Salford Lads Club, famed for The Smiths photo, upgraded to Grade II* listed status
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Salford Lads Club, a 123-year-old youth club in Salford made famous by a photo shoot with The Smiths, has had its listed status upgraded to Grade II* by Historic England, recognizing its architectural and cultural significance.
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Salford Lads Club, established in 1903, has served generations of youth and gained international fame as the backdrop for a photo of The Smiths. The upgrade follows a successful £250,000 campaign to save it from closure.
A "remarkable" 123-year-old youth club building made famous after The Smiths posed outside it for a photo shoot has had its listed status upgraded to Grade II*.
Salford Lads Club opened on Coronation Street in the city in 1903 and has helped generations of boys - and later girls - by offering activities such as sport, art and music.
The upgrade came less than two years after a campaign to save it from closure raised £250,000, which included donations from former Smiths singer Morrissey and music legend and former club member Graham Nash.
Leslie Holmes, culture and heritage projects manager at the club, said it was what he had been working towards "since I first came into the building in 2002".
The Salford club was designed by architect Henry Lord and established in 1903, with its official opening happening in January 1904, and it first received Grade II listed status in 2003.
It was initially part of a federation of lads clubs in working class communities across the UK, but the majority of the others closed between World War One and World War Two.
It holds records for all its members past and present, which included Nash and his former Hollies bandmate Allan Clarke.
It became internationally known when it provided the backdrop for a photo of The Smiths, which was used on posters, promotional material and the inner sleeve of their most successful album, 1986's The Queen Is Dead.
Holmes said the creation of The Smiths room and the archive room at the club had enabled it to showcase its unique cultural importance and attract thousands of visitors every year, many of whom had recreated that famous Smiths photo.
The club's listing on the Historic England (HE) site states it has "an eclectic Elizabethan style, built of red Ruabon brick and red terracotta, and its cupola is a local landmark".
"The building survives remarkably intact, most unusually still hosting its original club. It has a notable association with national sporting and music history, in particular with The Smiths, a band who achieved international fame," it said.
