# Manchester Sports Guild

Manchester Sports Guild (MSG) was a jazz and folk music venue in Manchester, England, that flourished from 1961 to 1973.

## History

Manchester Sports Guild was a membership organisation founded in 1953 in Manchester, England, to promote amateur sports. L.C. Jenkins ("Jenks") was the founding General Secretary. It opened in April 1954. Shortly after moving into its first venue on Market Street, MSG, almost by accident, began promoting jazz. In 1961, MSG acquired its second venue at 8–10 Long Millgate, opposite Chetham's School of Music, near the Manchester Cathedral that became known as MSG's "Sports and Social Centre". The venue flourished until about 1973, when it was closed for imminent demolition, which didn't occur for a few years. The Long Millgate location was an old brick Victorian building with a bar on the ground floor, folk music upstairs, and jazz in its unadorned cellar. In 1962, shortly after opening the new venue, Jenks appointed Jack Swinnerton as Jazz Organiser. Henceforth, the MSG began booking internationally known jazz artists, performers who leaned more towards blues and traditional and swing idioms). The jazz cellar was also the centre of afterhours jam-sessions with American jazz artists who had, earlier in the evening, performed at other Manchester venues, particularly the Free Trade Hall.
In 1964, The Observer stated: "In the Manchester Sports Guild they have the best jazz centre in the country ... "
Frank Duffy ran the folk scene, upstairs. The Urbis building sits on the site.

## Selected performing artists
### Jazz and blues (in the cellar)

* Alvin Alcorn (1912–2003)
* Henry "Red" Allen (1908–1967)
* Jimmy Archey (1902–1967)
* Acker Bilk (1929–2014)
* Ruby Braff (1927–2003)
* Sandy Brown (1929–1975)
* Buck Clayton (1911–1991)
* Bill Coleman (1904–1981)
* Wild Bill Davison (1906–1989)
* Vic Dickenson (1906–1984)
* Dutch Swing College Band
* Al Fairweather (1927–1993)
* Pops Foster (1892–1969)
* Bud Freeman (1906–1991)
* Edmond Hall (1901–1967)
* John Handy (born 1933)
* Earl "Fatha" Hines (1903–1983)
* George Lewis (1900–1968)
* Alan Littlejohn (1928–1996)
* Humphrey Lyttelton (1921–2008)
* Wingy Manone (1900–1982)
* Louis Nelson (1900–1990)
* New Jazz Orchestra (1963–1970)
* Albert Nicholas (1900–1973)
* Johnny Parker (1929–2010)
* Emanuel Paul (1904–1988)
* Pee Wee Russell (1906–1969)
* Kid Thomas (1897–1987)
* Bruce Turner (1922–1993)
* Joe Turner (1907–1990)
* Alex Welsh (1929–1982)
* Bob Wallis (1934–1991)
* Ben Webster (1909–1973)
* Dicky Wells (1907–1985)
* Teddy Wilson (1912–1986)

### Folk, pop, and poets (upstairs)

* Clarence Ashley (1895–1967)
* Dominic Behan (1928–1989)
* Roy Budd (1947–1993)
* Tony Capstick (1944–2003)
* Martin Carthy (born 1941)
* John Cooper Clarke (born 1949)
* Art Garfunkel (born 1941)
* Mike Harding (born 1944)
* Rosie Hardman (born 1945)
* Bert Jansch (1943–2011)
* Bill Monroe (1911–1996)
* Christy Moore (born 1945)
* The Spinners
* Dave Swarbrick (1941–2016)
* Wally Whyton (1929–1997)
* Magna Carta

