Above: The Halle Orchestra and Choir at Free Trade Hall, 1951 - Source: Halle Archive 

Free Trade Hall is one of Manchester’s longest serving buildings, housing everything from the start of the suffragette movement to genre-denying shows that shaped a generation.  

Opening its doors in 1856, the hall was built on the grounds of the tragic Peterloo Massacre just 30 years previously. Built to commemorate this along side the repeal of the Corn Laws in Parliament, it’s history started before the first brick was even laid. In 1858, the Halle Orchestra made its home in the hall. Charles Halle conducted the first of his Grand Orchestral Concerts with his own orchestra.  

Above: The aftermath of the Blitz Bombing, December 1940 - Source: Halle Archive 

Until 1996 the Halle made its home at the Free Trade Hall, although during the second world war the building was first requisitioned and then bombed in the Manchester Blitz. During this time the Halle was peripatetic around the Greater Manchester area, before settling on seasons of concerts at the Albert Hall and the Kings Hall, Belle Vue. In November 1951 the Free Trade Hall reopened with a festival of concerts and was once again the home of the Halle until it closed in 1996. 

Moving forward to the 1960’s, Free Trade Hall was a hot bed for international artists. In 1963, Ella Fitzgerald graced the Hall with The Oscar Peterson Trio, covering classics by the great jazz composers Duke Ellington and George Gershwin.  

 

Above: Bob Dylan at Free Trade Hall, 1966 - Source: BBC/Mark Makin 

Other notable artists like Bob Dylan went on to make their mark on the city through the Free Trade Hall stage, with the famous 1966 show where audiences couldn’t believe Dylan brought electric instruments and screamed ‘Judas’ as he went on to play the last section of his live set with a full band on electric guitar. This caused a stir on both sides of the Atlantic, with fans discussing whether his decision to play electric sets meant he had sold out his folk roots. An interesting insight into the reactions of music lovers everywhere as sounds and instrument changes meant new types of music were breaking through.  

Moving through to the 1970’s, Free Trade Hall saw David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust perform to 2500 people, playing what would become classics like Changes and Space Oddity. In 1976, rock legends KISS played their first every UK show at the hall, and Pink Floyd came through the doors a few weeks later. 

 

Above: Sex Pistols at Lesser Free Trade Hall, 1974 – Source: BBC 

You can’t talk about Manchester’s deep music history without talking about one of the most influential gigs of all time.  Dubbed ‘The Gig That Changed The World’ was in fact held at Lesser Free Trade Hall in February of 1976, which included two infamous shows fronted by punk legends Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks. While the audience didn’t even reach 50 people, the audience members that attended all went on to put Manchester on the musical map.  

People in attendance included Mark E Smith, who went on to form The Fall after being inspired to ‘do even better’ than what he had just seen. The Fall would go on to release over 30 albums, constantly challenging the boundaries of punk rock, inspiring the likes of Nirvana, Sonic Youth and The Pixies. They have been described as, “the most prolific band of the British post-punk movement”. 

Watching from the back was none other than Steven Morrissey, or as he’s professionally known Morrissey. At only 17, he snook into the back and saw Sex Pistols. He left the show eager to create his own legacy, so gathered friend Johnny Marr and established The Smiths, one of the biggest bands in the history of the UK. They would go on to provide the building blocks for other huge Manchester bands. Without Marr’s iconic guitar riffs, there would be no Stone Roses and no Oasis. 

Two friends from Salford, called Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook were also in attendance. So inspired by the set, Peter would go out and purchase a bass guitar the very next day. As part of Joy Division and then New Order, Hook would go on to write some of the most memorable bass lines in music history. Joy Division were immortalised by their debut album, “Unknown Pleasures” and were pioneers in the post-punk era, and after the loss of front man Ian Curtis, would continue to redevelop the punk genre and create New Order in 1980.  

The next famous attendee is debatable, but self-proclaimed audience member Tony Wilson was thought that have been there. Regardless of whether he was or not, Sex Pistols triggered something in Wilson and inspired him to book them to play on his music and culture TV show, “So It Goes”. 2 years later, Wilson established Factory records, who managed such bands as A Certain Ratio, the Durutti Column, the Happy Mondays, New Order and Joy Division. Wilson also opened the world-famous Hacienda night club in Manchester, thus almost single-handedly creating the rave scene and “Madchester” culture. 

Other members of the crowd that night included band members from Simply Red and A Certain Ratio; legendary designers Peter Saville and Malcolm Garrett, rock ‘n’ roll photographer Kevin Cummins, and producer Martin Hannett. All of which cement their place in Manchester’s rich music history and the iconic Madchester era.  

The Free Trade Hall was where “the punk rock atom was split” as Steve Diggle of Buzzcocks proclaims; “it changed Manchester, and it changed the world.” 

 

Above: Programme of first Halle Orchestra concert, 1858. Source: Halle Archive  

After the Halle left Free Trade Hall in 1995, the hall swiftly closed in 1997 and sold to developers who made it into the Radisson Edwardian Hotel. The relationship between The Halle and Free Trade Hall is still celebrated within the hotel, through a dedicated conference suite named after the orchestra, adorned with a partition wall showcasing images of past performers. In the atrium light well, framed pieces of wall plaster autographed by these musical icons—including American jazz great Louis Armstrong—are displayed alongside 1950s statues by Arthur Sherwood Edwards taken from the building’s façade. Original pieces from the Free Trade Hall are also displayed in private rooms, preserving its historical essence, while a timeline on the third floor chronicles its vibrant past, connecting guests to the legacy of this remarkable space.