This is Hulme Labour Club where I spent a lot of my time in the late 1970s into the 1980s, and it is in way of an introduction to a new short series on Radio 4, which focuses on the story of the Working Man's Club.*
 |
| Hulme Labour Club, 1971 |
"Pete Brown is a convivial guide on this journey through the intoxicating history of working men’s clubs.
From the movement’s founding by teetotal social reformer the Reverend Henry Solly to the booze-soaked mid-century heyday, when more than 7 million Brits were members, this warm-hearted and entertaining book reveals how and why the clubs became the cornerstone of Britain’s social life – offering much more than cheap Federation Bitter and chicken in a basket.
Often dismissed as relics of a bygone age, Pete reminds us that long before the days of Phoenix Nights, 3,000-seat venues routinely played host to stars like Shirley Bassey, Louis Armstrong and the Bee Gees, offering entertainment for all the family, and close to home at that. Britain’s best-known comedians made reputations through a thick miasma of smoke, from Slough to Skegness.
.jpeg) |
| Crumpsall Labour Club, 1995 |
The book explores the clubs’ role in defining community and class identity for generations of men, and eventually women, in Britain’s industrial towns. They were, at their best, a vehicle for social mobility and self-improvement, run as cooperatives for working people by working people - an informal, community-owned pre-cursor to the welfare state.
Written and Read by Pete Brown
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Jill Waters
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4"
Picture; Hulme, Bonsall Street, Labour Club, H Milligan, 1971, m25540, Crumpsall Labour Club, M. Luft, 1995, m68241, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass
*Clubland, Radio 4, available for the next five weeks, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001gx6p
I had the life-affirming experience of working as a waiter at Hulme Labour Club one summer in the early 70's before going away to be a dirty orrible student. We had lovely maroon jackets made of finest nylon, and by the end of the evening the flares of my jeans would be totally soaked in beer halfway up to my knees from surfing through all the spillage near the bar. Beer was 12 or 14p a pint, and I struggled to note down the unfamiliar concoctions that the senior ladies would consume. My eyes are still smarting from the smoke, and singers night was definitely a sight for sore ears.
ReplyDelete