A LEGENDARY Manchester music venue that staged one of the first professional performances by jazz icon Courtney Pine is about to open its doors again.

Band On The Wall on Swan Street, in the city’s trendy Northern Quarter, fell silent four years ago after the building, which dates back to 1862, became too run down for it to continue.

But, thanks to a £4 million cocktail of funding, BOTW, which has also witnessed performances from seminal artists like Joy Division and The Buzzcocks, is back in business.

Mike Chadwick is the venue’s music programmer and believes it has a special place in Manchester’s cultural history.

“This building has been home to good music for the best part of a century and these things become engrained in the bricks and mortar as well as the psyche of everyone who works here. It is possibly the most ecletic venue in the UK,” he says.

It’s Mike’s job to pick the acts and, looking ahead to future gigs, he’s particularly looking forward to seeing a band called The Unthanks, who were recently nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize.

“The watch word that I take as my guide when I’m booking bands is just quality. I don’t really look particularly at genres of music because I like so many different things,” he says.

A Certain Ratio, who were championed by Factory Records, the same musical stable as Joy Division, play BOTW’s opening Saturday on September 26 and future attractions include Ade Edmondson and The Bad Shepherds, fronted by the former star of The Young Ones.

Mike says a range of improvements have been made to the Swan Street building, improvements that will benefit artists and audiences alike.

“We’ve invested heavily in a state of the art PA system and we’ve bought a brand new Steinway piano. We’ve built into the building that was derelict for years which is now called The Picture House because it’s reputedly the first building in Manchester to show moving pictures,” he says.

The theory gained even great credence recently when one of the workmen who was redeveloping the building stumbled across cinema tickets dating from 1914 and an old film magazine.

“It’s going to be a cafe during the day and it’s also going to be where the archive is held. Part of our remit is to produce an archive of the history of Band On The Wall and an ongoing archive which will be shown on three screens in the Picture House. It’s also going to be used as a foyer,” he says.

If all this doesn’t wet your appetite, the BOTW bar sells booze at pub prices. Rick Bowen * To book tickets or to find out what’s on at Band On The Wall call 0161 834 1786 or visit www.bandonthewall.org