## Selected discography
### Jazz

| Session / performance date | Artist (leader) | Album or Single | Label (Catalog No.) | Studio (Venue) | OCLC |
| 17 October 1964 | Pee Wee Russell With John Armatage's Jump Band | Pee Wee Russell with John Armatage's Jump Band | Jazzology JCD-355 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 1 November 1964 & 16 July 1966 | Pee Wee Russell With Alex Welsh and His Band | Pee Wee Russell with Alex Welsh and His Band | Lake (nl) (E) LACD 157 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 14 February 1965 | Wild Bill Davidson With Alex Welsh and His Band | Blowin' Wild | Jazzology J–18 & JCD-18 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | 34476112 |
| 3 April 1965 | Earl "Fatha" Hines With Alex Welsh and His Band | Earl Hines With the Alex Welsh Band | Jazzology JCD-348 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | 689528047 555846651 869054680 |
| 28 May 1966 | Champion Jack Dupree | Jivin' With Jack | Jasmine (E) JASMCD 3008-9 (2CDs) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | 53700207 |
| 21 May 1966 | Rex Stewart With Alex Welsh and His Band | Rex Stewart with the Alex Welsh Band | Jazzology JCD-345 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 19 June 1966 | Bud Freeman With Alex Welsh and His Band | Bud Freeman With Alex Welsh & His Band | Lake (nl) (E) LACD 183 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | 1044374278 |
| 11 September 1966 | Ken Colyer With George Lewis | Live 1966: Ken Colyer's Jazzmen With George Lewis | Lake (nl) (E) LACD 27 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 9 October 1966 | Bud Freeman With Alex Welsh and His Band | Bud Freeman with the Alex Welsh Band | Jazzology JCD-332 | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 13 November 1966 & 19 November 1966 | Edmond Hall Quartet With Alan Elsdon and His Jazz Band | Edmond Hall Quartet with Alan Elsdon and His Jazz Band | Jazzology JCD-240 & JCD-207 | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 4 December 1966 | Wild Bill Davison With Alex Welsh and His Band | Wild Bill Davison with Alex Welsh and His Band | Lake (nl) (E) LACD 279 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | 1090079059 1044433254 |
| 14 January 1967 | Stan Tracey Trio With Ben Webster and Ronnie Scott | UK Live 1967 Vol. 2: Stan Tracey Trio with Ben Webster and Ronnie Scott | Jazzhus Disk (G) JP–3102 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 12 February 1967 | Albert Nicholas With Alan Elsdon's Band | Albert Nicholas with Alan Elsdon's Band (Vol. 2) | Jazzology JCD-269 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 19 February 1967 & 4 March 1967 | Henry "Red" Allen With the Alex Welch Band | Red Allen & The Alex Welsh Band | Red Allen (G) RA-CD-28 & RA-CD-13 (CD) Jazzology JCD-318 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 26 March 1967 & 1 April 1967 | Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis | Oh, Gee! Live in Manchester, 1967 | Jasmine (E) JASCD 629 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | 839403346 |
| 9 April 1967 | Eddie Miller With Alex Welsh | Eddie Miller With Alex Welsh | Jazzology JCD-298 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | 434123442 |
| 6 May 1967 | Bill Coleman | A Smooth One | Jasmine (E) JASCD 628 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 14 & 28 May 1967 | Peanuts Hucko With Alex Welsh and His Band | Peanuts Hucko With Alex Welsh & His Band (Vol. 1) | Lake (nl) (E) LACD 171 & LACD 175 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | 873091114 |
| 18 November 1967 | Wild Bill Davison With Alex Welsh and His Band ("Duet," audio) | Fidgety Feet | Jazzology JCD-231 | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | 689527857 |
| 18 November 1967 | Wild Bill Davison With Alex Welsh and His Band | Wild Bill Davison in Europe | Jazzology JCD-151 | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |
| 24 & 25 February 1968 | Teddy Wilson With the Dave Shepherd Quartet | Teddy Wilson With The Dave Shepherd Quartet | Lake (nl) (E) LACD 161 (CD) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |

### Folk

| Session / performance date | Artist (leader) | Album or Single | Label (Catalog No.) | Studio (Venue) | OCLC |
| 1968 | The Taverners Folk Group Alan Bell (1935–2019) Brian Osborne (1939–2002) Stuart Robinson (1942–2008) Pete Rodgers | A' Round With The Taverners Folk Group | Studio Republic Ltd. (Church Farm, Pinner, Middlesex) SRS 12074 (LP) | Live Manchester Sports Guild Manchester, England | |

## MSG personnel

* John Pye, Executive Director
* Jack Swinnerton, Jazz Secretary
* L.C. Jenkins ("Jenks") (né Leslie Charles Jenkins; 1918–1986), General Secretary
* Bryn Pugh, MC in the folk room
* Frank Duffy, initial Folk Secretary
* John Dronsfield ("Drony"), Frank's successor