THE PEOPLE’S CONCERT RETURNS TO ALBERT HALL AFTER 100 YEARS
Iconic music venue Albert Hall to host a ‘People’s Concert’ on 11th November 2017
Manchester’s iconic Albert Hall will be hosting a ‘People’s Concert’ to celebrate 100 years as a much-loved institution for music lovers both past and present. This special event pays homage to a concert that was held exactly 100 years prior, back in 1917 after the former Wesleyan chapel on Peter Street was turned into a celebrated concert hall. Drawing inspiration from a recently discovered programme for the original event, the night will feature a mix of popular modern day artists, bands and DJ’s.
Headlining back in 1917 were ‘The Famous Range Concert Company’, and for the admission of two pennies, guests were treated to a troupe of classical singers with an accompanying orchestra and a Mr Arthur Newton who was booked as a ‘humorous entertainer.’ Roll forward 100 years and the present day acts are decidedly less classical but still just as favoured. For the entrance fee of £25, music lovers will be treated to a diverse line-up of crowd-pleasing bands including Trof favourites Boxed In, BBC Radio 6 DJ Marc Riley, Manchester’s indie heroes Dutch Uncles, the incredible Field Music, and headlining the event will be the awesome British Sea Power. Stay tuned for further special announcements. There’ll be a twist in the mix from one of Manchester’s home grown DJ talents!
The grandeur of Albert Hall has mesmerised both visitors and performers for decades with modern day musical maestros such as Beck, Manic Street Preachers and Primal Scream gracing its hallowed stage, yet the discovery of this aging but perfectly preserved programme from ages gone by, gives a rare glimpse into the building’s illustrious musical past. It came to light when the hall was reopened in 2013 for the first time in 40 years as part of the Manchester International Festival and local resident Stefan Bielecki made a dedicated trip to the venue, with the sole purpose of passing on this piece of Mancunian history to the management.
Ade Dovey from Albert Hall said;
“It’s wonderful that this important piece of memorabilia has resurfaced and found its way back home to Albert Hall, giving us a nostalgic look into how the venue was originally used. With our modern day version of the event, we hope to revive the spirit of the concerts of old by bringing together a much loved curation of bands to really celebrate over 100 years of the Albert Hall being Manchester’s favourite music venue.”
From Wesleyan chapel to old day concert hall, to the awe-inspiring, technologically advanced music venue that we know today, Albert Hall is certainly forever evolving and to ensure its story continues, artists playing this coming November will be invited to preserve the event by contributing memorabilia and messages to a time capsule that will be hidden deep within the inner sanctums of the Albert Hall.
A lot may have changed in Manchester since the first ‘People’s Concert’ but what will never change is the city’s love of music and as the venue is one of the few music halls that is still standing and being used today, there is no doubt that this capsule will be discovered 100 years from now helping further piece together this enchanting building's history for the music lovers of the future.
