Rafters, Music venue in Manchester, England
Rafters is a music venue on Oxford Street in Manchester, set up so that the stage and the audience are unusually close together. The room holds up to 1,000 people and has hosted live music across many different genres over the years.
The venue opened in 1970 and quickly became part of Manchester's live music scene from its earliest days. It later ran under the name Jilly's Rockworld, keeping its role as a place for bands to perform.
Rafters was a place where music fans in Manchester could see bands at very close range, long before those bands became widely known. That physical closeness between stage and crowd gave the room a particular energy that kept people coming back.
The venue sits on Oxford Street in central Manchester, so it is easy to reach on foot or by public transport from most parts of the city. Booking in advance is a good idea for popular nights, as the room fills up quickly given its size.
Rob Gretton, who went on to manage Joy Division, was working as a DJ at the venue when he first saw the band play there. That chance encounter in this room directly led him to become their manager and shape the direction of the group.
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