Above: The Halle Orchestra and Choir at Free Trade Hall, 1951 - Source: Halle Archive 

Free Trade Hall is one of Manchester’s longest serving buildings, housing everything from the start of the suffragette movement to genre-denying shows that shaped a generation.  

Opening its doors in 1856, the hall was built on the grounds of the tragic Peterloo Massacre just 30 years previously. Built to commemorate this along side the repeal of the Corn Laws in Parliament, it’s history started before the first brick was even laid. In 1858, the Halle Orchestra made its home in the hall. Charles Halle conducted the first of his Grand Orchestral Concerts with his own orchestra.  

Above: The aftermath of the Blitz Bombing, December 1940 - Source: Halle Archive 

Until 1996 the Halle made its home at the Free Trade Hall, although during the second world war the building was first requisitioned and then bombed in the Manchester Blitz. During this time the Halle was peripatetic around the Greater Manchester area, before settling on seasons of concerts at the Albert Hall and the Kings Hall, Belle Vue. In November 1951 the Free Trade Hall reopened with a festival of concerts and was once again the home of the Halle until it closed in 1996. 

Moving forward to the 1960’s, Free Trade Hall was a hot bed for international artists. In 1963, Ella Fitzgerald graced the Hall with The Oscar Peterson Trio, covering classics by the great jazz composers Duke Ellington and George Gershwin.  

 

Above: Bob Dylan at Free Trade Hall, 1966 - Source: BBC/Mark Makin 

Other notable artists like Bob Dylan went on to make their mark on the city through the Free Trade Hall stage, with the famous 1966 show where audiences couldn’t believe Dylan brought electric instruments and screamed ‘Judas’ as he went on to play the last section of his live set with a full band on electric guitar. This caused a stir on both sides of the Atlantic, with fans discussing whether his decision to play electric sets meant he had sold out his folk roots. An interesting insight into the reactions of music lovers everywhere as sounds and instrument changes meant new types of music were breaking through.  

Moving through to the 1970’s, Free Trade Hall saw David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust perform to 2500 people, playing what would become classics like Changes and Space Oddity. In 1976, rock legends KISS played their first every UK show at the hall, and Pink Floyd came through the doors a few weeks later.