Manchester Music Shops on Manchesterbeat - the group and music scene of Manchester in the 60s

	Music Shops Music shops were where we all hung out, looking at the gear, looking cool and .. occasionally buying the odd item. There were a number of notable shops -
A1 :: Barratts :: Godleys :: Highams :: Johnny Roadhouse :: Mamelok :: Mazel Radio :: Mayle and Harrison :: Renos :: Stock and Chapman :: Music Exchange :: Reynolds :: RSC :: Tony Savilles :: Nield and Hardy :: Forsyth :: Rhythm House :: Nield and Hardy :: Reynolds :: Guitar Player, Rochdale


Mayer and Harrison Jackson Street, HulmeNear the BBC studios (remember Pop North with Gaye Byrne and Bernard Herrman and the NDO), the shop and its location has long since disappeared due to redevelopment. Tony Lingard, however, well remembers the shop, having bought his first bass there. A Burns for 15 quid.

Burning the candle at three ends gigging around the London jazz scene 1959-1962 I returned with some reluctance to Manchester and spent almost one year hardly leaving the house gradually getting my head together. The first day job a got was working at Mayer and Harrison. What an establishment - Dickensian with brass might just about describe it - owned by the redoubtable Mr.Mayer. Brass was for him; brass instrument-wise and what made the ancient cash-register ring. He was I think, under the hard northern businessman persona, a kind man but business and profit was for him a very serious matter and his eye was always firmly fixed on what we would call during this current era - The Bottom Line. His small foibles included a single-bar electric fire to heat the entire shop. Recycling all string and brown paper. Paying very low wages. Regarding the concept of a lunch hour as a hopelessly modern conceit. The shop premises where in a very poor state of repair but were nevertheless a combination of museum and an almost buried treasure. There were room after room of brass band instruments in various stages of disrepair ready to be refurbished in the equally Dickensian workshop he owned just down the street from the shop. Really interesting for me where the many pitch-paper parcels tucked away in various corners. Strange brass instruments with multiple crooks and slides. Bugles with stops similar the one favoured by a member of the Alberts. There were dozens of these instrumental curiosities. I sometime wonder what happened to them. I freely admit the year I spent there was an education. It provided me with sharp exposure to the realities of business and the making of profit. Encounters with a very sober world referred to then as 'The Movement' that is the brass band world and something that I am sure has long ceased to exist in that manifestation. Superb musicians who earned their living in factories and mines. Portly gentlemen with a great sense of their own importance the members of sundry organising committees. After one year of doing my six days a week - with no lunch hour (it reminded me to some extent of my time in the RAF and the 'We can take it ' attitudes you would experience in the ranks) I succumbed during a particularly cold December - the one bar electric fire - to a very bad case of tonsillitis and thus ended my brief and I must admit interesting career in the employment of Mayer and Harrison. There is a sense in which the disappearance the shop and the very street in which it stood is a fitItng closure on a time and a world that seems ever more remote. Peter Maguire In 1965 Mayer and Harrison's gave me 50 pounds for a harmony 358 and sold me for an extra 20 pounds, a Gibson 330. I still have the guitar today, playing in Austalia - it's perfect and was the best deal I have ever made. I was sorry to hear Grahame from A.1 music had passed away, he was a great guy and I bought a lot of gear off him. Alan Roberts

Highams Harmony House
Shudehill

Manchesterbeat.com

A friend of mine worked there and talked me into buying a Fender Precision bass ( I was playing a Fender six string bass at the time ), but I didn't like it, it wasn't anywhere near as good as the Jazz bass I used to play so I took it back and asked for my money back, and believe it or not they gave it me back !

Butch Mepham

I remember Highams from about 1963, I bought a Hofner Verithin bass guitar, (my first bass), a lovely cherry red colour. It was £49 and my dad signed as guarantor and put down the deposit,(£5-12-6.)and I had to pay 12/6 a week for ever! I only earned £2-12-3 a week as an apprenticed electrician, and my mum had the 2 quid for my board. Happy days!

Chris Evans

Could the guy, Geoff Parkinson & possibly Butch Mepham, refer to, be Terry Morton? I'm sure he worked there around this period, He was also a member of The Paiges & later The Country Gentlemen & The Scorpions ?

Phil Roberts
7/1/11

Personally I could never work out the reason for the location of this shop. I worked at CWS around the corner and passed it almost every day (on the way to the chippie, that did 3/3d specials of pie and chips, tea and bread and butter) and it always seemed to be in the wrong place.

Did anyone ever buy there? I presume it must have been a popular place in the early sixties but it was way off the Oxford Road muso route.

Mal Thompson bought there - here's a copy of his HP agreement!

