I used to belong to the rock climbing group there back in the late sixties. Often went to the folk nights on the second floor. Once I saw Henry (Red) Allen in the jazz cellar. They were supposed to have been getting Louis Armstrong at that time but for some reason he cancelled at the last minute.Still it was a great night.

Ken Smithson

My group, the Big City Blues backed Jack Dupree there. I had gotten hold of an alto sax, in addition to my tenor and was trying to get to play both of them like Roland Kirk.

I really had not got it down too well. My brother was in the audience that night and I thought "sod it' I'm gonna try and do em' both on a tune. It worked! He was quite impressed as I recall.

Also the Edgar Broughton band (as yet not that well known) were in the club, and insisted on backing Jack on a set .. they were monstrously loud, way over the top. Poor Jack!

Good article on Big City Blues band backing Champion Jack Dupree - click here

David Bowker

I remember the MSG with great affection. Me and my mates used to attend the folk nites mostly, it was there where we first saw Mike Harding, we all thought he was much funnier than any of the comedians of that period. He also sang some great folk tunes, *Jimmy Spoons* and *Lanchashire Lads* to name but a few.

The MSG run by a man who anwered to the name of Jenks, I never did know his proper name. He was responsible for just about everything. He made you a member, took money on the door, looked after the bars and he was the man you saw if you ever wanted to use the table tennis room for private games.

We all loved that place, how sad when it closed down.
Happy days.

Dave Milner. Denton

A great buzz at the MSG. As you made a way upstairs towards the folk you would catch a glimpse of jazzmen (and women maybe?) doing their hectic thing downstairs.

A dynamic friendly environment was my perception - this was my schoolboy/pre-student notion. Though into the blues I was a bit nervy of the Twisted Wheel unfortunately, as friends turned towards all-nighters and associated paraphernalia.

Hitched a ride from Liverpool, show off driver crashing onto the central reservation of the East Lancs part-way back but made it to see lovely Buffy St Marie, beautiful young thing in a little red dress.(or was that her LP cover?). There were Robin and Barry Dronsfield who would often host singers nights , other names escape me.

It was a sad day when the MSG closed, a great loss in it's cross-cultural/musical way. The building stayed up for years afterwards, offering a glimmer of hope.

Nice company too.

Roger Baker
10/1/09

I made my first appearance as a guest star at the jazz club that Bruce Mitchell ran in the basement of the MSG for a short time.  This was also my last appearance as a guest star - anywhere.  Bruce had put an ad in the Jazz Column of the Evening News that read 'The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Pete Crooks'.  The only incredible thing was that I could play the melody line of about six tunes and that was it, my total repertoire.  I was backed by a rhythm section of Frank Toms on piano, Mike Quellin on bass and Bruce himself on drums.  I'd never met Frank or Mike before, let alone played with them and it wasn't love at first sight. 

I counted the first tune in and Frank brought it in at double tempo leaving me struggling to keep up.  I don't remember much else about our playing but I think that it went downhill from there.  I do remember that there was a bunch of blokes in the front row who must have been hard up because they were sharing one hand rolled cigarette between them.

Amazingly nobody booed or heckled; perhaps the audience thought that it was very avant garde or perhaps it was due to those hand rolled cigarettes. Bruce, ever the gentleman, paid me at the end of the evening and that night I rode home in a taxi.

At this point I'm supposed to say 'those were the days' but that's one gig that I'd prefer not to do again. On the other hand, I've seen some great people and some great bands at the MSG and those really were the days. 
I later played with with Mike Quellin in a band called 'The Denis Range Seven' which had some great arrangements.  Mike distinguished himself by putting the bass parts for those great arrangements on the roof of the drummer's van whilst he loaded his bass.  Yes, you've guessed it.  He forgot all about the bass parts and left a trail of music from Whaley Bridge all the way to Stockport.  We should have made him go and pick it all up.

Pete Crooks
5/9/09

I remember going to "The Pendulum " at MSG which was a Northern Soul night on a Friday. the Dj was Dave White and the night had re-located from a pub on Hardman Street.

Les Whyatt
16/1/10

I have very happy memories of the MSG. My father introduced the club to me as he was a sales rep for a brewery and knew "Jenks" very well.

My happiest memory was when I was taken there for my 21st in April 1965 to see Earl Hines perform.  It was truly magical.  Both my mother and father were there and some friends and it really made my birthday special, although it was not on the actual day.

I spent many happy hours in that wonderful smoky atmosphere doing the specially "stomp" dance to trad jazz.  Oh happy days.

Laraine Fryers
9/3/10

Jenks was a father figure to all budding jazzmen. He wrote a great article in Jazz Journal in the early sixties after he moved to Cheltenham.

I remember he and John Orr as being helpful particularily at The Sportsman on Market Street.

Malc Roylance
27/8/10