Step back into the swinging 1960s with Joan, who moved to Manchester in 1963 to study botany at university. In this conversation, she paints a vivid picture of student life, nightlife, and music during one of the most transformative decades in popular culture.
Joan recalls living in modest student digs near Granada Studios, where her proximity meant she and her friends were regularly invited to appear in the audience for the newly launched Top of the Pops. She remembers queuing outside before being whisked into the studio, not knowing which acts she might see. Over the years she watched the Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, and Lulu — future legends who at the time were just starting their careers.
Beyond television, student nights in Manchester were buzzing. The University Union hosted live music every Saturday, with bands that would later become icons. Through friends who worked in bars and nightclubs, Joan found her way into venues she couldn’t normally afford on a student grant. One comedian neighbour, Tommy Dean, even slipped her into clubs like the legendary Twisted Wheel.
The Wheel left a strong impression — a smoky basement reached through a coffee bar, filled with loud music, dancing, and a crowd that generated its own unforgettable atmosphere. Joan describes the unique smell of the place, the sweat of hundreds of dancers, and the thrill of hearing Northern Soul in its early years. Unlike today’s nights out, alcohol wasn’t central. Students drank in the Union, but in the clubs it was mostly soft drinks, Newcastle Brown, and the music itself that fuelled the night.
The 1960s weren’t only about nightclubs. Joan also remembers the vibrant coffee bar scene across Manchester, where jukeboxes played the latest singles and teenagers gathered to socialise. Local venues thrived, from small halls to bigger spots like the Talk of the North, and she vividly recalls seeing artists such as James Brown electrify audiences, and later catching Bob Dylan at the Isle of Wight Festival.
The decade wasn’t just glamour — it was also chaos. Joan describes wild Who performances, unforgettable Rolling Stones gigs, and the shock of hearing that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, told to her by Herman’s Hermits’ Keith Hopwood. She reflects too on the drug culture that history books highlight, noting that while she later met people who experimented with LSD and more, as a young student in the early 60s she never encountered it first-hand.
By the end of our chat, Joan names the track that takes her straight back to the 1960s: “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. She also remembers spinning Beatles singles like Please Please Me endlessly on her family record player, alongside harmonies from the Beach Boys and the Everly Brothers.
This conversation captures what it felt like to be young in Manchester during the 1960s — the excitement of live music, the intimacy of student life, and the thrill of witnessing history being made by bands who would go on to define an era.
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