I have a November 2024 PS to this blog (see below at the end of this blog). I just received an email (added below) from Ade Fellows (who I didn’t remember – as is sadly the case for many given its nearly 40 years ago! ). As it turns out Ade lived in Hulme at the same time as me. In fact he lived in a flat pretty much below mine in William Kent Crescent with co-flatmates who included Lemn Sissay and Patrick Vernon. He kindly have me permission to add that email here — I think it adds to the story.
Some memories of my time living in the Crescents, Hulme, Manchester in the mid 1980s – dedicated to the memory of Jamie Nicholson.
A few weeks ago, I heard that an old friend from my days in Manchester had died. Jamie Nicholson was one of the unsung heroes of the Manchester music scene of the mid/late 1980s and was responsible for setting up the Kitchen Studio in Charles Barry Crescent that later become the “club” that helped spawn acid house music.
To pay my respect to Jamie , I thought I would try and record some stories and recollections of my time in Hulme that may be of interest – and there are many – and some involve Jamie.
Perhaps I’ll start with the graffiti that that was daubed on the wall at the top of the stair well next to our flat in William Kent Crescent. It read “you are now at the top, of the very bottom”! Kind of said it all. From the outside Hulme looked a dangerous and unfriendly place. My parents were shocked that I lived there and recall their concerned reaction after seeing a Guardian article with a headline, “people in the UK are living in places like this” next to a picture of William Kent Crescent and my flat!”
I think on first sight it was stark, but once I got over that more knee jerk reaction to the bleak concrete visage, I found Hulme to be one of the most communal, collective, supportive, creative and enjoyable places I ever lived.
I left Cardiff in 1981 first to go and study at Manchester University where I graduated in 1985 and, later to work as a Technical Author at Ferranti Computer Systems in Wythenshawe until I left 1987. I actually wrote some of the maintenance manuals for the computer systems at the Torness Nuclear Power station!
What many people probably don’t know, is that from 1984-87 I lived in Hulme, and often visited after 1987 until the early 1990s, given I had so many friends there. It’s also a little sad to note that I lost contact with many of the people I knew at the time, including Jamie, and most I haven’t seen since.
Whilst in Hulme, I was not by a long shot, part of the trendy crowd that did so much to create the now famous history of music in Manchester around the Hacienda, Factory Records and the Kitchen. I was in the crowd, linked by association; an observer to a unique piece of the UKs socio-urban and music history. I was really a “wet behind the ears”, fish out of water, dragged along in the cultural tide of activity that marked this moment and place forever in Manchester’s history.
From 1984-85 I lived at Scarth walk adjacent to Princess Parkway, just as I was completing my Physics degree. I shared with Ann and Marie (sorry, who I haven’t seen since about 1987!) and populated my room with second hand gear from the local Salvation Army hostel. It was from my top floor room on Scarth walk in 1985 I saw a white van pull up and 4 masked men get out with baseball bats who then attacked a local dealer (and police informer) and his protective Dobermans. Yes, there was a dark side that I tried to avoid.
In Summer 1985 I moved my stuff with EJs help, from Scarth Walk, using a skateboard to the top floor of William Kent Crescent, no 523, where I stayed until I left Manchester in mid-1987. I still have half the chopping board I took with me when I left! That flat had a constant turnover of residents who all became friends at that time: Jem, Barbara, Helen, Alex, Francis, Olivia, and others associated with the flat who will all, I am sure have their own stories to tell. It wasn’t a glamourous flat; one room was left pretty much unused as there were so many pigeons living on the balcony; the damp on the wall of the lounge also encouraged the growth of some interesting fungus that become a visitor attraction! However, given the concrete build of the crescents there were far fewer cockroach issue than in the wooden structures like my previous flat at Scarth walk. But 523 William Kent Crescent was my home for over two years.
Figure 1 Aerial view of the Hulme Crescents (William Kent Crescent bottom left)
Figure 2 Image of William Kent Crescent (my flat top left!)
