Feature
Incredible hidden stories behind Manchester’s ‘weird and wonderful’ Empire Exchange
‘A lot of things happen in this shop that are just kind of cosmic and it’s a funny kind of place’
On the edge of Piccadilly as you turn into the Northern Quarter, there is a bizarre and strange shop that blasts vinyl records from decades long gone, with passers-by either looking and wondering or lured into its hidden cave below the Manchester pavements — it’s called Empire Exchange.
If you haven’t come across it already it’s based on Newton Street, and it’s got more weird and wonderful hidden treasures from the past than your grandparent’s attic — left as if time stood still. This secondhand collectables shop has been going for 35 years and is one of the last quirky collector’s items units left in Manchester city centre as the age of corporatism has a firm grip, slowly squeezing them out.
Its window displays are filled with mannequins wearing Thunderbirds, brass band outfits, Batman and Star Wars costumes, or ’70s Disco wigs paired with oversized sunglasses from the same era. It’s an overcrowded treasure trove, cluttered with years upon years of nostalgia, buried under long lost memories. Old scratchy records play at full pelt as they waft into the streets above and dare people to delve into its depths.
As you walk down the stairs, you take in vinyls strung along the walls decoratively and step beneath the likes of Batman, Darth Vader, and a lineup of ex-footballers looking down and watching you. Beneath the timber staircase, you can see a dragon’s head peering through the gaps as you finally enter its lair.
John Ireland, 70, owns this fascinating world that resides beneath Manchester. He lives in Whalley Range with his wife of 50 years. John was a builder when he was younger but enjoyed collecting things as a hobby, including stamps. He said: “I used to collect stamps, I was a stamp collector, but I was a builder by profession.
“I was accumulating a lot of books and stuff and I needed somewhere to move all my accumulated stock and then it all just sort of developed and we were very popular. At one time there used to be quite a lot of shops like us but they’ve all gone now. But we’re all getting on a bit.”
It was from his hobbies that Empire Exchange was born. He co-founded the shop with his friend Ian Stott who sadly passed away in 2021. John’s friend Paul also helped with the running of things, as they had a blast together throughout the years – though Paul has had to take time off for personal reasons.
John’s son Dave Ireland also helps run the family business. You might see him in the shop sometimes, when he’s not going to house clearances and loading stock in the warehouse based in Old Trafford, before it’s sent to the shop. Items come as donations from house clear outs and are passed on to new owners in small sales.
The shop has stood in its current location for around 23 years. Prior to that there were two, one located in Shudehill and one on Charles Street. About the unusual shop, Dave says: “A lot of things happen in this shop that are just kind of cosmic and it’s a funny kind of place.
“No matter where you place Empire Exchange, it seems to be on ley lines, it seems to have spiritual connotations. People love it for all different manner of reasons, and they all know it because we’ve been trading for over 40 years.”
After all those years trading in the centre, both John and Dave have some stories to tell. One that stands out relates to the late co-founder Ian who died after catching Covid during the height of the pandemic, aged 64. Katie, who used to work Saturdays at Empire Exchange, brought some of his ashes in a small urn into the shop to rest where he spent many of his years.
Dave didn’t realise Ian’s ashes were inside the pot, and when he was pricing up ornaments for display, he accidentally placed a ticket on this one too. One day, a customer came in and decided they liked the look of it and bought it – only to get home and discover what they thought was someone’s pet’s ashes in it. They brought it back to the shop, and John’s long lost pal remains on site. However, the urn now has a note stuck on, it clearly stating : ‘Ian’s ashes do not sell’.
Showing me Ian’s funeral booklet, put together by Katie and Paul, Dave said: “It just goes to show what a fantastic guy he was. Over a year on, people are shocked that we’ve lost Ian. I didn’t realise that Katie had his ashes separated and put into little wooden urns. She’d given one to the shop because that’s where he’s worked for over 30 years.
“One day when I was standing in for someone, a lady asked for trinket boxes and I gathered a few together and charged her £3 each for them. Luckily, about a week later she came back with the pot and she said ‘this has got a pet’s ashes in it’.
“And I’d realised what I’d done, I’d sold Ian’s ashes. Since then I’ve stuck a sticker on the urn and it says ‘do not sell’. I think he would have enjoyed that story as he had a good sense of humour, our Ian. He was sold in his own shop. Anyway, I won’t sell that again, hopefully.”
