Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, which was open from 1986 to 1999. This medium-sized club, owned by David, Colin and Donald Sinclair, was a popular live music venue and nightclub in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It had multiple floors, with a rehearsal space in the basement.
Colin Sinclair and his father bought the Boardwalk building, located on Little Peter Street, in 1985. Originally a school operated by St. Peter's church, the building's top floor had been used as a rehearsal space for the Hallé Orchestra under
John Barbirolli
Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 1943 ...
, and, from the 1970s, as a home for an alternative theatre company, the Green Room (which later moved to Whitworth St West) . The first live event at the Boardwalk took place 15 December 1985, although at the time the venue had no alcohol licence.
Along with other clubs like the Haçienda, and the
International
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
, the Boardwalk provided an important live venue for many bands, from local to national. Sue Langford organised in-house bookings at the Boardwalk, with various independent promoters also hosting shows at the venue (including
Simon Moran
Simon James Moran is a concert promoter in the United Kingdom, managing director of SJM Concerts, director of the Academy Music Group of venues and owner of the Warrington Wolves Rugby League team.
He is in charge of major London venues inclu ...
). Bands such as
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment and
Northside
Northside or North Side may refer to:
Music
* Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, EngIand
* NorthSide, an American record label
* NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark
* "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vince ...
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up consisted of brothers Shaun Ryder (vocals) and Paul Ryder (bass), Gaz Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry la ...
, Female Brothers and Dub Sex, were amongst the many Manchester bands that appeared frequently at the Boardwalk before acquiring international recognition or disappearing into obscurity. The venue also saw a variety of other acts including
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...
,
Hole
A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...
,
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
,
Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba () was a British anarcho-punk band who formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnes ...
,
Jayne County
Jayne County (born Wayne Rogers) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, record producer, and visual artist whose career has spanned six decades. Under the name Wayne County (inspired by Wayne County, Michigan), she was the vocalist of infl ...
,
Verve
Verve may refer to:
Music
* The Verve, an English rock band
* '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve
* ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album)
* Verve Records, an American jazz record label
Businesses
* Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...
,
Bob Mould
Robert Arthur Mould (born October 16, 1960) is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar (American band), Sugar in the 1990s.
Early ...
and
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...
. The venue was also known as a focus of Britain's
C86
''C86'' is a Audio cassette, cassette compilation released by the British music magazine ''NME'' in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, ''C86'' quickly evolved into shorthand for a g ...
music scene.
The basement of the venue served as a rehearsal space.
The Membranes
The Membranes are an English post-punk band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire in 1977, the initial line-up being John Robb (bass guitar), Mark Tilton (guitar), Martyn Critchley (vocals) and Martin Kelly (drums).Larkin, Colin: ''The Guinness W ...
,
James
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince Ja ...
,
Simply Red
Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...
, and
A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio (abbreviated as ACR) are an English post-punk band formed in Greater Manchester in 1977 by Peter Terrell (guitar), Simon Topping (vocals, trumpet), Jez Kerr (bass guitar, vocals), Martin Moscrop (trumpet, guitar) and Donald Johns ...
were among the acts who took rehearsal space at the Boardwalk in the 1980s. In the early 1990s,
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentHaçienda DJ
Dave Haslam
Dave Haslam is a British writer, broadcaster and DJ who DJed over 450 times at the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester and has since DJed worldwide. He has written for the ''New Musical Express'', ''The Guardian'', the ''London Review of Books' ...
alongside guest DJs including
Erick Morillo
Erick Morillo (March 26, 1971 – September 1, 2020) was a Colombian-American disc jockey, music producer, and record label owner. Having produced under a number of pseudonyms, including Ministers de la Funk, the Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, RBM, ...
, Pete Heller, Nick Warren and
Pete Tong
Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
. From March 1992 until March 1999 a second club night, 'Yellow' was staged every Friday at the Boardwalk. Funkademia was started by DJ and promoter David Payne at The Boardwalk in 1995 and has since gone on to be Manchester's longest running club night, currently at the Mint Lounge.
The nightclub site now has a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
, featuring a smiley face, a symbol associated with
acid house
Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...
. Beneath the symbol is a description of The Boardwalk as a "
Madchester
Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that emerged in the English city of Manchester during the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance movement. Indie dance (also referred to as indie rave) blended indie rock with elements o ...