Electric Circus, Manchester

The Electric Circus was a music venue in Collyhurst, Manchester, England, situated at the corner of Teignmouth Street and Collyhurst Street.[1] It was an iconic and seminal venue for punk rock in 1970s Manchester.

## History[edit]

The venue was originally the Palace Cinema, then the Top Hat Club run by Bernard Manning and then a bingo hall. It became a heavy metal club in the 1970s until punk arrived there in 1976,[1] and Richard Boon[2] and Alan Robinson[3] started promoting nights there. However the building was in a poor state of repair and was closed in late 1977 due to objections from the fire service and Manchester City Council.[4] It re-opened briefly again in 1978[5] as the New Electric Circus but by 1980 the building was demolished and replaced by housing.[6]

Kevin Cummins described the venue as a khazi adding "everything was painted black so you couldn't see how shitty it was".[2]

## Music at the Electric Circus[edit]

The venue hosted a wide range of bands including:

* The Adverts[7]
* Ed Banger & the Nosebleeds[8]
* Buzzcocks[4][7]
* Chelsea[4]
* John Cooper Clarke[9]
* The Clash[4]
* The Damned[10] \- played in January 1977[11][7]
* The Drones[4][7]
* The Fall[6]
* The Jam[12]
* The Negatives[13]
* Penetration[14]
* The Ramones[4][7] \- played first gig in Manchester here in 1977[15]
* Sex Pistols \- played twice in December 1976,[4] including 9 December 1976[16]
* Slaughter & the Dogs[4]
* Siouxsie and the Banshees[4]
* Steel Pulse[6]
* Talking Heads[10][7]
* Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers[4]
* Warsaw played for the first time on 29 May 1977 at the Electric Circus[17] (despite being billed as The Stiff Kittens),[18] supporting Buzzcocks, Penetration, John Cooper Clarke[14] and Jon the Postman.[19]
* White Riot Tour played on 8 May 1977 featuring The Clash, The Slits, Buzzcocks and Subway Sect[7]
* The Worst[4]

The last two nights of the Electric Circus (1 and 2 October 1977) were recorded and released by Virgin Records in January 1978 as a 10-inch compilation album Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus featuring The Fall, John Cooper Clarke, Warsaw, The Drones, Steel Pulse and Buzzcocks.[9][15][3]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Gatenby & Gill 2011, p. 107.
2. ^ a b Robb 2010, p. 57.
3. ^ a b Robb 2010, p. 83.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gatenby & Gill 2011, p. 108.
5. ^ Middles 2002, p. 67.
6. ^ a b c Gatenby & Gill 2011, p. 109.
7. ^ a b c d e f g Middles 2002, p. 60.
8. ^ Middles 2002, p. 59.
9. ^ a b Gatenby & Gill 2011, pp. 108–109.
10. ^ a b Robb 2010, p. 71.
11. ^ Middles 2002, p. 47.
12. ^ Robb 2010, pp. 69–70.
13. ^ Middles 2002, p. 68.
14. ^ a b Gimarc 2005, p. 68.
15. ^ a b Robb 2010, p. 45.
16. ^ Gatenby & Gill 2011, p. 86.
17. ^ Kennedy 2006, p. 17.
18. ^ Gatenby & Gill 2011, pp. 107–109.
19. ^ Curtis 2007, p. 44.

## Sources[edit]

* Curtis, Deborah (2007). Touching from a Distance. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-23956-6.
* Gatenby, Phill; Gill, Craig (2011). The Manchester Musical History Tour. Manchester: Empire Publications. ISBN 9781901746716.
* Gimarc, George (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970–1982. Milwaukee: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-8793-0848-6.
* Kennedy, Jake (2006). Joy Division and the making of Unknown Pleasures. London: Unanimous Ltd. ISBN 1-903318-80-7.
* Middles, Mick (2002). From Joy Division to New Order. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-0638-7.
* Robb, John (2010). The North Will Rise Again. Manchester Music City (1977-1996). London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978 1 84513 534 8.

53°29′45″N 2°13′14″W﻿ / ﻿53.49584°N 2.22048°W﻿ / 53.49584; -2.22048