Memories

"Higham's was interesting, there was a guy worked there called Terry, who I still see around South Manchester. It's location was in the area where all the electronics suppliers, Globe Radio, and Newcross Supplies are the only two I can recall, and hi-fi shops, Godley's (owned by Kevin Godley's family) was also on Withy Grove. Hingham's auctioned off their remaining gear and closed in the early 70s.

In the same area there was a very tiny music shop, that I can't remember the name of, on a little street called Sugar Lane, now swallowed up by the Arndale! "

I have fond memories of Highams Music on Shudehill. My first ever job was repairing hairdryers at Pifco who had a warehouse/office opposite.

During the dinner hour we used to sit on the steps and the current guitarist of Johnny Martin and the Paiges (whose name escapes me) used to bring in his Colorama guitar and show off to us lesser mortals. He was very good at Buddy Holly style rhythm and lead and inspired me to stick at it.

I remember going over to Highams window to ogle at a Harmony bass (Ronnie Lane/Spencer Davis style) which I think was 45 guineas and way out of reach for a kid earning a measly £2.50 a week

Geoff Parkinson

My first guitar came from Highams (for 38 guineas). An anonymous (probably Japanese) twin pickup solid in red and white with tremelo. No maker's name on it except for a fancy letter 'Z'at the top of the neck. It's still in the back of the wardrobe!

Also ventured into Reno's some years later and ended up with a 'Ranger' 12-string acoustic. still got this also. I'm a hoarder!

Tom Bancroft

I remember Highams, although the only thing I recall buying there was a shaped hard guitar case at the auction when the shop closed. I had recently acquired a yellow sunburst Gibson 330 with the financial assistance of my uncle and to the annoyance of my wife and only had a plastic cover for it. I wonder what that guitar would be worth now had I kept it!

Bob Ainsworth
25/10/10

The Music Exchange

Situated on the corner of Oxford Road and Portland Street, the Music Exchange stocked sheet music for those muso's who could read.

Me? I can remember buying Tommy Quickly's "Walk the streets at night". Why? It was reduced.

Now situated in St. Peter's Square.

Wasn't there another in Boot's Arcade?

Tony Saville's

Tony Saville's shop was located round the corner from Oxford Street facing the side of the Midland Hotel - a later shop opened in the mid 70s. Terry Smith, an excellent electronics engineer previously with Barratt's, went to work for Tony.

I bought an AC30 Top and a 2X12 cab from there. Tony always did a great deal and would drag you into the shop to try some instrument he just bought in.

Sadly he was killed in a Go-carting accident and although Tony's wife tried to keep things going they had to close about a year later.

RSC

RSC may not have been the leaders in group gear but many aspiring muso's would have spent their hard earned cash at the shop on a small but acceptable range of mikes, amps, stands and leads.

Godleys

OK, it wasn't a music shop but it does have good links to the Manchester scene. The most obvious is that it was owned by the family of Kevin Godley of Mockingbirds, Hotlegs, 10cc and Godley-Creme.

Its also important as many musos would have bought their record decks and hi-fi's from there. Not a great reason but the pic is just so good and brings back many memories.

Nield and Hardy

There used to be a great musical instrument shop in Gortoncross Street off Hyde Road in Gorton Manchester.

It was called Nield and Hardys and sold loads of guitars, amplifiers, drums etc. It was a sad day when Gortoncross Street was knocked down. In fact the whole of Hyde Road shops from Clowes Street right up to Gortoncross Street were demolished and turned into a 'Green Belt'. What a waste!

Belle Vue also came down around the same time or just after, if my memory serves me well! Another disaster!

Leslie Kenneth Marsden

Neild and Hardy was originally on Underbank in Stockport. They had a major fire and had to move.

Tont Roberts

Forsyth Bros

I first went in the shop in the late 50's and incredibly very little has changed,.

This I was told was because the building is listed.

As I mentioned in a previous email I bought my gear from
Stock & Chapmans and Barratts.

John Hynes (Pete Maclaine & The Clan 1963-1964)

Rhythm House
Stockport

Anyone remember the "Rhythm House" Stockport?

Owned by Jack Anderson, (who had a big band resident at the mersey hotel for years), and managed by Graham King, a great drummer, who was resident at the Domino, and many other venues.

The original shop was near to the site of the Stockport air disaster of 1967, when 80 people died. The plane crashed just behind Strawberry Studios, on Waterloo Road, Middle Hillgate. The shop then moved accross the road, and remained there for many years.

When Jack Anderson retired, Graham Stuart bought the business, and did very well.

I remember Kevin Godley coming in one day whilst I was looking after the shop for Graham, and buying a crappy battery operated box, that made poxy drum type sounds, this was used for the intro on "rubber bullets".

Happy days!!! It was £7.50.

