Whilst Manchester has many musical claims to fame, when we think about the city’s fabled songwriting history we rarely reflect on how its gangsters served as an inspiration.
But according to local lore, a group of particularly well-heeled crime bosses kicking about from the 60s to the 80s had quite the impact on rock band Thin Lizzy, most particularly on its singer, songwriter and bassist Philip Parris Lynott.
As a kid Lynott lived in Ireland with his grandparents, but spent his summers visiting his mum Philomena in Manchester. It was here that he would end up writing a songs about the people he came across at her after-hours club Showbiz, aka the Clifton Grange Hotel in Whalley Range.
Said to have rarely opened before 2am, Showbiz, or ‘The Biz’, was a popular haunt of famous faces including Man United player George Best, singer Helen Shapiro and TV presenters Michael Parkinson and Bob Greaves.
Still, faced with all this material, it was the members of Manchester’s notorious Quality Street Gang that inspired Lynott to write the Thin Lizzy anthem The Boys Are Back In Town.
At the time, Thin Lizzy were in debt and at risk of being dropped by their label, Phonogram, if they didn’t pull through with a big hit on Jailbreak. Before long, they would end up breaking America with a song inspired by a group of spruce Mancunian mobsters
Friday night they’ll be dressed to kill Down at Dino’s Bar’n’Grill The drink will flow and blood will spill And if the boys wanna fight, you better let ’em
– The boys are back in town, Thin Lizzy
One summer at his mother’s club, watching the well-dressed mob reappear following a trip to Italy, Lynott reportedly uttered the famous words as they made their entrance, and an anthem was born.
But who were the Quality Street Gang?
A close-knit group of ex-fighters and safe blowers, fraudsters and car dealers, scrap merchants, conmen and armed robbers, they were, by all accounts, part of the furniture of Manchester’s clubland.
Most of the men came from Ancoats and whilst it’s not clear that all of them were involved in crime, many were known for having brutal fights.
They also had money to burn and lived the high life, buying suits from the finest tailors and frequenting trendy venues like The Cabaret Club and Deno’s.
Deno’s, referenced in the lyric ‘down at Dino’s Bar and Grill’, was notorious for its strict dress code, with its namesake Mr Denos Kitromilides famously banning Mick Jagger from the club for being too scruffy.
Evidently a penchant for the dapper side of life in clubland was key, and in time it earned the Quality Street group their brilliant nickname.
So the story goes, it was inspired by a popular TV advert that showed a group of suited and booted bank robbers pulling off a heist in fedoras, a box of chocolates in hand.
Jimmy the Weed for greed was taken aback Johnny the Fox you old sly cat Cleverly the Fox concealed his stash Crisp dollar bills leave no tracks
– Johnny the fox meets immy the weed, Thin Lizzy
There are numerous reports of people calling out “It’s the Quality Street Gang” as they walked into various bars and nightclubs. The name simply stuck.
One member, Jimmy ‘The Weed’ Donnelly, was a fierce fighter and had a reputation for ruthlessly beating up doormen, hard men and boxers, in spite of his diminutive 5 foot 4 stature.
Jimmy ‘The Weed’ Donnelly holding the gold disc he was presented in 1977 for the Thin Lizzy album Johnny The Fox / Image: Quality Street Gang Manchester Facebook
Jimmy ‘The Weed’ Donnelly at Eric Mason. / Image: Quality Street Gang Manchester Facebook
So named because he had a habit of growing on you, his name also features on Thin Lizzy’s next album Johnny The Fox, appearing on its ninth track Johnny The Fox meets Jimmy The Weed.
Review | Snow Patrol roll back the years at Co-op Live for a mini-Manc’s first gig
Danny Jones
This weekend we enjoyed a new kind of live music experience: rediscovering the joy of listening to a childhood favourite by watching it through the eyes of the next generation – that was how we witnessed a fully-fledged arena return to Manchester for Snow Patrol at Co-op Live.
And it was special for lots of reasons.
Taking a little one to their first gig is something you’ll never forget and sharing a new-found connection with a band that you loved when you were their age is one of those magical things about music that we’re eternally grateful for.
You might assume the Snow Patrol crowd one skews a little older for the most part but we were pleased to see there were more than a few kids and teenagers donning tour tees, looking wide-eyed at the sheer size of the Co-op Live arena, and singing the words back better than Gary Lightbody at times.
Sees the sign: ‘Race you there!’ (Credit: Audio North)
Yes, the Belfast-born frontman made a few mistakes on the night, but it did add a rather laid-back quality to what many acts might have found a daunting performance: playing a sell-out night to around 23,500 fans inside the enormous state-of-the-art venue.
But, obviously, there wasn’t even a whiff of nerves from these lads.
You don’t get to have been around for this long and become as successful as they are without being able to relax on stage and lean into those idiosyncratic perfections that feel more like private moments shared between the artist and the crowd.
The young lad sat watching it with us certainly got a kick out of it and though we might not have been able to cover his ears in time to censor some light but ever-charming swear words (it always sounds better in Irish, don’t you think?), it made for some nice banter between him and the crowd.
Big props must go to Johnny McDaid on the keys too, who besides having written for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Biffy Clyro and countless others over the years, also managed to impress by playing the majority of this entire tour after having trapped his hand in a train door. OUCH.
Credit: The Manc Group
Not only was that little interlude up there with one of the most applause-worthy parts of the entire show, but we were always pretty blown away by what we saw, as we all as what we heard.
Be it watching a digital tree come to life, shed its leaves and then fall as petal confetti, two sheer semi-opaque paper-thin screens swirl to create the album cover art for their latest album, or kicking the gig off with ‘Take Back The City’ as a multicoloured skyline appeared behind them, it was all pretty incredible.
We even got to hear a personal favourite of ours, ‘Set Fire To The Third Bar’, complete with a virtual performance from the voice that truly makes the song: Martha Wainwright.
It was in moments like this when we turned to see a 10-year-old’s face not quite sure of what it was seeing but an open-mouthed expression confirming they were finding it as stunning as we were.
We thoroughly enjoyed going through the back catalogue and working our way right up to plenty of the songs from The Forest Is The Path – which Gary himself firmly believes is their best work yet when we interviewed him – but it was as visually stunning as it was to the gorgeous sonically.
Both proved to be a brilliant way to see the contemporary rock, indie and alternative veterans, but there’s something about giving them a stage as big as this that reminds you of just how much they deserve it.
Up there with one of the prettiest gig snapshots in our memory.Not quite a hologram but very cool nonetheless.The production levels are always top-tier at Co-op Live but the Snow Patrol set was much more impressive than we expected.
Last but not least, thanks to Co-op Live not just for having but for creating a little boy’s memory that he’ll never forget.
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Georgina Pellant -
17th August 2022 
