The legendary venue is where many people discovered a love for alternative music and spent countless nights out in their formative years as university students.
Based on the stories sent to The Manc, Fifth Ave was the venue where people met their wives and husbands and celebrated some serious milestones.
Even the bad bits – like the way your shoes would aggressively stick to the floor and the toilet doors never locked – now seem like part of its charm.
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Fifth Avenue on Princess Street. Credit: Google Maps
It also had its own microclimate, with the sweat from the dancefloor turning into condensation across the ceiling and dripping back down on revellers. Lovely.
Across the board, the nostalgia is real, and as Joe commented: “So, my youth is officially dead.”
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Some people are so upset, they’re actually calling on Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to save the club.
Here are some of our favourite tales from this cornerstone of Manchester’s nightlife scene.
Will wrote: “Arctic Monkeys getting rinsed in 2007 when they broke through! Such good times with three VKs in hand.”
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Mark said: “First ever nightclub i went in when it was Legends in 1988.Remember going in and Blue Monday ’88 booming out.”
Bev posted: “Indie night on Thursday was a great night. Another icon of Manchester closing , very sad.”
Chelsey added: “Friday nights, university, sticky floors, finding love for alternative/rock music. Getting excited if they threw in a bit of Skrillex.”
Claire said: “Spent many a Thursday night there in the early-mid 90’s during my student days! The best indie tunes.”
Shelly remembers the indie music too, saying: “Was mostly a great place to work during the indie revival in the early naughties x”
This one’s funny – Mark said: “I remember going to lean against a wall, and only realising it was a fire escape when a bouncer was picking me up off the floor and pulling me back into the club.”
Jude said: “Ahh gutted! Creep and I Am The Resurrection playing at the end of the night, about 2002 maybe? Quality nights sticking to the floor and getting dripped on from the sweaty ceiling!”
Melissa on Twitter said: “RIP throwing vodka Red Bulls over myself whilst screaming Mr Brightside hysterically at 2am on a Thursday.”
Chris wrote: “Spent most Friday nights in there around 2007. £1 Vodka Redbulls and an amazing set list every time. You could never forget you’d been there as your jeans and trainers absolutely stunk of Red Bull the next day.”
Jude said: “The security guard asking us if we’d been ‘on the rob’ when he found shot glasses from a vodka bar in our bags, picking up pound coins from the dance floor after ‘Jump Around’ had been played (paid for my night out several times), leaving the club one frigid New Year’s Eve and standing out in the middle of the icy road in a strappy dress and heels trying to flag literally ANY car down to get a ride home!”
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Yvonne wrote: “Vodka and a cheap equivalent of red bull, shoes always stuck to the floor. 75p a drink and never, ever remember leaving the club as was too intoxicated. Christmas bank holidays were always good! Oh and the candy floss machine in the middle of the dancefloor.”
Fifth Ave was pretty significant to Stephen, who said: “When it was legends night club met my 1st wife 1984. Great club with all the mirrors and lights.”
Andrew met his other half too – he wrote: “Met me wife of nearly 10 years in there, awesome memories of cheap drinks, sticky floors and good music!”
Jamie, too, said: “Met a girl there one night, now we are married and have a baby girl!”
Adam said his career started there, writing: “Fifth nightclub offered me my first ever residency as a DJ, played my first ever DJ set in the mezz (if you know you know) met some amazing people along the way staff and regulars. Fifth Nightclub will always have a special place in my heart.”
Sara said: “1/ throwing up all over my now husband’s James t shirt on only our second date ( never drink tequila then beer) and getting thrown out by the bouncers and 2/ arriving there for my hen do having a fab time dancing with friends to find husband to be and all his group were also there on his stag do (they couldn’t get into 42nd st apparently).”
Chris seems to be having an existential crisis about the whole situation, writing: “Weird how somewhere can be such a big part of your life for so long and then one day you go for the last time and don’t even know it. And then next thing you know a decade has passed and it’s gone for good.”
Peaky Blinders creator set to produce a documentary of the upcoming Oasis reunion tour
Danny Jones
If you had any doubt that the upcoming Oasis reunion shows weren’t going to be heavily documented, you’re an absolute fool. However, we’ll admit we weren’t expecting to hear the creator of Peaky Blinders‘ name connected to the tour.
