Ah yes, The Skids - 'Into the Valley' - a real Scottish rock sounds. More here:
The Skids - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
I only went to the Russell Club a few times as I was only in Manchester during my vacation periods from Trinity College Dublin.
Here are a few more venues and clubs, famous and infamous, that I went to in the latter part of the 1970s:
The Ranch - This was a small sectioned off part of Foo Foo's Palace, on Dale Street, round the corner from Piccadilly. The Ranch was Manchester's first punk rock club. It was a rough place, and I got punched in the face more than once there.
It was non-stop cutting edge punk records played at a deafening volume until 2am every night. The toilets were absolutely disgusting. There were 'punkettes' in their fish net stockings, big hair, heavy make-up a la Siouxsie Sioux and ripped shirts.
The Electric Circus - This was a former cinema in Collyhurst that was used as a music venue for a short period until it was demolished. I made the trek up Rochdale Rd for the last night of the Electric Circus, and bought the 10 inch LP with sleeve notes by Paul Morley. Don't know what happened to it.
These venues were a world away from the Golden Garter, which although I never went there, I knew was the epitome of... as mentioned above... cheesy cabaret acts on a Saturday night.
There was another place you ended up in rather than consciously chose to go to - that was the Continental Club or 'Conteh' off Princess Street. The admission and beer prices were cheap and there were lots of nurses there. I didn't like it but the 'lads' I was out with made a habit of going there.
The Wigan Casino - If only I had had the opportunity to go there. It was a legend in its own time and still is today. There is a commemorative display at the new shopping centre in Wigan. Northern Soul still captures the atmosphere of Manchester and northern England from the mid-60s to the mid-70s.
And just in passing, a place that seems to retain the cheesiness of the 70s ... The Press Club, just off Deansgate. I haven't been for a few years, but enjoyed the glittery, imitation wood decor, karaoke sessions and general atmosphere from another era.