Thousands of people walk up and down Oxford Road in Manchester everyday. Occasionally we notice the certain characters such as the tramp with the huge amount of greasy hair who smells of wee, however most people stick in our memory not even as long as the last leader of the Tory party.

One man who can oft be seen wandering around in the vicinity of Oxford Road, long haired, dressed in black and holding a roll up or a sly can of beer is the man we call Biggs. I should really spend some time giving you the background of him but since I don't know it, and it's not important to the rest of this waffle, I'll leave it to legend.
What is important about Biggs is his place on the Manchester music scene. Lets assume you and a few mates start a band. You have a bit of a practise and know what to play, now you need a venue to play. Without demos and an established crowd this may be difficult. What you need is a place in the city centre to play that is free to play at and is free for your mates to come down and see. Throw in some established bands on the scene to get in the crowds and you have Biggs' unsigned night at the Attic on a Monday night.

I first encountered him while watching the glittery heavy pop of the band Narcissus at the Attic in August of last year. However, once The Master Bluesman, comic protector of the blues and an alter-ego of mine, starred at an Attic night, I entered the world of Biggs.

The Monday nights play host to all kinds of music from solo artists to bands and electronica duos and have also recently started showing movies by local film students as well. A back to basics approach is taken; no stage monitors, well, no stage, people lending amps, and bands turning up half way though the night ready to set up. A concept one soon learns is that of Biggs Random Time (BRT), everything seems chaotic; nothing runs to plan but generally ends up okay.

This year he has expanded from his Attic gigs. Each week he puts on a Tuesday Acoustic and Blues night at the Bowling Green pub on Grafton Street by the university. He gives people the opportunity to come and watch their mates perform in front of a respectful audience, and hopefully the nights will become a key part of the Manchester blues revival.

Lately he has started a monthly themed Gutterstar night at the Retro bar by UMIST in the city centre, grouping acts by genre and all hosted by The Master Bluesman. The first of these was the punk night I referred to in my first article and most recently a night of electronica featuring the extra terrestrial Starbase 109.

So why am I writing this about him? Well, after an outbust by a rather tedious artist who's ego hadn't come to terms with his lack of talent, we came to thinking that men like Biggs are vital to Manchester's music scene. People may not take him seriously, but very few people took Tony H Wilson seriously in the 1980s and Biggs is in no way as irritatingly smarmy and self satisfied. He works to help bands and people out of his own back and many times doesn't get the thanks he deserves.

So if people in Manchester are reading this and want to check out some live music that is going on in the rainy city, a Biggs night is a great place to start.

Mancunian Blues Archive

The_Jon_M

20.05.04 Front Page

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