickets will then go on general sale at 10am on Friday 5 April.
Richard Ashcroft announces six support acts for homecoming gigs at Wigan’s Robin Park
Danny Jones
Manc music legend Richard Ashcroft has revealed a slate of very exciting support acts for his upcoming homecoming gigs at Robin Park in Wigan.
With an extra date being added on 21 July due to overwhelming demand after the Saturday show sold out in a flash back in December 2023, Ashcroft has now revealed a total of six different supports, promising three different artists per gig.
And we’re not just talking any old warm-up acts; the former Verve frontman has hand-picked an all Northern lineup as well as two local Wigan acts to show support for his hometown’s own music scene.
Joining him on the first night at Robin Park will be British indie rock veterans Cast, rising Liverpool stars Red Rum Club and fellow Wiganer Maxwell Varey.
We recently had the pleasure of chatting with the Red Rum lads and have been listening to them since day one, so we’ll always sincerely reccommend them.
As for Cast, they’ve been going since 1992 and have put out so many chill tunes down the years – ‘Walkaway’, ‘Alright’ and ‘Live The Dream’ just to name a few – so you can always rely on them to put in a solid set.
It’s also great to see the 52-year-old Britpop icon backing up and coming artists from his neck of the woods too and, we can’t lie, everything we’ve heard from Varey so far is sounding pretty good.
Strolling into Sunday Bittersweet Symphony-style, Ashcroft‘s supports are just as good the following night as well, with The Zutons providing a real throwback vibe, The Royston Club being one of our favourite new acts (that debut album last year slaps) and Stanleys taking care of repping Wigan.
The significance of Richard Ashcroft’s homecoming for the area cannot be overstated as not only will it be one of the biggest weekends of live music the borough has seen in years but it’s also the first time he’ll have played in Wigan since 1998.
Yep, it’s a big deal.
While the Saturday might be well and truly sold out, there are still some general admission tickets left for Sunday, 21 July. You can grab yours HERE.
And for all the other big music news happening around Greater Manchester, make sure to keep your eyes peeled on The Manc Audio.