FIRST LOOK: The legendary Band on the Wall reopens after massive £3.5m transformation

The legendary music venue Band on the Wall has reopened its doors following a massive £3.5m transformation.

The historic live music haunt, located down Swan Street, played a huge part in the growth and establishment of Manchester’s music scene, having being famously at the epicentre of the city’s punk movement in the late 1970s.

Over the years, numerous bands and musicians have graced the stage at Band on the Wall, including icons such as The Buzzcocks, Joy Division, The Fall and The Arctic Monkeys.

However, as the Covid pandemic gripped the country and national lockdowns ground live music to a standstill in 2020, Band on the Wall was faced with ‘the biggest crisis’ in its history and was forced to close, making twenty-six members of staff redundant in September that year.

Manchester’s Finest Group

Manchester’s Finest Group

The venue made a brief comeback at the start of last year, but was forced to close again for renovation works, which included an ambitious expansion to the neighbouring Cocozza Wood Building. 

But now, after two years of closure and uncertainty, Band on the Wall’s refurb is complete.

The venue’s main performance space has been redesigned by celebrated Manchester architects OMI, who have given it an accessible step-free entrance and expanded its capacity to 500.

The area also boasts a brand new bar space – serving hot and cold food – with a new stage for smaller capacity performances catering for up to eighty people.

This bar area will open during the day to serve as a community space and will be open for free to the general public.

Manchester’s Finest Group

Manchester’s Finest Group

As mentioned earlier, the venue has been expanded into the three-storey Cocozza Wood building which had previously stood derelict and unoccupied since 1972. Now, it forms the larger ground floor venue space and upper floor learning suite.

And while the venue itself may look a world away from its former state, Band on the Wall will continue to nurture Manchester’s upcoming talent with local and grassroots community projects.

The first floor is a dedicated space for its learning programme World of Music, a broad and integrated programme of heritage, music, learning and research projects. World of Music will deliver community-based learning engagement that celebrates Manchester’s migrant communities and their musical legacies.

Band on the Wall’s CEO Gavin Sharp said on the reopening: “Band on the Wall has always been bigger than just a venue, and over the last two years we’ve been very busy working on our expansion project.

Manchester’s Finest Group

Manchester’s Finest Group

“This includes an increased main venue capacity, new café bar, a second smaller performance space, and significantly enhanced and expanded learning facilities to support our exciting and brand-new learning programme, World of Music.

“We are delighted to open our doors once again, and we look forward to welcoming guests back to our newly improved venue.”

Band on the Wall is open NOW and, not one to waste any time, already has a full season of gigs and performances on the bill.

You can see the venue’s season highlights and listings here.