I played the harmonica on that song at my mum's funeral. She was a Salford girl born and bred. My current band are making me play the whole verse tune as an unaccompanied harmonica intro to the song: long draw notes together in the last line equals a tremolo lung-buster! Shades of the Pogues intro to their murdering of the song, though my lot wouldn't let me do the Pogues key change because it throws them into starting the singing in the wrong key! :-) By the way, Ted, in my mind the clouds drifting 'cross the moon are the only "clean" thing in that verse!

The dirty old town in which I was born and bred is six miles north of Salford. It hurts me now to go back there and see what's been done to it. Maybe it did need a good sharp axe taking to it, but progress, sadly, isn't always in the right direction.