NWB - Community Blog

the spread was an awesome venue/pub-spent many happy hours there mid seventies-back there as a band watcher during the late eighties/early nineties-great people in there/superb beer. bliss!!
other side of the pennines-shoulder of mutton-a bit scary to get to, but meant those that were there , there for music and fun only-top nights in that place.
cloverdale, rochdale-saturday nights there RAWWWKED-a "shooting star" of a venue-but still talked about fondly today. :-/

yeah, great venue - used to love both watching bands and playing here. some great live recordings through the desk too.

I was a regular at the Shoulder in my biking days!
Never had any bands on when I was going there just a rock disco thing! but it was always a great night!
Ahhh memorys come flooding back!
being chased down the drag by Angels from the Sherrif! great fun [but only cause they never managed to catch us! ha ha!]

@ dyehouse-stopped bands around 76/77? and those industrial sized heaters?? warm or what?? ;-)

must have been earlier than that?
I was going there around 76/77!

The spead in Ashton, I remember seeing the Dakotas (Billy J Kramers backing band there. The guitarist was a friend of my mates who i worked with, Scottish guy by the name of Frank Clark

@dyehouse-could have been,g? certainly no later than end '75? know i saw one there at xmas '75. :-)

I remember the bike I had at the time and it was around the time of the queens jubillee thing [77] cause I remember the party on the playing fields up at the lake where we lived at the time!
some things stick in yer mind even when yer owd!

@dyehouse-ah! that'd be june '77. when the Fish was a REAL pub?? ;-)

yeh!
some great bands played the Fish!
and some not so great!
was after playing there myself but it had stopped having bands on at the time I started plaing in bands!
but I did get to play upstairs in the big room for a private doo!

The spead in Ashton, I remember seeing the Dakotas (Billy J Kramers backing band there. The guitarist was a friend of my mates who i worked with, Scottish guy by the name of Frank Clark

I remember Frank well, he lived in Clayton up until his death. He was still playing in a duo withg a guy called Pete Piggot. He was an imense guitarist and a good friend sadly missed. The Dakotas at the time used to flit between the spread and the Globe (now the witchwood)

I played there with Cliche would be around 1981 I had forgotton the name of the place but just remembered a few good nights over there. It all came flooding back with the pictures. Was there another pub which did live bands in the next street or just around the corner another vague recollection I have. I also seem to remember the Shoulder of Mutton was that on top of the moors I thought I had played there with a band called Burgundy but that would be around 82/83 so if they stopped having bands before that I might be mistaken

ahhhh the spread..Im an Ashton lad and an ex biker so it was a regular port of call on a friday razz night..remember one night on a lads night out a m8 of mine from Oldham turned up with a green velvet jacket on!!! The guys in the spread cast a few disparraging glances but we actually made it out of the place alive!!!..I never took him in again..lol

No Nige we definitely played The Shoulder of Mutton in Hebden Bridge in 83 I think it was. Remember those heaters! LOL
I mentioned it in another thread - I remember that gig because I broke a B string and had to put a D string on to replace it! ( feel the tension!). And didn't Scanny ( our drummer) play over our heads on some massive riser thing?

That brings back some memorie's seeing those photo's.It were a real shame when it was shut down,had some great night's in there.

I remember watching Spider in that pub(Anyone remember them?)& plenty of other bands too.Parked me bike on that car park a few time's.

We all used to go in the King Bill,(just round the corner from the Spread) & then we would finish the night off with a few beer's in't Spread.
Oh Yes!!Them were really good time's.

Steveo.

Jules Is it the same Shoulder of Mutton then. I have a memory of the heaters but none of the drum riser at all. I cannot believe you can remember breaking a string there and I presume I was driving as no one else drove unless we roped Basil or chris in to drive
Nigel

LOL! Yeah the horror of having to put that D string on does stick in my mind! LOL! Can't remember who was driving, but got a vague recollection of it being hard work getting up those hills in bad weather conditions ( snow I think! ).
Jules

You can now traverse the aisles of Lidl (no its not one of the hebrides) and pretend yr in the Spread .....!!!

there is a spread eagle group on Facebook that has some great photos on

@ Ian R, I remember Frank had beautiful black les paul, may have been a custom, and all the bikes outside on a Friday night. Happy days