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CYCM 20/07/19, Do You Remember The First Time?

CYCM 20/07/19, Do You Remember The First Time?It was when the bus pulled into Leigh and we saw all the familiar faces milling about that we started to feel optimistic. 16 July 2005, a sunny day at the wrong end of the 586 route and FC United of Manchester was really happening.
We know now how frantically others had been working behind the scenes to make it so, but for those of us who’d been along to the meetings, at first curious and then agog at the audacity of it all, this was the moment it suddenly felt real.

I can’t remember a worse time
12 May 2005, barely two months earlier, the club that had been slipping away from us for years felt as though it had been wrenched out of our hands. Most reds of our acquaintance were horrified, but we quickly came to realise we were in the minority. That really hit home on cup final day, when the planned protest barely materialised.

But you know that we’ve changed so much since then
Little did we anticipate that, fourteen years on, our pre-match build up would involve elongated email threads about how many bowls of tater ‘ash to order and who’s going to get up to the ground early to build the stage. Fan-owned football, eh?

On Saturday, Clwb Pêl-Droed Bangor 1876 join us in the fan-owned fold as we welcome them to Broadhurst Park for their inaugural match. Formed in response to growing disillusionment with the owners of Bangor City, CPD Bangor 1876’s aim is to ‘restore a sense of pride for football fans and the wider community’. And so say all of us. We wish them well. We can’t promise it will be plain sailing, but we can promise it will never be dull.

So what have we got for you on Saturday?

1.00: Doors open

No Vegan Ronay this week, but we’ll have the usual Westwells loveliness (served by a bloke from Colwyn Bay, no less).
Get down early though as we’re expecting it to be busy.
To wash down the tater ‘ash and cheese pies we’ll have our usual range of fine Holts’ ales along with a guest beer, Nakota, a hoppy session IPA from Llandudno’s Wild Horse Brewing Co.

Geneviève L. Walsh
Taking time out from touring to MC for us is the wonderful Geneviève L. Walsh. Her brand-new show is about growing up while the world dumbs down, and staying dark while the future looks nauseatingly orange. ‘A Place in the Shade’ tackles stereotypes, celebrates the power of music, searches murky corners of alternative spaces and seeks out love and acceptance in the shadiest places. That reads like a manifesto for the coming season at CYCM to us …

Y-Key Operators
Taking to the stage at 2.15 we have Y-Key Operators, a five-strong outfit from Failsworth. With a nod to Madchester, they’ll be taking synth-driven indie rock and putting a dance spin on it. They’ve been known to sample Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Great Dictator’. According to one reviewer, their debut album conveys ‘an underlying doubt and questioning of authority and the political system.’ They sound alright to us. Check them out:

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/4L9bo9Bxe1fP84rVsHDuRw?si=qbV1-653SzKZNhT2gx6hrw

facebook - https://www.facebook.com/YKeyOperators/

twitter - @ykeyoperators

You can catch their full set at Jimmy’s in Newton Street in town on 29 November.

Just so you know: if you come looking for us in the St. Mary’s Road End, then, well, you’re in the right place, because that’s our permanent gaff. Just head to the turnstiles and make your way about two-thirds down the SMRE. You can’t really miss us as we have a big, dock off stage for a start, plus a flag with a massive caravan drawn on it. And as always: entrance to CYCM is completely freemans, with the usual rules applying: no divviness, nuclear weapons or anyone who isn’t convinced that Norris would do a better job than Boris. Refugees welcome.



First Posted ~ 17:06 Wed 17 Jul 2019
News ID ~ 8440
Last Updated ~ 16:00 Fri 19 Feb 2021