Criterion, Higher Cambridge Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].
The Criterion stood on the corner of Boundary Street and Higher Cambridge Street, just off Stretford Road just over border from Hulme in Chorlton-on-Medlock. The Criterion, previously known as the Griffin, was a Taylor's Eagle Brewery house when it closed in 1965 at No.18 Higher Cambridge Street in for Hulme's redevelopment. The Criterion, seen here in 1959, is mentioned in Alan Lawson's lovely nostalgic book, The True Story of Manchester's Music 1958-1965, subtitled It Happened in Liverpool Manchester [2]:
"I went into a pub called the Criterion on Stretford Road," remembers Charlie Barker. "There was music playing and it was so good that I thought it was a record. It was only when I looked round that I realised it was a group." That group was the Staggerlees. Charlie Barker joined them as a vocalist and took the name of one of his heroes, Jerry Lee. "We didn't stay at the Criterion too long. It was a really rough place. They used lids of cherry blossom shoe polish tins as ashtrays!" [2].
"I went into a pub called the Criterion on Stretford Road," remembers Charlie Barker. "There was music playing and it was so good that I thought it was a record. It was only when I looked round that I realised it was a group." That group was the Staggerlees. Charlie Barker joined them as a vocalist and took the name of one of his heroes, Jerry Lee. "We didn't stay at the Criterion too long. It was a really rough place. They used lids of cherry blossom shoe polish tins as ashtrays!" [2].
Former location of Criterion, Higher Cambridge Street. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.
1. http://images.manchester.gov.uk.
2. The True Story of Manchester's Music 1958-1965, Alan Lawson (1990).
2. The True Story of Manchester's Music 1958-1965, Alan Lawson (1990).
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