Figure 3 Image of William Kent Crescent (my flat just out of view top right)
I first met Jamie on the Physics undergraduate course in 1982 – I had done a previous year studying Civil Engineering, but like all good Barry’s changed course at the end of the first year! along with other Physics undergrads who also ended up in Hulme like EJ, Raz, Chris (as well as many other ex-students like Cathy, Nicky, Brian, Baz, Sean, Pete, Donks, Mandy, Serena, Dave, Steve, Del, Hugo, Danny, etc – PS I am adding names here as I remember them! ) who became part of the Hulme community. Jamie seldom attended his lectures at the Schuster laboratory, save to confirm what options he had taken back at the start of term, and the end of term exams – which he always scrapped through. By the time I was living in Hulme from mid 1984, Jamie had almost completely disengaged from academia and was planning his recording studio. As a testament of his academic approach – he actually wrote up an experiment to measure the speed of light in Old English! I think I still have his old lab book with that in it!
I think it was in 1985 that he finally set up his studio in Charles Barry Crescent. EJ and I helped in the margins move some kit into the flat on the top floor. He gave me a “Kitchen Studio Gift voucher” as thanks. EJ and I actually recorded something in the studio (EJ was a good bass player and me a poor guitarist and even worse songwriter and singer!).
Figure 4 My Kitchen Studio recording voucher from Jamie
That whole process was not easy for Jamie. Aside from the physical effort of jack hammering holes in concrete walls, there was a rival studio whose owner menaced him on occasion. That person actually punched me in the face at the White Horse one evening as I was standing up for Jamie in some form of ongoing altercation. Nonetheless, the studio landed, and he recorded many local artists and new bands in the Kitchen. These included I am pretty sure The Durutti Column, Pete Shelley, Dub Sex and Frank Sidebottom, amongst many others.
I think having his studio constantly burgled helped accelerate its transformation into the night club. I struggle to remember exactly when, but this was probably just as I was leaving Manchester some time in 1987. The whole Kitchen story has been set down in some form by many better than I could… this is a good flashback!
Jamie was a mate and we often with our wider group of friends would frequent one of the many local pubs or gather in a flat for a smoke. He even hosted a fondu night in his flat one evening. Can’t believe that is now 40 years ago!
I think it’s true to say, whilst I enjoyed my time in Hulme, there was always an underlying menace. I had a knife pulled on me once and there were plenty of examples of violence – often linked to drugs.
On that latter, its also true that the whole culture of Hulme was linked to recreational drugs – and certainly by the late 1980s and via the Hacienda, The Kitchen, to ecstasy and acid house music. When I lived in Hulme, I’d often go The Spinners to score some cannabis (1/8th or 1/4); and speed, acid, or a trip to Lyme Park to gather magic mushrooms were always options. I dabbled with all of those. Later in my time in Hulme, MDMA (what becomes ecstasy) was also added to the portfolio. Generally, I stuck to weed as many did. By late 1985 I was working full time as a technical author at Ferranti after all!. Another common social activity on the estate, was that most evenings, after a beer and a few smokes many people used to collect in the early hours, at Salmon taxis to buy their spicey chicken to abate the munchies.
There was also a darker link to Heroin (which I never dabbled with) which did generate crime/theft to feed the habits of local addicts. Flats were often burgled to feed it. I recall one night in the White Horse someone came in to say that the flat of one of our “pool playing crowd” had been burgled. Rather than call the police (who kept out of Hulme most of the time), a posse was formed that went to flat of the perpetrators to retrieve the stolen goods. Which we did! This was normal!
There were some infamous pubs in Hulme. I mentioned The Spinners above – but you can add The White Horse (my ex Scarth walk neighbour Hamrick was one of the bar staff there, he was also a software engineer at Ferranti), The Eagle, The Junction (one might be lucky enough on occasion to see the Grumbleweeds having a drink in there….the Hulme Hippodrome was just around the corner!), The Grants, The Henry Royce (that kept an over-confident Doberman on its roof – and I will never forget the day it fell off! ) and my favourite The Iron Duke. That pub was frequented by the older local Irish community and the West Indian community. It was known for its pool competitions to the sound of Irish music and dub/reggae. I become part of this multicultural gang and ended up on occasion actually organising the pool competitions in the Iron Duke (Pete, Sean, Stephen, etc will remember). On my last night in Manchester before moving to London in 1987, the barman, Hopton arranged a lock-in and gave me a bottle of rum as a leaving gift. No pub since has come close in terms of community!
