THIS is the Great Sankey man who is living out his dream of putting gigs in Warrington on.

Rewind back to before Covid, Jim Addison first put on a gig upstairs at The White Hart with the band The Chameleons, possibly his favourite band ever.

Jim organised the solo acoustic show a couple of months before his 50th birthday.

“I thought even if I book him and no one turns up, it’s a nice present for myself,” said Jim, based in Great Sankey.

“It was a brilliant night and I got the buzz then. I knew I’d love to do it again.”

So he did.

Jim chose a larger venue in Warrington Irish Club on Orford Lane this time around and he wished to do it on a Sunday night with Mark Burgess again.

The 52-year-old continued: “We got a few hundred people in for that in a two-to-three week turnaround.

“I thought let’s do this again and then we went into lockdown the week after.

“I had to be patient with it.”

Jim – who used to own Pink Pig record shop in Earlestown – is now able to regularly host gigs at the Irish Club with well-known artists from the 80s and 90s.

In the last year, he has welcomed Mark Morris of Bluetones, I Am Kloot's John Bramwell and Ben Ottewell from Gomez.

“I was made up I got them but you are limited as there are only so many artists available so I thought ‘what else can I do'?

“I looked into tribute acts and wanted to do it right and get credible artists on.

“It’s great live music and you get to book bands you can’t see anymore."

 

Jim with Gomezs Ben Ottewell

Jim with Gomez's Ben Ottewell

 

Jim, born in Burtonwood, now looks ahead to a Jimmy Hendrix tribute act next month.

He is best pleased with how it is going.

“We’ve had people in touch about repeat gigs so we must be doing something right,” added Jim.

“Music has always been a constant in my life and luckily I have got a supportive wife.

“I have a good time doing it – it’s great. I know what was good back in the day and what is still popular now.

“I was also really pleased about getting James Walsh from Starsailor in February. That sold out with well over 200 people in.

“Jackie Brereton at the Irish Club is brilliant too.

“The good thing about the Irish Club is you can either have it like a table and chairs venue or once you get over a certain amount you can have it as an all standing venue which opens it up to a bigger crowd and a great atmosphere."

Jim enjoys the whole experience from booking the artists to seeing them live - he even thrives off the risk-taking.

“You have to take risks with it because I have to get my money back on ticket sales," continued Jim.

“Obviously I have more people at some gigs than others but it is just a great night with great atmospheres and you see people that you haven’t seen for 20 years.

“If you’re just doing them once a month it makes it a bit more of an event than a normal night out.

“We’re bringing big names in their heyday to Warrington.

“I am helped a lot by my mate Geoff who does all of the artwork too and that helps promote it.

“It’s a great buzz. Life is about making memories and taking risks.

“You’ve got to give it a go.”