The Pop Inn (Platt Lane) March 2004
photos courtesy Graham Pilkington
Memories
As you went through the double doors on the ground floor for the first time you were met with what can only be described as..OMG as you scraped your jaw off the tiled floor. Lit by a couple of fluorescent tubes a wide staircase lay before you. The walls being covered with a floral type anaglyptic wall paper that was heavily painted….. PUCE. The effect being akin to that like the aftermath of a wine drinkers convention. Nobody owned up to the colour scheme.
Sometimes you paid your entrance at the bottom of the stairs… but mostly at the top. As you walked up the staircase to join the queue of eager dancers the strains of Motown, R&B and pop music filled your ears. The owners had just opened up another part of the ‘club’ – on the other side of the landing. In there were wooden seats for those who fancied a quiet chat – with the opposite sex. To the right a ‘light refreshment’ bar… and there .. in the far left hand corner ..perched about eight foot off the floor – a television…. Now THAT was cool. No other club in Manchester (that I was aware of) had such a thing… and just in time for the final episodes of The Fugitive (shown around 1969 in the UK).
Keep to the left… keep to the left… don’t stray off the musical path …into the main room … and the dancing.
The television room wasn’t the only ‘change’ the Pop Inn was to see between 1967 and (about) 1969. Once where there was just a ‘refreshment bar’ plonked on the back wall (over the entrance).. changes were made and raised seating area’s to the back corners were installed with a balustrade (alright… a wooden ornate rail) attached and walk-down to the dance floor. The refreshment area was brought forward and also began to sell coffee.. again no expense spared with the see through partition separating the ‘bar’ from the dance area… nice touch that.
The naked bottom half of the walls which encircled the many dancers were now covered in wood panelling… hey that was real luxury back in the 60’s…. and on the stage.
Mark Jonez was stood behind a wheeled market stall? (or something like that). This was moved nto the dance floor for some live acts.
As if that was enough, something happened in either early Spring or late Autumn at the Pop Inn that (unforeseen) was to change many many peoples outlook on dancing. Not at first.. but the repercussions would still be felt nearly forty years later.
It was at that (either) time that a dance choreography competition was arranged. The Choreographer(s) were to make up a dance over a fortnight and they would have to perform it ‘with another person’ on the stage. They could even choose their own music.
Hang on a minute…. TWO people were needed to do the dance???... like dancing together.. in unison.. doing the same thing… but isn’t that called……………Line dancing. – ‘Well !! slap my thighs and call me Maurice’ – and not a single Yeee Haww in sight.
Hang on another minute… but Linedancing came from America.. and didn’t we see ‘The Bus Stop’ in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. Of course you did….. but we in Manchester didn’t call it Line dancing some (cough cough) nine years earlier did we… we just danced because we loved dancing… had no time to give this type of dancing a name.
I am NOT saying that it was the Pop Inn in Manchester 1968 where Modern Line Dancing started… I AM saying Manchester had at least one Choreographed (and later published) something like SEVEN years before the ‘first’ Linedance ‘The Bus Stop’ was choreographed.
Also at the time, at places like Browns of Levenshulme and Stretford there were other ‘line/circle’ dances being enjoyed.. but based on the Barn Dance.. one of the most favourite tracks being ‘We Gotta Get Outta This Place’ by the Animals..
I digress… back to the Pop Inn.. that particular competition was won by Pete Browne and Jean Dawson. (certainly no disrespect to either Pete or Jean – we’ve all gotta meet up again one day.. and go through the routines..) But it’s the dance that came second that has created the ‘buzz’.. a buzz that is still reverberating today… and one that a great number of Guru’s in todays line dancing world cannot bring themselves around to admitting exists. In fact a lot of them STILL don’t believe that Manchester had anybody capable of putting any sort of dance together… most of these Guru’s are from … darrrn sarrrf… you gotta feel sorry them really.
The dance in question was called (at a later date) ’30 Something’ and by today’s standards.. its pretty basic. ..except that it had moves that are in most of today’s dances… and it went in two directions (ie danced facing 12 and 6 o’clock alternately) … again ‘unique’ for any dance of that time.
The dance was choreographed by two people, one of which has already been ‘found’ (alive… lol)… whilst the other who went by the name of Linda appears to be more elusive. In fact so elusive that after nearly six years of Newpaper adverts, web site notice boards and the such .. all over the World, even the local tv station ‘channel m’ got in on the subject as well as massive page headlines in the Manchester Evening News … she hasn’t still come forward (or has anyone with a contact number).
You may think that ‘Linedancing’ is a bit ‘naff’… but there are clubs called ‘Soul Line’ over the Manchester area (where it all began??) who ‘Line dance’ to Motown, old and new R&B, Northern Soul even kitsch Disco…you don’t know what you are missing.
Mike Taylor
Great times at the Pop Inn. My first love was Dave Kelly, the dj who was killed in a car accident. Loved to dance that great dance, the Ritz Rythmn, with those amazing guys Pete and Eamon Brown.
Loved those bouncers in black suits as I came up the stairs.
I met my husband on the dance floor when I was 14 - short hair, long leather coat. Loved boys in Parkers with white scooters. Great times.
I live in Los Angeles with Chris (my husband), 3 kids and 2 grandchildren.
You can take the girl from Manchester but you can't take Manchester from the girl. Thankyou for the memories.
Pamela
I won the Miss Pop Inn competition in1967. I was only 13 but they all thought I was 17. I still have my sash - loved every bit of it.
I now live in Ireland - fourty years now but I think I'm the true Miss Pop Imn
I remember hugging Tony Jones (manager) the day Otis Redding died.
Katrina Everitt
13/7/09
Gosh! I couldn't believe I found a page for 'The Pop Inn' and the last person to make an entry was my long lost BEST FRIEND - Katrina (Pany) Everitt.
I went in the 1960's met my first love there - Andy P and had a smashing time. Hope someone out there remembers me!!
I'm married and living in Edinburgh now but would love to hear from folk from these good old days.
Valerie Croydon
25/1/10
What great evening we all had me and me mates.
All dancing in line to Alright Now, Three Dog Night, Motown, etc.
Remember a drink called Dragons blood.
Me, all me mates - Pete and Steve Waters. Jimmy Maher (County Cork), Pat O'Mahney, Gary Almond (with his yellow scooter), Chris Bowen (from Llondon), Billy Harris, Calvin Culpepper and sisters.
Many more whose names long gone - and the girl who broke my heart (Ann Edwards) - who Ii know be checking this out. Great nights.
Noel Lanata
7/2/10
Wow, I loved the Pop Inn, it was one of the first clubs I went to along with my friends from Ducie Avenue School. Barbara Heath, Eunice Davies, Lynne Turner, Paul Rainford, Trev Henry, Paul Chrimes.
Other mates Jayne Francis, Denise Harvey, Dominic Carroll and yes Noel Lanata, lol, I'm sorry I didn't know I'd broken your heart.
Fantastic memories x
Ann Bull Edwards
26/2/10
I am disappointed that you didn't mention who came third in the dance competition. It was myself and my best friend Bernadette Brown, who just happens to be the sister of the 1st place winner, Pete Brown. Amazing memories of the Pop Inn. Mark Jones and I became quite close friends although eventually we lost touch. Have been living in Australia for the past 30 years but still have ties in Manchester.
Cherryll Scott
4/3/10
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