It has iconic status and so does she. Now Salford Lads Club will pay tribute to a Salford lass who found fame with a gritty, brave, and, at the time, groundbreaking drama.
Shelagh Delaney wrote the play "A Taste of Honey" aged 19, in 1958. It was a stage success before a film version was released in 1961 starring Dora Bryan, a young Rita Tushingham, Murray Melvin, and Paul Danquah, which won four BAFTA awards.
Set in the bleak terraced streets and docks of Salford, it tells the story of a 17-year-old working class girl. It sparked controversy at the time of its release for tackling issues of homosexuality and racism and would become one of the defining ‘kitchen sink' dramas. But it won a Bafta and brought Shelagh fame and infamy. The play also paved the way for the first episode of Coronation Street in 1960. It was just one element of an impressive career.
Now, to mark her home city's Shelagh Delaney Day, November 25th, the Lads Club has commissioned artist Alena Ruth Donely to create a textile panel.
The club itself is world famous thanks to an image taken by photographer Stephen Wright on a bitter November afternoon in 1985, almost at dusk. He shot five reels of film with 36 pictures on each, with a £150 Nikon camera. One of those pictures is now in the National Portrait Gallery.
The black and white image of The Smiths is now regarded as one of the most iconic in rock history - and it put Salford Lads Club, in Coronation Street, on the map. It was used on the inner-sleeve of the band’s album, The Queen is Dead, which was released 35 years ago.
The rug weaved by Ruth is embossed with words ‘Salford Lass’ and references another piece of Salford’s cultural story through garish colours inspired by The Happy Mondays' artwork.
The artwork ~ which is almost two metres wide ~ will be temporarily installed over the iconic building's famous redbrick exterior entrance, directly under the original Coronation Street sign.
John Harding who wrote "Sweetly Sings Delaney" a study of Shelagh's work during 1958-68, reflected in an interview with the Manchester Evening News: “She was treated really badly by certain aspects of Salford life. Going back up north, the reactions she faced can’t have been easy,” John reflects.
“I don’t know too many playwrights that came home to this choir of disapproval. There was an orchestrated campaign against her for some time. But she was a remarkable character - and really tough too.”
Born, raised, and educated in Salford during the 1940s Shelagh died in November 2011, just a few days short of her 72nd birthday. In 2014 a plaque was unveiled at her former home in Duchy Road by an old flame - artist Harold Riley.
Leslie Holmes, Salford Lads Club’s Project Manager ~ who commissioned the work ~ said: "Shelagh Delaney is the city's most important cultural figure. Her work "A Taste of Honey” paved the way for film and TV to bring Salford's working-class story to a worldwide audience."
Salford Lads Club faces out on three sides with its famous sign in the centre, at the junction of Coronation Street and St Ignatius Walk, formerly Oxford Street. On either side of the famous archway are two arches which are blank brick below. In January this year one of the blank niches was used for the first time to show solidarity with Ukraine by using the yellow and blue of the country's flag as a photo image on its social media platforms.
The vibrant ‘Salford Lass’ panel will be temporarily installed and photographed, and then taken down and displayed in the club along with photographs showing Alena's creative process. Alena is kindly donating it to the club and proceeds from the project will go towards Salford Girls Club activities.
While the building and its history is recognised as Salford Lads Club, as a registered charity it is called Salford Lads and Girls Club. The Barracks Estate in Ordsall, Salford originally had a large girls’ institute building down the street from Salford Lads Club, but it was hit by bombing in 1941 and destroyed.
Salford Girls Club started in 1994 and is supported by Salford Youth Service. The club’s aim with Alena's artwork is to inspire the next generation of girls and young women to look again at the legacy of Shelagh Delaney and her importance to this city.
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