Sounds from the Other City

Anyone who has memorabilia of past concerts at the Maxwell Hall in Salford is asked to come forward for a new digital archive.

With live music returning to the Maxwell Hall this May after a 10-year break for the Sounds from the Other City festival, The University of Salford is keen to see what memories it reawakens.

The university is searching for a variety of items such as tickets, posters, signed items from bands and clothing from tours that included the venue.

The building opened on Sunday May 21 1961 and the first record of a concert at the hall is Dave Berry and The Cruisers on Wednesday March 25 1964.

The venue went on to have gigs from the likes of Paul McCartney, U2, Blondie and The Smiths with The Charlatans playing the last touring gig at the venue in December 2004.

Maxwell Hall
Chemistry Tower and Maxwell Hall from Peel Park, c1985

However, there may have been gigs that took place which the university has no record of, leaving gaps in the venue’s musical heritage that need to be filled in.

Alexandra Mitchell, Archivist at The University of Salford said: “We want to create a digital archive collection that captures the tangible and intangible heritage of Maxwell Hall and its iconic musical history.

“We are all aware of its reputation as a storied music venue and we wanted to bring everything together to make more of this and celebrate it.”

The university is also seeking potential audio or even video recordings from concerts at the Hall.

In further addition, the university further aims to capture unique written memories from the concerts. The memory could be a time when someone met a significant other, the first gig they went to or even the last gig they went to.

The University of Salford has provided a form which residents can fill out when submitting memorabilia.

If you have a physical item that you wish to donate to the archive in person, you can get in touch with the team at library-archives@salford.ac.uk to arrange for this to be dropped off.

The archives will be held in a new page on the Salford Digital Archives, which is open to all to peruse.

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