Yeah, as in the Brummies with the flat caps on the telly – them ones.
That’s right, the same man who brought Tommy Shelby and Birmingham’s most infamous gang to our screens is apparently overseeing a major documentary project which will chronicle the return of the Gallagher brothers and put the best bits on film.
As announced by the band themselves this week, Steven Knight has been confirmed as the creator and producer of the Oasis ‘Live ’25’ world tour documentary movie.
The brain behind Peaky Blinders is creating the second Oasis doc after 2016’s Supersonic. (Credit: Taylor Rooke/BBC/IMDb)
It’s worth noting to begin with that besides the BBC’s blockbuster gangster series, which is soon to be followed up with the franchise’s first feature film on Netflix, Knight does have some background in music-related media.
The 65-year-old created the six-part BBC drama, This Town, which revolves around the rise of ska and the ‘two-tone’ revival movement in the Midlands during the 1970s; he also wrote the script for the 2024 opera biopic, Maria, starring Angelina Jolie.
Other names involved in the Peaky Blinders boss’ Oasis documentary are joint directors Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, who made the LCD Soundsystem film, Shut Up And Play The Hits, which covers frontman James Murphy’s final gig as part of the band at Madison Square Gardens.
Although we are obviously yet to get a release window at this early stage – they’ve got to get through all 41 dates first (touch wood) – more details are expected soon.
Who’s managed to grab tickets? (Credit: Press Image)
The bedlam around ‘Live ’25’ becoming a reality may have died down a little as now just have to play the waiting game and gear up for those first gigs in July, but there have still been plenty of exciting announcements since then.
As well as Richard Ashcroft and Cast being confirmed as the two support acts for the tour, the full reunion band has also reportedly been revealed, with another member of the original 1991 lineup set to make his own comeback.
We’re still way too far away from seeing leaks of the setlist and what they’ve been playing in rehearsals etc., but we
After all, as much as love debating the best Oasis songs of all time, we’ll just be glad to hear any of them being played by the Burnage boys, together again in the flesh, for the first time in 15 years.
James Arthur to play massive Manchester show on UK arena tour next year
Emily Sergeant
James Arthur is the latest act to announce a massive UK arena tour, and he’ll be paying a visit to Manchester next year.
On the day that Manchester’s newest live entertainment arena,Co-op Live, is set to welcome one of the world’s current biggest pop star, Sabrina Carpenter, another major pop act is set to take to that very same stage around this time next year, as James Arthur has today announced a huge arena tour.
The former X Factor winner is heading out on an 11-date tour of the UK in early 2026, and that includes a visit to our city in mid February.
After performing in some of the UK’s biggest cities in the days prior – including London’s O2, the bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, and shows in other northern cities such as Sheffield and Liverpool – the will 37-year-old singer-songwriter will stop off Manchester to close out his impressive tour.
He’ll be performing at Co-op Live on Saturday 21 February 2026.
The announcement of next year’s UK tour next year’s coincides with the upcoming release of Arthur’s highly-anticipated next studio album, PISCES.
In recent years, Arthur has cemented himself as one of the biggest names in contemporary pop and soul, amassing 11 Platinum hit singles, more 38 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and two UK number one albums along the way – including his most recent release, Bitter Sweet Love, which was celebrated with a sold-out UK and Europe arena tour, culminating in a historic performance in his hometown of Middlesbrough to an audience of 25,000 fans.
James Arthur UK arena tour dates 2025
3 February – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
4 February – Glasgow OVO Hydro
6 February – Newcastle Utilita Arena
7 February – Aberdeen P&J Live
10 February – Birmingham bp pulse LIVE
11 February – Bournemouth International Centre
13 February – Sheffield Utilita Arena
14 February – Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
16 February – Cardiff Utilita Arena
18 February – London The O2
21 February – Manchester Co-op Live
James Arthur is playing a massive Manchester show on his UK arena tour next year / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
With the upcoming release of PISCES on 25 April, Arthur is said to be ‘diving deeper into his personal struggles’ to create a collection of songs that is ‘as introspective as it is sonically adventurous’.
Tickets to James Arthur’s 2026 UK arena tour, including the Manchester Co-op Live gig on Saturday 21 February, go on pre-sale next Wednesday 19 March at 9am, and then on general sale on Friday 21 February at 9am.
Daisy Jackson -
16th February 2022 