Dave talked about the time he had to gather old furniture from Carborundum Co grinding factory, over in Old Trafford, saying: “It was a 1950s office that hadn’t been touched for 70 years. In the ’50s they had an Art Deco revival. And we had to punch the door open to it.
“They had Deco wooden filing cabinets, candle sticks and paraffin lamps that you don’t see anymore. It’s like they just put everything down and closed the factory. When we broke into the room it was amazing, it was like a snapshot in time.
“There were signs on the wall that said ‘please do not spit’ because of the grinding dust used to hang in the air. I sold one of the enamel signs from the ’50s that said ‘please do not spit. Carborundum Co’, that was unusual.”
Another funny tale was when Dave and the gang thought they were collecting a few boiler suits from a clear out in Ancoats to sell in their shop. Dave reminisced: “It turned out one of them was an F1 race suit that used to belong to Roland Ratzenberger. It was white with a gold belt and had scribing across the middle.”
Ratzenberger was killed in a 200mph crash at the San Marino grand prix in 1994.
John fell into alcoholism in his 30s while he worked as a builder. He was in the habit of having a daily drink and found himself needing to carry a small bottle around with him. It was then he realised he was an alcoholic.
He said: “It started off with a regular drink everyday and then got to the point where I’d have to carry a small bottle of whiskey around with me in my top pocket. I used to run a site of around 30 lads. It couldn’t carry on.”
He’s been sober now for 37 years after he got help from Alcoholics Anonymous. Now he assists AA in answering the helpline to people struggling with alcohol issues, which he does on a weekly basis.
If you haven’t visited Empire Exchange yet, you need to go in and have a look as there aren’t many places like it left. There’s so many different interesting pieces of memorabilia and bric-a-brac within this cavelike place, and the staff are very friendly too.
Located at 1 Newton Street, M1 1HW, Empire Exchange is open 10am-6pm every day.
Feature
Remembering Manchester’s lost underground market that now lies empty beneath the city
Do you have memories of shopping in the underground Market Centre?
Manchester used to have an underground market that now lies abandoned beneath the city centre.
If you walk along Market Street, you’re walking above what used to be the Market Centre – an underground shopping area filled with stalls and units selling music, clothes and a variety of other essential and non-essential items.
The underground Market Centre opened in 1972 and was a busy and bustling shopping emporium, much like the Arndale and Market Street both are today.
Punks would shop there for outfits, music fans could browse through the vinyl record shops and buy tickets to gigs at Piccadilly Box Office. It even had a Stolen from Ivor – which was the first place in Manchester to sell the jeans brand Levi’s, and where many would flock to get their hands on a pair of 501s.
Fashion addicts could hit up shops including Roxy, Oasis and Justins as well as a number of other boutique stalls, including the leather shop, for cool jackets.
DJs could sift through the collections at Underground Records Import and fans could shop at iconic music stalls including Collectors Records, Yvonne’s Record Stall, and the Spinn Inn Disc Centre.
The Market Centre was the place to be throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s until it closed down in 1989.
The entrance to it was located on Brown Street, with two other entrances on Norfolk Street and Spring Gardens. It had escalators going down under the pavement that led to this total treasure trove.
If you head to the Tesco on Market Street and go down to the lower level, you’re actually in what used to be part of the underground market.
But now it has fallen into disrepair, with the odd urban explorer who has dared to delve into the depth of the city to see what remains of this now eerie, decaying ghost market.
One explorer, known as Urban Sherman on YouTube, went down to have a look at what’s left of these once bustling underground stalls. Finding a way into where the old main entrance was located, down by the side of Tesco behind the food trailer, he climbs in and lands on the old steps with tiled walls.
As torches light up the dark depths of the city, we can see wires hanging, rubble strewn across the floor, graffiti on walls and one rusty sign that reads: “factory prices.”
It appears a wall of breeze blocks has been put up to block off any entry along the halls of the former market with the rest of it inaccessible, only to live on in the memories of those who once shopped there, and in old archived photographs.
Got a story to tell?
Have you got a story or video you think our audience will love? We want to hear from you, drop us an email on submit@propermanchester.com and we’ll get back to you.
Feature
The legendary nightclubs that Mancunians would most like to bring back
Remember any of these?
We asked our readers which nightclubs that no longer exist they would choose to bring back – and we got some great answers.
