The Northern Quarter music venue that launched The Buzzcocks, The Fall and Joy Division has won £1.65M Arts Council funding for a 4K SF extension, as concern about threats to Manchester's musical nightlife grow.

Inner City Music Limited, the charity that owns and operates the Swan Street  venue Band on the Wall, said that Arts Council England had approved £1.65M capital funding for an expansion into the neighbouring derelict Cocozza building.

The move, which increases capacity from 350 to 500 and which promoters say will "explore and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the local area" comes as concern grows that Manchester's live music sector is under threat from development.

The 4K SF extension to the 13.7K SF venue will include a remodelled bar and a new small second venue for emerging artists. A planning application was approved in September.

The Band on the Wall's unusual name dates back to the building’s days as The George and Dragon pub. Regulars would affectionately refer to the ‘Band on the Wall’ as the place where musicians quite literally played on a stage halfway up the back wall to make more floor room in the busy pub.