The Smiths - first gig location, The Ritz, Manchester

A Smith’s fan in the Netherlands asked me to photograph the Ritz in Manchester. This was the location of their first concert in October 1982. Here I am on Whitworth Street a short walk from central Manchester.

It wasn’t much of a concert; it was a student fashion and music event and The Smiths They were a support act for a drag artist and a dance troupe. The show was called "An Evening of Pure Pleasure" though it does to have been - the man who introduced them was oddly given a pair of maracas and improvised within a small circle that Morrissey had chalked around him. Morrissey and Johnny Marr were unhappy with the bass player Dale Hibbert who was replaced by Johnny’s old school-friend Andy Rourke. A portion of the audience liked The Smiths though as they were friends of Johnny Marr. Johnny remembers being nervous as the capacious place seemed to be almost empty.

The Smiths had yet to get a recording contract. Morrissey was 23 and Johnny Marr was about to turn 21. They’d recorded some songs onto cassettes. EMI and Factory Records had turned them down.

In January 1983 they did three more concerts in Manchester: Manhattan’s pub (probably in the basement), The Haçienda nightblub and Rafter’s nightclub. It would be another year before they gained a record deal and released their debut album The Smiths.

Anyway on the way to find a grave in Manchester I ensured I went passed the nightclub venue. I’d heard of The Ritz but being a corduroy-wearing nerd who's never been in a nightclub I’d never seen it before. Must admit it’s a bonny building but Grade-II listed buildings usually are. It was built in 1927 and it known for its sprung dance floor. It's a large building but dwarfed by the apartment blocks like bookends to each side of it. No doubt many a developer would love to demolish it and erect a soulless monstrosity in its place. I did a salute and left.