If you could choose just one, which would it be?
Here’s a list of former nightclubs that people would love to see return, as chosen by Proper Manchester readers.
The Boardwalk
The Boardwalk was a nightclub based on Little Peter Street in Manchester which was open from 1986 to 1999. It was a multi-floor nightclub, gig venue and rehearsal complex all in one.
It’s where Oasis played their first ever gig in 1992 and saw many notable bands that were a part of the Madchester music scene, including the likes of Inspiral Carpets, Doves, Happy Mondays, James and more. These days, it’s used as an office space.
There’s a blue plaque bolted to the wall which reads: “Remember me. I was something once.” It has a yellow smiley face in a nod to the Madchester acid house era.
Club Phoenix
Located on University Precinct, on Oxford Road, this sweatbox of a student dive would have music blaring on different nights, playing everything from indie bangers to dance classics and everything in between.
It was a scream club filled with young students looking for cheap drinks and cheap thrills too. There were plenty of messy drunken shenanigans. Being close to the Academy, it would be a great place for the young ‘uns to go for pre-gig bevvies.
The New Continental Club
The New Continental Club was on Harter Street, Manchester and opened in 1967. It was affectionately known as The Conti. It closed in 2001 and became The Tube nightclub, which has also since closed.
Many nurses and frontline emergency services workers frequented The Conti and many say they experienced some of the best nights out of their lives.
The narrow staircase would lead down to the basement club, food would be served through a hatch and the queues to the toilets could be as long as your arm – they were pretty minging too.
Discotheque Royales
Built in 1845, the building was originally made to be an amphitheatre. But in 1921 it was changed into a cinema after facing stiff competition from the Palace Theatre and Opera House.
After being used as a bingo hall, the historic landmark then became one of Manchester’s most iconic nightclubs known by most as ‘Royales’, since 1989. In later years it went on to become Infinity and M-Two but Royales was legendary throughout the ‘90s.
Inside, it had many levels and a huge dance floor that was meant to look like it was lit up under a huge chandelier. With long draped velvet curtains, lights and reflective mirrors everywhere, it was party central.
DJ Brutus Gold held Love Train nights there until the show moved to the Ritz in 2000.
Fifth Avenue
This club started out as Legend, which became known as Manchester’s ‘other club’ during the ‘80s and the height of the Hacienda era, and saw top DJs who also played nights at Wigan Pier.
When it became Fifth Ave it was transformed into an indie music haven. As revellers walked down into the dingy basement and the whiff of cheap bleach in the air would hit them in the face, some of the best tunes from Manchester bands would be blasting, as partygoers walked straight across the sticky floor to the bar where they’d order a drink served in a plastic cup.
Club-goers soon got to know that if you went up to request a song from the DJ, it wouldn’t get played. In later years, it became known simply as Fifth, after owners tried a bit of a refresh.
But as the pandemic hit, the club sat empty and shuttered, and sadly never to return as it closed for good in 2021.
Twisted Wheel Club
It quickly became a Manchester institution after opening in the ‘60s, attracting mods across the North looking for somewhere to dance all night to rhythm and blues.
Before Twisted Wheel, clubs would play mainstream popular music. This Manchester establishment was groundbreaking and paved the way for how nightclubs would play different music genres to suit various tastes in the future.
Twisted Wheel, based on Swan Street, was a legendary haven for Northern Soul enthusiasts. It closed for a while in 1971, being renamed Placemate 7, then Follies. The club closed for good in 2021.
Thunderdome
If the Hacienda was too pretentious for you, or you got turned away at the door, there was another legendary Madchester club playing all the great acid house music buzzing dancers wanted to rave the night away to – it was called the Thunderdome.
Located at 255 Oldham Road, this club was all about the music. It was edgier, full of all walks of life and was even home to some of Manchester’s criminal underworld. Many fondly referred to it as the ‘Dome.
Initially, although it felt a bit dangerous, nobody wanted any trouble, they just wanted to get off their trolley and enjoy the music. But over the years there were police raids and even helicopters circling the club as well as undercover officers wearing yellow smiley face T-shirts mingling in amongst the hooligans, gang members and just generally dodgy people.
Unfortunately, its rough reputation has stuck with it to this day, while the Hacienda is remembered most as the epicentre of the Madchester acid house scene. The Thunderdome was demolished in 2010 but its legend lives on in the memories of retired ravers and on tribute Facebook groups.