Figure 5 The Iron Duke, Hulme
Figure 6 The White Horse, Hulme
You can’t talk about Hulme without talking about music – and it wasn’t just Jamie’s Kitchen. The PSV club was on the estate, which from the mid 1970s provided the foundation for the Manchester music scene and bands like The Buzzcocks, Joy Division, and the fertile ground for the seeds of Factory records that would by 1982 put down roots at the Hacienda a mile or so away.
Going to see bands was a regular occurrence for Hulme residents; either the PSV, Hacienda, The Boardwalk or further afield at the International or the Apollo amongst others. I can’t really remember how many gigs we went to, or who we saw to be honest.
Apart from local bands like New Order, The Smiths, A Certain Ratio, Simply Red, Stone Roses, James, The Fall, etc, international acts also passed through. Gil Scott Heron at the Hacienda still stands out as one of the best I have attended. Then add REM, Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul (ref Bruce Springsteen & The E street band) and even Madonna. I stood out that day for deciding not to go the Hacienda that evening to see her first UK gig and stayed in the White Horse to play pool instead. Maybe the best new music gig was that of the Bhundu Boys from Zimbabwe who played the Hacienda and after one gig some up them ended up in Hulme with us.
In fact, it was the Hacienda, which struggled for crowds in its early years, and its various DJs that provided the foundation for acid house via its more popular “Nude Night”, inspired by the House music coming out of Chicago. It was this acid house scene that later would co-locate in/around Jamies Kitchen nightclub in the late 1980s….! I was by then living in London so only went to the Kitchen Club a few times on trips back to Manchester. It was quite a place and very Hulme! Not sure it could happen now!
I was never comfortable on the dance floor (I was even a dad dancer in my 20s) but often went along to the Hacienda in the period before I left Manchester in 1987 – and again when I visited in the years that followed. I had been a member of the Hacienda since 1982; my first gig there was to see John Cooper Clark (famous for his Beezley street poem and a series of rather surreal sugar puffs TV advertisements!). Another early gig I attended was to see The Thompson Twins supported by the little know (at the time) Tears for Fears. I saw many bands there in the years that followed and probably popped in every few weeks, especially in my latter years in Manchester.
Photographs of The Hacienda, Manchester, 1986 (Pre-Acid House) (britishculturearchive.co.uk)
Remembering Hulme: Manchester’s Scruffy Squat Party Republic (vice.com)
Figure 7 some of my Hulme and Manchester memories
Art and graffiti were also a signature of Hulme. Whilst I was there, the most innovative intervention was I think, the arrival of the Penguins. The estate was covered in many traffic bollards ( about 0.5M high); we woke one morning to find someone has used black and white paint to turn them all into penguins! Long after I moved to London, the work of Kelzo left its mark on the city (from the early 1990s) New Artwork – kELzO – Manchester Graffiti Artist, Uk. and is still doing so today.
Another unforgettable and notable event for me (and one of my flat mates at the time – Francis – who I also haven’t seen since the late 1980s) was the fire in the flat next door to 523 William Kent Crescent and how the pair of us managed to save its resident from certain death. I still have the letter from the Fire Chief of Greater Manchester thanking us for our actions in saving a man’s life. The truth is there was some luck involved.
In short, our neighbour had managed to set his flat alight, and trapped himself on his 6th floor balcony, his flat had turned into an inferno (many did as they were concrete) and he was being burnt alive with no means of escape. We were on our balcony a floor below and next door, and urged him to jump – meaning we had to catch him before he fell to his death! He jumped, we caught him, he fell unconscious with 60% burns and was taken to a local hospital. He came back a few months later after he recovered to thank us for saving his life.
