CityLife

Amazing film find at Band On The Wall

BACK IN THE DAY: BOTW

ANTIQUE cinema tickets and a 1914 film magazine discovered under the floor of iconic music venue Band On The Wall has cast a new light on the earliest years of cinema in Manchester.

The artefacts were found by an electrician in the Picturehouse - the building acquired as part of the venue’s current renovation project.  - which is coincidentally being turned into a new social space for the public to view the venue’s rich music archive. Although it was well known that the building operated as a cinema from 1915, this discovery indicates that it was a picturehouse even earlier - making it one of Manchester’s earliest known cinemas.

 24 year old electrician Danny Elias came across the magazine and tickets when he was fitting a light into the ceiling cavity. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw how old the tickets and magazine were!” said Danny. “I can only think that someone has placed them under the floorboards for us to find them years later. It certainly beats anything else I’ve found in other buildings where I’ve worked!”

The 95-year-old film trade magazine, costing one penny, contains invaluable information about the early days of the film industry. In total 8 tickets were found with several clearly marked as for the Palatine Picture Theatre and Swan Picturehouse – the latter a reference to the cinema’s location on Swan Street. Priory to this, cinema historians believed the earliest cinema on the site was called The Cosy Corner that opened in 1915. The new names and the date of the magazine now push back the date for this building even earlier.

Artist Michael Trainor, curator of Band On The Wall’s public art project, said: “It’s a really exciting discovery for Band On The Wall, not least because the Picturehouse will soon be the venue’s new space for both music and the moving image. The Grade II listed Picturehouse is part of the Band On The Wall redevelopment which also includes new first class facilities and resources including a supporting education programme, contemporary archive and sound and AV studios”.

“We know that the area now known as the Northern Quarter, was once a hive for both live music and early cinemas whose main audience would have been the residents and workers.”

 It was widely assumed that the first ‘official’ cinema in Manchester was The Picture House (now McDonalds on Oxford Street) opened in December 1911 and owned by Provincial Cinematic Theatres Ltd. The new discovery however suggests that Swan Street might have been the first location for Manchester cinemagoers.

 Band On The Wall is now appealing for information to piece together the history of its Picturehouse. Do you have any information about cinemas on Swan Street in the early 1900s or know a relative or friend that saw a film there? Call Malcolm Duffin at Band On The Wall on 0161 834 2559.