The Weird Magic of Manchester Music Venues: The Eagle

- By Emily Oldfield

The Eagle is a characterful pub just on the edge of Manchester – a five-minute walk from Deansgate on Collier Street in Salford - with a notable jukebox, cask ales and an atmospheric adjoining music venue that was once an abandoned terraced house.

Combined with the fact that it is nestled into an industrial estate which is home to the famous Blueprint Studios – where the likes of Elbow, Brix & The Extricated and The Slow Readers Club record – it’s no wonder that this place has musical kudos.

In fact, it is no surprise to find musicians themselves drinking here, with Elbow not only regular visitors but also launching their own ale, Charge at The Eagle, seemingly inspired by the location.

The Grade II pub itself dates from 1848, with many of its original features intact. A terracotta plaque of an Eagle still stands over the doorway, a marker which served as the only pub sign for a significant number of its early years. There’s also a quirky and much-loved smoking area and it is affectionately known by locals as ‘The Lamp Oil’, a name gained from a time a coal yard next door sold paraffin.

Inside, visitors will find a piano nearly as old as the place itself, a traditional bar and a jukebox crammed with classics.  The much-loved typically monthly spoken word night Evidently, is also hosted at The Eagle. But what about the music venue itself? Step through a side door and into a room which could be considered almost TARDIS-like, as it’s certainly bigger than most people expect…

In October 2013, a surprisingly tall music space with bags of character opened at The Eagle. It certainly is atmospheric, with stone walls and even a fireplace still visible in the walls – keeping it no secret that the venue used to be a terraced house next door.  The house had laid empty since the 1970s, and in turn the ambitious co-owners of the pub – Esther Maylor, Rupert Hill and Johnny Booth – decided to convert the property, as part of their overall plan for transforming The Eagle from local boozer to bustling with music.

The music space at The Eagle opened to a sell-out crowd, with local bands The Minx, The Velvet Slow Dogs and Tigerside and has since gone from strength to strength.  The pub has also developed a closer relationship with Blueprint Studios, has been involved with Salford City Music Festival, Sounds From The Other City and even students from Salford City College have used the venue for performance exams. It has also hosted a number of Red Balloon Music (Chris Thomas) gigs and bands including the likes of Fontaines D.C., Dirty Laces and Sink Ya Teeth.

The massive range of music certainly is a change from how the pub operated in the twentieth century, significantly thanks to the relatively new and young team behind The Eagle – who also are responsible for sister venues Gullivers and The Castle in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. In fact, Esther Maylor became Salford’s youngest landlady when she first took over The Eagle aged 25. Here at HAUNT Manchester we chatted to Esther to find out more…

Hi Esther. Why does it matter to you to bring live music to The Eagle?

“When I took over The Eagle I knew it would be an almost impossible task to generate a thriving trade. This was based on the location, there being no kitchen to offer food and there being no possibility to offer a wide range of beer due to being tied to Joseph Holts Brewery. But being over the road from Blueprint Studios and the possibility of converting the derelict terrace attached to the pub into a space for live music were two things that made it seem possible.

“As a musician myself I was inevitably going to aim towards a pub focused around music, and I don’t need to extol the joyous benefits live music can bring to groups and individuals! I'd still like go to thank (Joseph) Holts for supporting me in this, they took some persuading to agree to this but once they did I had their full support which is invaluable.”

What have been some particularly memorable live music experiences here for you? 

“We've had many excellent and noteworthy artists perform in the eagle, but some highlights have been Low, Mr Wilson's second liners, and a folk musical which had audience members watching the action on the floor from the stage and balcony.”

The location of the Eagle is a little out of the way, yet people still come here for gigs. Do you think that shows the continuing power of live music to connect people and what more do you think can be done to support this? 

“There is no denying that the location of The Eagle means less people find us by chance, and less people bother to visit us. It's not even that far (a 20-minute walk to Oldham street, a 10-minute walk to Deansgate, for example) but it feels further once you are here, like a strange oasis right on the edge of the city.

“However, if a gig is promoted properly, it’s always wonderful to see the place fill up with smiling strangers making themselves at home, the mass exodus at the end of the night, then spotting some of those faces making a return visit just for a pint a week later.

“A major intention on my part when deciding to take over The Eagle was to try and make my romanticised idea of a pub a reality. A place where everyone is welcome, where you're remembered by the staff, where people find friends, get jobs, make plans and feel safe. This is obviously quite naive, but I think to some degree we might have been successful!

“Despite the obvious financial stresses that come with a business like this at this time, in this location; the next few years will be particularly interesting with the Greengate development happening all around us. We can expect to be in a building site for a while longer but after that The Eagle won't be in the middle of an industrial estate- but in the centre of new houses, flats, green spaces and hopefully some other bars and restaurants.

“Support your local - they're important and you'll miss them if they're not there. You can't just build a new 'old pub' can you? you can't fake that sense that the walls have soaked up sweat, blood and tears from the years, or the feeling that you're part of something older and bigger... that people have sat on the bench you're sitting on, for over 100 years. You're part of a long tradition of humans congregating, talking about their days, arguing about politics and sharing their laughter and sorrow with each other and their pint.”

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https://eagleinn.info/

8-19 Collier Street, Salford, M3 7DW