Manchester Music Trail: Mayfield Depot

About

Mayfield was an abandoned train depot for many years, and it sits besides the cultural icon that is the Star and Garter. The pub, known since the 90s as a grassroots gig space, but for much longer as a working class boozer, consider themselves the last truly independent music venue in Manchester. Mayfield Depot next door is now a cultural hotspot for the city and is home to the Warehouse Project. WHP is a huge, seasonal nightclub operating three months a year (inspired by the busiest months at Ancoats nightclub Sankeys) and in its colourful history has seen Aphex Twin, The Prodigy and Skepta. Considered by many to be the best club in the UK, it offers a mix of established DJs and upcoming acts.  

Mayfield is also the current home of Homoelectric, a queer-friendly night which began in earnest as a space to unite Mancunians by holding mixed parties for ‘homos, heteroes, lesbos and don’t knows’. The club night was one of a few, including Flesh at the Hacienda, and Club Brenda, that moved the gay club scene away from aesthetics and house music, to something more casual, more eclectic and took inspiration from the come-as-you-are attitude of the punk scene.