Rafters / The Music Box

The Story

In the old basement of the St. James Buildings, Rafters opened in the early 1970s, below Fagin's club, and became a live music venue starting in 1974. It was here, on April 14, 1978, that Joy Division, then still called Warsaw, took to the stage around two in the morning and convinced Tony Wilson to found Factory Records with the band. Rafters also hosted Buzzcocks and Depeche Mode, who performed there in 1981 on a night immortalized in the bootleg *A Second Now*. In 1983, the venue changed its name to Jilly's and then to Music Box in 1992. The space permanently closed in 2010.

Explore more