In fact, the only reason we could act was that I, having noticed the police and fire service arriving at the front of out flat (via the 6th floor walkway), had gone back into our flat to retrieve our weed (we were pretty stoned!) and in so doing had heard our neighbour screaming for help from the rear of our flat!
There are many more stories I have forgotten or haven’t covered (so “falling white goods”, Viraj Mendis and his “stay” at the Church of the Ascension, reversing electric meters, my car theft, the man living in the lift, the man who left his foot on the floor, etc). Maybe others can recollect?
Finally, my respects to Jamie, he left a mark and created memories; RIP – a gentle soul and a good man – and my condolences to his close friends and family.
PS – November 2024 email from Ade Fellows
Hi Mark
My friend Alan sent me your blog about Hulme after watching the film about Factory records. It brought back so many memories.
I lived just underneath you at 326 William Kent crescent from September 1983 to July 1987. I was away Travelling when my A levels results came out and got into Manchester Poly very late. Had nowhere to live but my brother used to live in the crescents when he was studying and asked a mate to put me up for a couple of weeks till I found somewhere. I was a village kid from Wolverhampton and had seen nothing like Hulme.
I absolutely loved the place and your article brought back so many memories which I had forgotten because I lost touch with everybody. Thank you for writing this and Wow some amazing memories. I must have know many from your time, I certainly knew Hamrick because he used to run the Saturday Hulme football tournament team that I played for and I was always in the White Horse and PSV and Blues parties around the crescents. You mentioned the electricity metres going backwards (did at our flat) and the police staying away.
I was in 326 William Kent crescent and we moved next door to 327 when we were threaten with eviction for not paying the rent. I thought it was the Stones roses being at 523, 524,525 or 526 because of all the graffiti and the noise of a band practising directly above and they used to practice there and I remember being keep awake – usually starting at midnight on a Sunday. I also remember the penguins suddenly appearing.
It Truely was a special, at rare times dangerous, place. My worse experience was being bitten by a dealers Alsatian dog, but I learned to be street wise there and in four years there that was all. Outside of Hulme everybody was terrified of the place but inside it was the most amazing subculture I have ever know. Full of locals and some very talented students.
Some of my flat mates like Patrick Vernon (lawyer working for Windrush generation elation) and Lemmy Sissay have both got MBEs for work connected to the Windrush generation and poetry of course. Lem is Manchester Uni chancellor. My best friend Glen Yearwood was a unique guitar singer song writer and He often played the White Horse and various local gigs. I used to help with the equipment and him and Lem Sissay would do gigs, one I remember in support of viraj Mendez, asylum seeker hiding in the church. Unfortunately he passed away in Covid times so many memories are lost which is why your memories have helped.
I have a few crappy photos so to reading the blog bought back some fantastic memories so thank you for that.
Below are about all I have from my time there. Inside 326 me on the left, with Ralph the dog, Lemmy and Daz. My old beetle from 1986 onwards outside William Kent and Glen playing in the White Horse.
Great piece. My experience was a little different, but this still brings back a lot of memories. I think the police informer with the dobermans was likely the notorious Paddy Isaacs, who lived below me on Otterburn. He survived the attack but left the district shortly afterwards, to nobody’s chagrin. The old Hulme played a significant part in so many people’s lives — not exactly happy days, perhaps, but always interesting ones. And, as you say, the sense of community was wonderful.
I used to play football for Hamrick’s football team (Phoenix) and still keep in touch with him. He was also in the news many moons back when a dart had been thrown and stuck in his head whilst he was attending a City match. Small world!
Brilliant read, thankyou so much for sharing
I also lived in willam kent cres for a couple of years, 84 to 85, plus I worked at the hacienda for a while ! Thx for the blog, it brought back lots of memories. Some great memories….and some not so good 🙂 cheers
Came across this article by accident I lived in Hulme 112 Robert Adam, 1982 thru to 84, while studying at Manchester poly. Fond memories and quite a story about the Hulme carnival in the summer of 83