Venuewatch: Jillys And Music Box

Grim news from Manchester, where long-running twin venues Jillys Rockworld And The Music Box have gone into liquidation and are closing. Their farewell statement:

AS OF TUESDAY 13th APRIL 2010 JILLY'S ROCKWORLD HAS CLOSED.

THE CLUB THAT HAS BROUGHT MANCHESTER THE BEST ROCK NIGHTS EVER FINALLY CLOSED ITS DOORS FOR THE LAST NIGHT ON SATURDAY 10th APRIL 2010.

WE THANK ALL OUR CUSTOMERS AND SUPPORTERS FOR THE GOOD TIMES THAT WERE HAD OVER MANY MANY YEARS.

WE KNOW WE WILL BE SORELY MISSED.

TODAY THE ROCK DIED AND MANCHESTER'S ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY MOURNS

JILLY'S WE LOVED YA!!!

R.I.P.

The club had a run of nearly forty years, first under the names Fagans and Rafters, and has offered a home to any number of awkward, developing and downright weird clubnights and performers. There can't be many places which gave a stage to both Tommy Cooper and Mr Scruff. Music historians will know this as the place where Tony Wilson discovered Joy Division, but they provided countless smaller discoveries for thousands of people down the years.

Rumours on Twitter suggest the places are going to be turned into a Tesco; the buildings surely deserve better than that.

[Thanks to Morag for the alert]