Salford Lads Club's tribute to playwright Shelagh Delaney
19.08.2022 - 20:14
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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'