Manchester pub, The Star & Garter, is a venue synonymous in the Manchester music scene. Regarded as the home of punk by its punk rock patrons, the temple of doom by the metal-heads and its monthly Smiths Disco club night have attracted Smiths and Morrissey fans from around the globe for over 25 years. Now the venue faces constant threat of closure as Manchester Piccadilly expands and an increasingly competitive Manchester bar scene encroaches the 124-year-old mainstay.

Current owner of the venue, Andy Martin, organised a show for Manchester outfit ‘Half Man Half Biscuit’ in 1997 and 20 years later is now owner of the pub. Having invested his life into the building he has seen the highs and lows of the bar and sat down with NME to discuss the struggles of running an independent venue in a big money and cutthroat Manchester.

“We’re thankful for Liam Fray and…