Lost Music Venues Display Explores Manchester Roadhouse Bookings Diary
Rebecca Dickinson, a student at the University of Liverpool, has authored a blog as part of the Curation and Heritage module led by Dr. Marion Leonard. This blog explores a 1997 booking diary from Manchester's Roadhouse, which is highlighted in Lost Music Venues, an exhibition curated by Harriet Reed at the Theatre and Performance Galleries from 30 May 2026 to 30 October 2027. The diary showcases the 'toilet circuit' of smaller venues and includes performances by The Verve, Coldplay, and Elbow. Completed by booker Debs Wild and founder John McBeath, it underscores the precarious nature of live music promotion. The Roadhouse ultimately shut its doors in 2015 due to financial challenges, emphasizing the vital role of promotion for up-and-coming artists.
Key facts
- Lost Music Venues display runs from 30 May 2026 to 30 October 2027 at the Theatre and Performance Galleries.
- The display features around 50 lost performance spaces from the 1980s to 2010s.
- The Manchester Roadhouse bookings diary from 1997 is the focus of a student blog by Rebecca Dickinson.
- The diary documents shows by The Verve, Coldplay, and Elbow, whose members worked at the venue.
- Debs Wild, known for discovering Coldplay, and John McBeath, founder, filled out the diary.
- A revenue sharing agreement stapled into 1 April shows door prices rising from £2 to £2.50.
- A typed scheduling sheet for 8 July 1997 indicates a shift to formalised promotion.
- The Roadhouse closed in 2015 after Kate Mountain ran it for over a decade following McBeath's departure in 1999.
Entities
Artists
- Rebecca Dickinson
- Marion Leonard
- Harriet Reed
- Debs Wild
- John McBeath
- Kate Mountain
- Steve Lloyd
- The Verve
- Coldplay
- Elbow
- Psycle
- Laughing Gravy
Institutions
- University of Liverpool
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Roadhouse
- Theatre and Performance Galleries
Locations
- Manchester
- United Kingdom
- Liverpool
- London
- Knebworth
- Newton Street