Salford Lads' Club closer to being saved as Manchester's Rolla donate gig takings

ITV Granada Reports Tim Scott spoke to the band before the fundraising gig.

Salford Lads' club say they are now close to raising the quarter of a million pounds needed to keep the historic venue open.

It famously featured on the The Smiths album 'The Queen is Dead' but was founded back in 1903 by philanthropists James Grimble Groves and his brother William.

Since then it has been a youth club for children and teenagers and to this day caters for the community.

Manchester five-piece Rolla joined music stars like Smiths' frontman Morrissey in wanting to contribute to the fund to save it.

Their gig there on Friday 15th November was staged to try to raise more thousands toward the target.

"This place has been around for 120 years and for our generation to be the generation to see its doors close, well we were not going to have that so we decided to donate the proceeds from the gig," says Rolla singer James Gillmore.

Laura Slingsby from the club, which works with girls and boys, says they are very close to raising what they need.

"I think we're about twenty thousand pounds away from the target, we feel quietly confident we can reach it".

It is a remarkable achievement helped by stars like Morrissey who gave £50,000. Laura said of that donation,

“His contribution reinforces the importance of preserving spaces like ours – places where young people connect with their community’s history, freely express themselves, and build the confidence they need for their futures.”

The singer has donated to the club before and the building has a Smiths room which attracts fans from all over the world.

The club faces a hole in it's finances because of a cut to funding.