Bobby JJ Club (Stanley Grove, Longsight)

John H. Warburg. November 2022

By the time we played this gig, it had a long history as a club and was, at that point a West Indian run club.

We had a good night but at the end, the owner said all the money had gone back to his place. He added that if we took him there, he would pay us. Hmmm, heard that one before.

Anyway, we later dropped him off in the middle of Moss Side and he disappeared round the corner. We sat in the van, expecting to be there for ages before we got fed up and went home pennyless.

In a few minutes, true to his word, he came running round the corner and paid us! In full, not a problem.

We had some great nights there after. Not all club owners were the same.

Paul Mlynarz, Phoenix City Smash

Played this club with a band from Manchester University called The Basix. The club was then just the J & J club from the elderly owners Jim and Josie.

Chris Bowden - 2/1/12

The J & J Club on Stanley Grove Longsight was originally the British Railways Staff Association Club and was close to the Longsight Locomotive Depot. The depot survives today as the main one for Virgin Trains. I'm not sure whether the club is still open or what kind of business it houses now.

I played there at Christmas 1963 with the Re Sounds from Eccles. It was the British Railways delivery drivers' Xmas party - and what a night it was.

The Re Sounds were booked for two spots and the rest of the evening was filled with non-stop entertainment by a range of acts including two comics, two vocalists, a snake charmer (Roy Rama and Julie), a juggler, a sword swallower and a fire eater (the famous Stromboli and Sylvia). There was also a spot by another group from the Stockport area called the Buccaneers who were all plugged into one Watkins Joker amplifier (remember the ones with built in microphones and Copycat Echo Chambers?).

One of the Railway drivers was a friend of mine and told me the whole evening, including free nosh and two free pints cost them only a tanner a week! (2.5p!) or £1.25 in total over the year!

It was a very long but enjoyable night for which we received a good fee of £15.00. That was three quid each, thirty bob for the transport and thirty bob in Agency fees. Oh, the dizzy heights of success!!!

I don't know why the club ceased to be part of the British Railways Staff Association as Longsight continued to be an important engine depot even after the demise of steam engines and the switch to electrification.

Cheers, Paul, hope you are well.

Gordon Collinge, Manchester - 27/2/14