Rob Parkes
14/2/09

In the late 80s & early 90s, I think Eric Haydock had some kind of deal/input to the shop. A greating from Eric when you entered the premises was always an occasion, nowt to do with sales or busines. More important questions i.e. " Will you be partaking in the liquid this evening?"

Then occasional visits from Dodgy Bob Murdoch, from Yorshire, with exotic guitars, guest appearances from the eccentric Dixie Kidd from Yorkshire with proper Yorkshire accent, flogging all sorts of bits, amps, strings, straps, leads plectums. blackpuddings!!

I have more memories ...

Fuzz
6/2/10

I got ripped off by the Rhythm House in Stockport.

When I was a young lad of 16 in 1976 I bought a Fender Strat from them and was told that it was a 1958 model.

Since the invention of the internet I've found out that it was actually made in 1964. Doesn't bother me though, it's now worth a lot more than I paid for it all them years ago!!

2/8/10

Aha Rhythm House!!!,,,great shop..loved the drum cellar..always had in original kits ...luddy sparkels...remember seeing one of the early perspex kits in orange...i was always sent to the barbers over the road to get my hair cut by a Gerry Rafferty look alike...then popped over the road..before me dad picked me up...

Remember seeing The Smiths, Housemartins, Nnew Order....and others...god bless Strawberry...and Mr Hannett...I still have a Gordon Smith with the R'House sticker on the back of the Headstock!

Moogie
10/9/10

I had the absolute pleasure of working at the Rhythm House on and off around 89 - 92, great shop, crammed with characters, both customers and staff. Best job I ever had, working for Eric was a privilege, (by god he loved to hoover that place!)

I was sad to see the old shop go from the top of Hillgate when it moved down towards the brewery, The walk to the Red Bull after work was never the same! Eric eventually let me go one Saturday because I was late one too many times, one of many life lessons from Eric that have served me well ever since. One of my most valuable possessions is a guitar I bought from there at the time, not for the guitar itself, but the sticker on the back of the headstock.

Craig
14/10/10

Nield and Hardy
Stockport

Nield and Hardy's used to be on Gt.Underbank in Stockport.

It was managed by a guy called Geoff. He was a great organist, and used to do demo evenings at the shop.

There was an old cockney guy who worked there called Archie. He was absolutely lovely to us as kids, and never tired of us trying out gear we could obviously not afford !! We would spend most of Saturday there, and he was always great to us. I also remember a studio being opened on the third floor, and sat in as Mike Curtis and the Estelles recorded a session. I clearly remember them recording "Lucille", but can't remember the rest of it.

I had a 2 track reel of the session given to me, and had it for years..it got lost somewhere. I remember buying 2 sound city 100 watt amps and 2 4x12 cabs, plus 2 jap 335 copies on hp from there for my brother and me. They were on hp, and good old Archie signed "guarantor" for us !! imagine that nowadays !! After a serious fire (I think in the early 80's) they closed for good.

Archie will be long gone now, God bless him.

Rob Parkes
10/3/09

Guitar Player
Rochdale

The shop was owned by the Bird Brothers - Peter and his brother (I forget his name).Their real interest was in Bird Bros branded PAs and amps which they either made or had made for them. I seem to remember Peter telling me that they were trying to get into the cruise ship business for some reason.

I first met them when they owned a guitar shop in Oldham and bought my first "real" guitar from them, a 1969 Fender Telecaster Custom in black.I hated that guitar with a passion because it never sounded "right" somehow (Keith Richards would subsequently disagree with this view and cause the value of just such a guitar to rocket...).

When they opened "Guitar Player" in Rochdale in the 70s, it rapidly became a Mecca for all aspiring guitarists due to their policy of only stocking high end new and used American guitars - principally Gibson, Fender and Rickenbacker. Their shop window was a never ending education in both new and more importantly old and obscure models.

Since I knew them and had bought the Fender from them, I did a deal with Peter whereby in exchange for the Fender and Â£100, I could have the pick of any Gibson SG that arrived instore over the next few weeks.After 3 attempts I finally plumped for a 1971 SG Deluxe in Cherry Sunburst. I now shudder to think of the guitars that I turned down (1961 SG Junior for Â£150...)but I still have that guitar and, to those that know me, it's my signature instrument.

Thank you Bird Brothers, wherever you are!

Chris Farmer
Lead Guitarist of The Electric Blues Band 1982-1984
2/7/11

I just a bought 1978 Musicman Stingray 1 guitar which has a sticker on the back of the head saying it was sold by the "The Guitar Player in Rochdale".

I was going to take the sticker off as I had never heard of it but then came across your web site. I have a feeling the shop would have meant a lot to some people so the sticker stays on.

Graeme Mitchell
26/1/12


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