Following their appearance in Stockport, Cheshire on 13 June 1963, The Beatles drove 10 miles to the Southern Sporting Club in Manchester for their second show of the night.
The venue was originally known as The Corona, and was converted from a cinema to a dance hall in the 1950s. The Southern Sporting Club hosted cabaret and dance nights throughout the 1960s, and later became The Mayflower Club.
The club stood on Manchester’s Birch Street. It subsequently became the Stoneground heavy rock club, but burnt down in the 1980s.
Page last updated: 25 January 2024
There is a rare factual error in the above post: the club you mention was on Birch St, Gorton NEAR its junction with Hyde Rd. It definitively was NOT on the corner of Birch St and Hyde Rd. Also, it later became the Stoneground heavy rock club, and eventually burnt down in the 1980s. Thank you for this fantastic website and resource – it is amazing
Thanks Steve. I’ve amended the article. I assume the map point at the bottom of the page is inaccurate too – could you possibly give me some detailed info (or better still, a direct link) for where I should put it?
Hiya I worked at the Southern for years for Sid Elgar so you wanted the exact position of the place , well the front entrance was on Birch Street , It stood in the middle of two streets Malpas Street being the first street in from Hyde Road and Great Jones Street being the second street, Its position was opposite the Imperial Inn a great little pub where most of us staff would drink
Thanks very much Alan!
I’ve repositioned it midway between Malpas and Great Jones Street, but I’ve no idea if I have the correct spot – or even the right side of the road! Hope it’s close enough. It doesn’t look like the Imperial Inn is there nowadays, unfortunately.
Do you by any chance recall the murals in the bar / wall ?I was the artist that painted them – I seem to remember I did a paddle steamer/ a jousting match and another subject for a third one. I knew Sid and his wife Jeanette very well.