Ido remember tht infamous interview of frank owen (either with the melody maker or nme)in the 80ties where he speaks about several..well i dont know if these were pubs or clubs or bars?- in manchester..I assume so...only remember one name. "dickens"
edit: i found interview online-and it was MM:
http://foreverill.com/interviews/1986/abroad.htm
Life for the would-be Bohemian in Manchester was always hard. Pre-punk, those seeking sanctuary from the patrolling behemoths covered in vomit, had little alternative but to take refuge in the gay clubs, like Dickens (a sleaze pit where your feet stuck to the floor when you walked in), or the gay pubs, like the Thompson's Arms, the Rembrandt, or the Union (the hippest spot of degeneracy in town - full of trannies with plastic legs).
"The gay scene in Manchester," says Morrissey, "was a little bit heavy for me. I was a delicate bloom. Do you remember the Union? Too heavy for me, as was Dickens.
The Rembrandt I could take.
It was a bit kind of craggy. There was no place, at that time, in Manchester, in the very early stages, that one could be surrounded by fascinating, healthy people" (pause) "fascinating, healthy bikers for example. It was always like the cross-eyed, club-footed, one-armed, whatever!"
"The gay scene in Manchester was always atrocious. Do you remember Bernard's Bar, now Stuffed Olives?"
I do indeed. I particularly remember the endless stream of aging music hall acts that Bernard booked (Mr. Memory men, jugglers, etc) in order to create what he thought was an upmarket ambience. Perhaps that's where the inspiration for "Frankly, Mr Shankly" came from? I also remember that you were kicked out if you dared so much as snigger at the appalling turns.
"If one wanted peace and to sit without being called a parade of names then that was the only hope. Bernard's Bar was fine for a while but what I was really into was the music." That's where punk fitted in.