Manchester

[Amelie]

When i was young, say i started at 14, going to Manchester was about as exiting as life could get. From my smallish crap town the journey would begin with the train. I loved Manchester, everything about it.

I only ever had a little cash, so by the time i had bought my train fair and dinner there was little left. Just hanging around Afflecks Palace was enough fun though- i really thought it was full of amazingly cool people, all tragicaly hip.

Later i has babysitting money, and would buy tops from that stall on Oldham St- he did 2 for a tenspot. Did a rather large line of paisley polo shirts lol :$. I remeber buying an Inspiral Carpets long sleeve t and just praying for a wear what you want day at school to show off.

I loved all the hustle and bustle, and felt very cosmo to be in Manchester. It just had its own smell. I still get like this now, and when Jonno and I used to go toghether i would get really exited about going in Ran and Size to check out the latest Adidas.

Anyone else remember going into the city as a youngster?

 

[easty]

I think I was the exact opposite of you amelie. Icould not wait to get the fekkout of Manchester and thats still the case. The vast majority of mancs are spot on but the place just grates on me and truth be told I would emigrate to oz at the drop of a hat if they would have me

 

[misstickle]

Later i has babysitting money, and would buy tops from that stall on Oldham St- he did 2 for a tenspot. Did a rather large line of paisley polo shirts lol :$. I remeber buying an Inspiral Carpets long sleeve t and just praying for a wear what you want day at school to show off.

lol nah it was on tib street Bought all my clothes from there, fuckin ace it was.

Went to a night at Roadhouse the other week (half term week lol) and everyone in there was about 15-20yrs old. But they all looked sooo cool! Mullety type hair dos, a mixture of 60s/70s and 80s fashion, dolled up with accessories and the boys were the same lol.

Funnily enough, were started talking bout that stall and how simple fashion was when we were kids. Baggy tops, baggy jeans, a-line denim skirts, band name t-shirts....kids these days must get mega amounts of pocket money

 

[nowthen]

I remeber buying an Inspiral Carpets long sleeve t

I had a 'cool as fuck' inspirals T....loved it

I used to love just hangin about town, used to jib in on the bus nearly every day...have a mooch round Affleks and the Royal Exchange (always got me jeans from Ark) then would spend the afternoon gettin slowly pissed in the Dry Bar with a few of the lads an lasses we knew from the Hac.

Top, top days indead...there was a real buzz about the place round the late 80's/early 90's what with the 'madchester' thing and the club scene...an I wouldn't have wanted to spend my 'passing into adult hood years' in any other city in the world

Defo not the same these days Glad I was born when I was.

 

[Jiglo]

I started going to Manchester when I was in my teens and I used to get a buzz out of the place. We would mainly go on a Saturday and mess around in the Arndale, then go exploring looking around for off beat shops.

We always finished up in the second hand book store (just off from the Arndale) and bought an porn mag.

The only time I get that kind of buzz now, is cities like New York & Vancouver (I love the vibe of these places), although even small cities like Palma and Bologna have a bit of a buzz. I've spent too long in London now to get the same kind of buzz - but it's still got a lot of energy about it

 

[sirius]

I used to love the excitement of going to manny, afleks, skateboarding the BBC kurbs at the Amstrad building, funky shops, record shops on almost every street! Mad quirky places, the arndale, even that had a record shop at the bottom of the escalators and sold them Tshirts like "PG TRIPS" and "Kick-It" that I always thought were well cool, but they only ever did XL size and they used to swamp me at that age.

Nowadays, I still have some excitement, but I thank fuck I dont live there and after a few hours I cant wait to get away from the crowds, unfamiliar faces, noise, goths and lefti student freaks that lurk everywhere LOL. Get me the hell away.

Now I like going so I feel better when I get home , and considering where that is, thats saying something :| .

I suppose you loose that edge of 'new experience' and 'open eyes' of it all and it kinda takes the shine off it when you get used to it.

Last time I went to Manc, I almost got lost, and thats difficult for me cos I have a great photographic memory and sense of direction, I can find shops and streets I havent been down into for 10 years straight away.....but the change was that much, with all the new buildings there now and pedestrianisation and blocking off of the old entrances to the center at the bottom end I found it quite disheartening last time, most of the shops I liked had closed, the ones that were there were really crappy stock, and the quirky places had pretty much all gone (the colloseum, the one that was the other end of the Eastern Block row etc), HMV has been revamped and the stock is just 35 copies of the same thing in the slots, its busier and more hectic than ever, parkings even more a nightmare than I remember it.

Ah well, its still Okay, but the once 'WOW' factor in comparison to my home town is pretty much gone. They can keep it.


Sirius.

 

[T.C]

I first went back in the early 90's and have to say I loved it from the start. Walking into the Hacienda and Boardwalk for the 1st time blew my mind

Dont get to go very often but would always be up for a trip up there, think its a great city, but maybe thats easy for an occasional visitor to say, suppose evryone gets bored of their home town from time to time.

Last time I was up there was a few years ago , went up a day early before flying from the airport, so I could go out there the night before . Think I ended up In Courtneys if I remember rightly.

Quite fancy another night up there soon , think I'm overdue for one

 

[Northern Star]

Yeh i remember getting the train from mill hill to manc victoria station every wk end!

i 1st started goin around 1987. i followed shaun ryder round one day for a good couple of hrs just to see what he was up to...(shopping for trainers) was the agenda for him that day i think

and i also remember seeing a lass in monroes with a pair of white t bar kicker shoes and i really wanted a pair badly....so much so, i jumped on the train to manchester, spent the whole day looking for them, never found them eventually found some in the local shop in town lol

i used to stock up on my dewberry oil too

them were the days...mooching in aflecks and eastern block hehhe its not the same now.....doesnt have the same vibe

 

[blue jammer]

them were the days...mooching in aflecks and eastern block hehhe its not the same now.....doesnt have the same vibe

Eastern Bloc was better when it was in Aflecks Arcade, I was amazed the first time I went in at how much vinyl they had in there!

It lost its feeling and became a very cold, metalic place when it moved to where it is now :S

Spin Inn was always my fave shop, I'd spend most of every Saturday in there

Vinyl Exchange still has the same feel to it though, so that's something I reckon, but was in Aflecks last week and it is just full of goths nowadays :|

 

[Northern Star]

Eastern Bloc was better when it was in Aflecks Arcade, I was amazed the first time I went in at how much vinyl they had in there!

It lost its feeling and became a very cold, metalic place when it moved to where it is now :S

Spin Inn was always my fave shop, I'd spend most of every Saturday in there

Vinyl Exchange still has the same feel to it though, so that's something I reckon, but was in Aflecks last week and it is just full of goths nowadays :|

Lol BJ ur dead right there...twas far better then...and ur spot on about the Goth thing.........so much so im getting a T Shirt printed up saying 'CHEER UP GOTH' they are all over the place.....mind u having said that.......spose its only the same as us lot walking round in 1989 with 26 inch bell bottoms and psychadelic tie dye tops

 

['Shabba']

I love Manchester, we always came here as teenagers shopping, concerts at the academy and generally hanging about, then came here on nights out when i got a bit older and then moved here last year. There's something special about this place and all its history, i'm really glad that my son will grow up here cos i think it'll give him many many more opportunities than the little town where i grew up.

 

[Jiglo]

Lol BJ ur dead right there...twas far better then...and ur spot on about the Goth thing.........so much so im getting a T Shirt printed up saying 'CHEER UP GOTH'

What a brilliant idea!