It was a Friday afternoon in February, 1972, and Robert Conway was sat in his office at Salford University.
A man knocked on the door and asked if Robert, the university's entertainments officer, could put on a gig that night, adding almost as an after-thought, that the act was Paul McCartney's new band Wings. In fact, the man said, the former Beatle was sat outside in a van right now, if you'd like to meet him.
"I went out and there was a white van and there was Paul, Linda McCartney, a few kids and their dogs," said Robert.
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"They'd been sent from Manchester University, who wouldn't put them on. They said 'We want to play here tonight. Get as many people as you can. 50p a ticket, we'll split it 25p for us, 25p for the student union and we'll put on a concert'. In the space of two or three hours we managed to get 600 people in this hall."
The show, part of Wings now-fabled impromptu universities tour, is one of several legendary gigs that took place at Maxwell Hall, one of the most influential music venues in Greater Manchester throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Over the years the hall played host to the likes of U2, Blondie, Joy Division, New Order and a gig by The Smiths once hailed as one of the top 10 concerts of all time. But outside of music aficionados Maxwell Hall has largely been forgotten.
Now a new short film produced by Salford University and Salford council looks at its special place in Greater Manchester's musical history. Peter Hook recalls being a regular at the venue, before eventually playing it with Joy Division and New Order.
"It was was of those weird things," he said. "There were so many pubs on this stretch, it was a hell of a thriving place. Chapel Street and Regent Road, they were very, very important cultural areas.
"As Salford goes, in this area, Maxwell Hall was the only place where you could go to see decent bands because of the size of the venue. It was always somewhere as a punk you aspired to, as we came up we played it and it was a great gig. It attracted good people."
On Sunday, July 20, 1986 The Smiths played a gig at Maxwell Hall that has gone down in the annals of pop history
With the band at the peak of their popularity - Panic was released the very next day - around 700 die-hard fans packed into the venue for a show which Q Magazine later named as one of the top 10 gigs of all time.
"It was rammed to the gills with really ardent Smiths disciples," former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce remembers in the film.
"I'm getting goose bumps now talking about it. You felt it immediately, the whole thing. It was like 'We've come home'. It was like a homecoming gig even though it wasn't our city.
"This was my favourite gig and in fact I think it might be Johnny Marr's as well. Everything aligned and it just felt like 'Yes!'. That's why I played drums in the first place, to have an experience like that."
Memories of Maxwell Hall has been released as part of a series of films celebrating popular culture in Salford. Other venues featured include Salford Lads Club, Islington Mill and The Lowry.
"It's great to see some of the stories of Maxwell Hall’s past being shared, we are very proud of the role this building and indeed the whole university has played and continues to play in shaping the cultural landscape of Salford," said Tim France, Salford University's director of performance, music, English and dance.
"The city has always been a hub of creativity together with inventive and technological advancements. We continue to be committed to nurturing talent as more and more students choose the University of Salford to help them develop their artistic identity and contribute to Salford’s cultural story."
The Culture Made in Salford films can be viewed here.
Read more of Greater Manchester's top stories here
