Manchester Rock Clubs Shut Their Doors
The Manchester rock scene has been hit hard by the news that two of its best-known clubs, Jillys Rockworld and The Music Box, have closed.
Talking to the Manchester Confidential website, owner John Bagnall said financial reasons were behind the clubs’ demise.
“I’m just very sad,” he said. “We’ve entertained thousands of acts, and tens of thousands of music lovers and club-goers. We’ve weathered storms before but not this one which has been deeper and different, with a downturn that for us has lasted three years.
“The smoking ban has been a real factor too. People get moved on by the police if they smoke on Oxford Street and we have nowhere else to put them.”
The clubs’ site in Oxford Street housed the 1,300-capacity Jilly’s Rockworld upstairs and The Music Box downstairs. The venues were formerly known as Fagins and Rafters.
Bagnall also told BBC News: “The numbers are, over the last two or three years, 50 per cent down and we can’t pay the bills any longer, the money’s run out.”
