"Oh, let's not forget the chinese waiter." - His name was John.
   I remember Jenks giving the 'Liverpool Spinners' the boot. They'd played there several times,but played the same damned stuff every time.Jenks told them that unless they learned some new songs, they'd not be invited back - they never returned (God IS good). Personally, i always thought that they were pretty 'naff' anyway,jumped on the 'Folk 'bandwagon' that was all.
   The building was closed for the re-development of the area,which was thenm posponed for a number of years. I was told that Jenks was offered the chance to re-open it,but declined.Jenks had his own booking agency & i suppose that he dedicated all of his time to that.
   I remember Paul Simon playing the MSG one Saturday night. He was living in London at the time & didn't arrive for his first spot. When he did go on,he was introduced as 'the late' Paul Simon.He did a solid
1 & 1/2 hour spot & totally blew us away !!. Most of us had never heard anything like it.
   Jenks did run the whole show to some extent,but Jack Swinnerton had a great input into the running of the Jazz clubs there.
   The 'modern' jazz side of things at the MSG,Club 43, was separate from the Trad.jazz, & was run by a guy who's name i can't recall. Anyhow,he,like Frank Duffy on the Folk side,broke his contract & was booted out by Jenks. Club 43 re-established itself in a side street off Shudehill. Club 43 after it's re-location,also had a Country & Western evening on a Friday night,from 8 until midnight.For a while,after midnight,there was a Folk Club as well.You could only buy a drink if you bought a meal at the same time,this was to comply with the drink laws at the time.
   I was living in New Moston at the time, & used to travel home on the 'all night' bus service. That was a giggle in itself.There was always some drunken geezer 'rapping on' about the state of the country
or summat !.I don't know how some of those bus conductors managed it.
   The closing of the MSG was a sad loss to the Manchester music scene as a whole,not just the Folk / Jazz side of the music.Ronnie Scott's Jazz club in London was the ONLY 'better known' Jazz club,& as far as i know,only the London Folk Club 'Les Cousins' (formerly a Restaurant named 'Les Quisine') was on a par with the MSG,
                                        Regards - Ivan Kelsall
                                                 (Higher Blackley)