Manhattan Sound, 60 Spring Gardens, M2 2BQ

It was here in a small basement club that The Smiths played their second gig on the 25th of January 1983. Details of the gig are far and few between and is a good example of the difficulties in trying to piece The Smiths' story together. Some sources state that local group Foreign Press were on the bill, others don't mention them at all and put The Smiths as headliners. Mike Joyce's autobiography has a photo of a poster advertising the gig but it's not very clear and all I can make out is 'with The Smiths' in the bottom right hand corner. If anyone out there can confirm either way please get in touch.

Interestingly White Dice, featuring Johnny and Andy, had previously supported Foreign Press in 1980 at a gig at Whythenshaw College of Further Education.

At the time of this gig The Smiths line-up was complete with Andy Rourke now on bass. Morrissey’s friend James Maker appeared with them for the second and final time.

James Maker did make one further unscheduled appearance a few years later. I was fortunate enough to witness it at the Cornish Coliseum in St. Austell on October the 17th 1986 on 'The Queen is Dead' tour. When 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' began "spontaneity, instinct and Remy Martin drove me out onto the stage to join them. It seemed fitting and ironic. Johnny was beaming. Afterwards Morrissey dispatched me an Agatha Christie book titled 'Murder is Easy'. To which I sent him the Sandie Shaw single 'Message Understood'. "

I had a guest pass for that gig as I knew someone who worked there. The plan was to head backstage after the gig to hopefully meet my heroes. However I was informed that due to some impromptu dressing room rearrangement by James Maker's group, Raymonde, the visit was cancelled. I blame the Remy Martin. Unfortunate, but I do look back and appreciate I wouldn't have known what to say if I'd come face to face with any of The Smiths, maybe it was better it never happened. 

Like most of these early gigs the set-list isn't known. In his autobiography Johnny states that it was the same set as The Ritz with a couple of additions including 'What Difference Does it Make?' and 'What Do You See in Him?'.

Johnny recounts that the gig was sold-out and Mike Joyce estimated the audience at around 30 or 40 people. 

The gig was reviewed in City Fun fanzine a few months later. Morrissey was described as ‘congenital show-off with a dreamily affected baritone’ whilst James Maker was ‘a Spare Part, a debonair male go-go dancer in a suit, collar and tie who shook a tambourine and organised the raffle’.

Manhattan Sound was a gay club that used to promote new bands. There wasn’t a stage so the group played on the dance floor.  In the audience were Richard Boon, manager of Buzzcocks, Tony Wilson of Factory Records and Rob Gretton, manager of New Order. Here's Tony Wilson speaking about that night (3mins 35 secs in).

Word was definitely spreading.