Mancunian music lovers – and many Reds – were left stunned in March, when Andy Martin, the landlord of seminal gig venue the Star & Garter, died at the age of just 52.
To outsiders, Manchester is legendary for its major music acts, but many grassroots spaces for live music have fallen away in recent years, amid rising gentrification.
Thanks to Andy, the Star & Garter, near Piccadilly station, remains a defiant exception, providing a vital platform for everything non-mainstream.
Heroically, he even fought off closure threats from Network Rail, when both friends and solicitors insisted he was fighting a losing battle.