The Manchester Academy is composed of four concert venues, located on the campus of the University of Manchester, in Manchester, England. The four venues are: Academy 1, 2 and 3 and Club Academy. Utilized by the Students' Union, the venues are housed in two buildings, the original Students' Union built in 1957 and the Academy, built in 1990. In 2004, after the merging of the universities, the venues carried the "Academy" moniker.
History
Known as Victoria University, the Student Union building was erected in 1957. It began hosting concerts in 1963. The venue hosted many jazz artists in its early dates. The first performance was by Humphrey Lyttelton and His Band, 16 November 1963. The main building housed three of its original venues: the "Main Debating Hall", the "Hop and Grape" and "The Cellar". Other music venues on campus were Whitworth Hall and "The Squat". While the Main Debating Hall hosting jazz artist, The Squat was becoming popular among international acts. After operating for eight years, the building was demolished and became a carpark. With the music scene expanding in Manchester, there was a need for a larger capacity venue on the campus, in 1984, a proposal was submitted for building a concert venue, adjacent to the original Student Union. It opened on 18 October 1990 and was first performed in by Buzzcocks. It was closed completely between March and October 2007 when a major refurbishment and rebuilding programme began, completed in early 2008. It had had a capacity of 2000 and hosted about 50 gigs a year prior to closure, the capacity was increased to around 2,300 with the expansion and further increased to 2,600 in September 2013.
Venues
Academy 1: Opening in 1990 with a capacity of 1,500. At that time, it was considered the third largest concert venue in Manchester. In 2013, the capacity was increased to 2,600. Unlike the other venues, Academy 1 is in a standalone building, south of the original Students' Union. The venue is often just referred to as "Manchester Academy"
Academy 2: Located on the first floor in the original Student Union building, the venue was known as the "Main Debating Hall". It began to host jazz musicians in 1963. Its capacity is 950.
Academy 3: Known as the "Hop and Grape", the venue is located on the first floor of the original building. Sometime in the 1980s, it was called the "Solem Bar". Of the four venues, it is the smallest, housing 470 guests.
Club Academy: The third largest venue is located in the basement of the original building. Originally known as "The Cellar" and the "Cellar Disco", the venue grew in popularity after the demolition of The Squat. It can hold up to 650 guests.
Performers
The following list is composed of musicians performing at either the old or new buildings, from 1963–present.
Following the re-opening of Academy 1 in October 2007, University of Manchester Students' Union came under much criticism for large parts of the refurbishment being incomplete. Customers originally had to use portable toilet facilities outside, suffered long queues for the one small bar and had no access to a cloakroom. These problems were eventually rectified with the opening of the completely rebuilt foyer, which included a sizeable bar and VIP balcony and lounge.
Awards
Manchester Academy has attracted positive publicity after being referred to as the UK's "greenest venue" with a third of the £3.5 million refurbishment budget going towards minimising the environmental impact and improving the sustainability of the reconstructed venue, as well as making substantial accommodation for disabled music fans. It also received the title of "Best Entertainment Venue" in the 2007 MCR Awards.