Feature
Travel back in time through Manchester in the ‘90s with these 30 photos
Fashion shows, bombings, Maine Road, buses, cars, the Metrolink and the Hacienda…
Here’s 30 nostalgic photographs of what Manchester looked like in the 1990s.
The city centre has changed a lot over the decades, which probably comes as no surprise with the amount of construction going on – it’s changing by the day.
But as the years go by and buildings you once knew are torn down and replaced with new apartments or office blocks, it’s left to your grainy memory of how places used to look and the times you may have once had there.
The nineties was a great era for music in Manchester and saw the birth of bands including Oasis, The Doves and Take That. It was the decade of hope after the recession of the 1980s, but there were ups and downs also.
On April 1st 1990 prisoners in Strangeways (now HMP Manchester) took control of its chapel, and quickly spread throughout most of the prison to begin a riot which lasted 25 days.
Hundreds of inmates got up onto the roof, with the incident claiming the life of one prisoner and injuring 147 prison officers and 47 prisoners.
The riot was followed by similar disturbances at other prisons across the country and sparked a conversation about reform for prison conditions.
The decade was also blighted by the IRA bomb of 1996. The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a 1,500-kilogram lorry bomb on Corporation Street on June 15th.
It was the biggest bomb detonated in Great Britain since the Second World War, injuring 212 innocent people and causing £700 million worth of damage to the city centre.
The event kick-started the regeneration and modernisation of the city which has evolved into the Manchester we know and love today.
The city already began planning on improvements as part of its campaign to hold the 2000 Olympics and Paralympics. However, the bid was ultimately unsuccessful and Manchester was beaten to it by Sydney, with Beijing coming in as runner-up.
But Manchester did go on to hold the 2002 Commonwealth Games, with The Commonwealth Games Stadium becoming the new home of Manchester City after the club vacated Maine Road – which was then demolished and turned into new homes.
The Hacienda, which opened in 1982, became the nightclub at the forefront of the acid house scene. The club was owned by record label Factory Records and was famous for playing a major part in the Madchester movement.
Unfortunately, the club gained a reputation for drug use and after enjoying its heyday throughout the best part of the ‘90s, it fell victim to crime issues and financial troubles which eventually led to its closure in 1997.
The club was subsequently demolished and replaced by apartments.
The newly built Trafford Centre opened in 1998, the year after the film Titanic was released, which its themed food court paid homage to. Since then, Trafford Park has transformed from the derelict marshlands it once was and into a centre of retail, leisure and entertainment.
Manchester United were the most successful football team of the city during this era, and the club won numerous domestic and international titles under manager Alex Ferguson.
David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes were just some of the players who played for United during the club’s golden era – playing in the newly formed Premier League, which was founded in 1992.
For the first time in English football history the Reds secured the Treble in 1999 – the League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Meanwhile, the Blue side of Manchester – Man City – went through many ups and downs. In 1998 City were relegated to the third tier of the English Football League. The club regained promotion to the top tier in 2001-02 and have remain in the Premier League since.
Manchester was once home to the iconic Strangeways Boddingtons Brewery, which owned pubs throughout the North West.
The brand was best known for its ‘Boddies’ – a straw-golden, hoppy bitter which was one of the first beers to be packaged in cans containing a widget, giving it a creamy draught-style head.
In the 1990s, the beer was promoted as The Cream of Manchester in a popular advertising campaign credited with raising Manchester’s profile. Model and actress Melanie Sykes was the Boddington’s girl star of the ads, which saw her take a swig of a pint and say ‘by ‘eck’, with a creamy moustache.
The brewery shut down in February 2005 and its workers clocked off their final ever shift, never to return, following its 227-year history.
Got a story to tell?
Have you got a story or video you think our audience will love? We want to hear from you, drop us an email on submit@propermanchester.com and we’ll get back to you.
Find something to do in Manchester
Powered by 
Popular Italian launches new menu with fresh cheesy pesto pasta and king prawns
Hot Wheels interactive experience hosting its first-ever European event in Trafford
Blue Lights: Series two of gripping Northern Ireland police drama launches tonight
Passport fees are rising tomorrow for second time in 14 months
Epic indoor inflatable park reopens with huge new ball pit filled with nearly half a million balls
