Live music venue in Manchester, England
The
O
2
Ritz
(originally known as
The Ritz
) is a live music venue on
Whitworth Street West
in
Manchester
, England. The venue is notable for its sprung dance floor
[1]
and has a capacity of 1,500.
History
[
edit
]
It was originally built as a dance hall in 1927,
[3]
before becoming a nightclub in the 1960s.
[3]
By the 1970s and 1980s, The Ritz was popular for playing disco, soul, funk and electronic music before the opening of
The Hacienda
nightclub and music venue on the same street in 1982.
[3]
On 5 June 1994, it was designated a Grade II
listed building
.
[4]
The Ritz was taken over by
HMV
in 2011 and given a £2 million refurbishment,
[5]
including a new sound and lighting system, as well as soundproofing while preserving its original
Art Deco
features.
[3]
In 2015, the venue was acquired by
Live Nation Entertainment
, and re-branded as O
2
Ritz Manchester, as part of the O
2
Academy Group.
[6]
Music at The Ritz
[
edit
]
Most of the well-known dance bands of the 1930s and 1940s played here.
[7]
[
who?
]
In 1961, The Ritz featured
beat groups
on Sunday afternoons (later replaced by
bingo
) such as the Fourtones (which included
Allan Clarke
and
Graham Nash
, later of
the Hollies
).
[8]
In the 1980s, the venue hosted student/Indie discos with 'Dance your Docs off' on Monday nights.
[8]
In the late 1980s,
Adrian Sherwood
's On-U Sound System played a couple of seminal gigs.
In the 1990s, The Ritz held its own vs Discotheque Royales, Piccadilly 21s and unusually The Hacienda. Monday nights were 'Dance Your Docs Off', Wednesday was 'Brutus Gold's Love Train', whilst Friday and Saturday nights were hosted by Pete Smith on disc and the Vic Lazelle band live on stage.
[
citation needed
]
Acts which have played at the venue include
the Beatles
,
the Damned
,
R.E.M.
,
the Stone Roses
,
Arctic Monkeys
,
the Smiths
,
Snow Patrol
,
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
,
Magazine
,
[8]
the Nosebleeds
(fronted by
Morrissey
for the second and final time),
[8]
John Cooper Clarke
,
[8]
Public Image Ltd
,
Happy Mondays
,
WARGASM
,
Adam Ant
,
New Order
,
[8]
Dropkick Murphys
,
Bad Religion
,
Dead Kennedys
,
James Marriott
,
the Psychedelic Furs
,
Sublime with Rome
,
the Zangwills
,
Swans
,
A Certain Ratio
,
Liam Gallagher
,
Peter Hook
,
Dodgy
,
Drain Gang
and
Joshua Bassett
.
On 4 October 1982,
the Smiths
played their first gig consisting of four songs, supporting
Blue Rondo a la Turk
.
[8]
The venue also occasionally hosts events run by third-party entertainment brands such as Propaganda, GoGo, Voodoo and Erasmus Parties. It used to host nightclub event on Saturdays called Projekt.
In popular culture
[
edit
]
The Ritz featured as a brief location in the 1961 film
A Taste of Honey
.
[8]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Robb, John (2010).
The North Will Rise Again. Manchester Music City (1977-1996)
. London: Aurum Press.
ISBN
978-1-84513-534-8
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Italics
denote building under construction
|
53°28′28″N
2°14′35″W
/
53.474494°N 2.24297°W
/
53.474494; -2.24297