Salford Lads Club

If you are a lover of pop music, you will no doubt have heard of The Smiths, and if you know anything about the band, you'll probably know their album 'The Queen Is Dead', which was their third studio album.

Arguably, the photo of the band on the album sleeve is better known than its front cover. The four young men are shown standing outside Salford Lads' Club, an institution that was initially very unhappy about being associated with the band, but these days makes the most of it, right down to having a dedicated 'Smiths Room'.

The Minx and I came along here, this evening, with our friends Keith and Annette, to see Andy Burnham and Ricky Tomlinson in conversation. We arrived early in order to have a mooch around the club itself and to see the Smiths Room, which is not always open to the public.

The building itself is amazing and, according to Wikipedia, is "thought to be the most complete example of this rare form of social provision to survive in England". That "form" is a recreational club and the building includes a gym, a boxing ring, and snooker tables, as well as a large hall, which is where tonight's event took place.

And it was a cracking evening's entertainment. Ricky was more at ease with the audience, for sure, but he is an excellent raconteur and did most of the talking, anyway, so that was fine. He is a man who is funny by nature and who doesn't rely on gags.

But Andy Burnham was engrossing and certainly compelling and, God willing, a future Labour prime minister.