The Cona – A forgotten Manchester icon.
When Truth moved offices in 2020 having purchased 12 Tib Lane as our new home, we knew very little about the building and its past. We suspected that the elaborately carved neo-gothic exterior was in some way architecturally significant due to its Grade Two listing.
However, what we didn’t realise is that the Gothic-Revival style office building designed in 1875 by Charles Henry Heathcote had such a huge cultural significance and influence.
Heathcote was one of Manchester's most successful and prolific architects of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods and is responsible for many of the historic buildings in the city. But, we doubt even he couldn’t have imagined that the basements of the building he conceived were destined to become a legendary cultural icon of the 50s and 60s music scene. When we purchased the property the estate agent said he was told it was a cool coffee shop in the 60s, but that’s all he knew. The use of the word ‘cool’ spiked our interest and we began to dig around for more information but struggled to find anything beyond the architect's connection. Then in December 2023 Manchester History group on Facebook posted an image by Shirley Baker with the caption ‘The Cona Coffee Bar – Tib Lane’. In the image was a building that our co-founder Darren immediately recognised as our office. He then began to search for information on The Cona, and this is what he found…
One of the rare shots of The Cona and how it looks now.
The Cona was located in what is now the basement of 12 Tib lane and was accessed by a set of suicidal steps that took you down into the dark, smokey, yet alluring underworld. It was a place where the weekend’s activities would quite often start mid-week, everyone would be discussing who was playing, who was going, and, more importantly, who had the pills. The Cona was right at the centre of the Manchester ‘Soul Mod’ scene in the swinging sixties. If the legendary Twisted Wheel was the Haçienda of its time, then The Cona was very much the Night & Day. It was very much the place to be, and be seen. A small chilled-out hangout for Beatniks, then Hippies, and later Mods; to talk music, literature, poetry and fashion, while drinking American-style percolated coffee and Russian tea from brown smoked glass cups.
The Cona was as well known for its music scene as it was for its coffee and hamburgers. Just as its famous RnB jukebox attracted the Soul Mod crowd in the mid-60s, the basement would attract jazz and folk fans, with live music on offer for those brave enough to attempt the steep steps that gave access to the sweet sounds rising up from the darkness below. There would always be instruments like guitars and saxophones just sitting there for people to pick up and play.
Image Credit – Shirley Baker
Local artists like Salford-born folk singer Ewan MacColl and British blues legend John Mayall who was originally from Macclesfield, would often play The Cona. In 1949, MacColl penned ‘This Dirty Old Town’ about the city that was made popular by The Dubliners in the late 60s and then later The Pogues. In 1957 MacColl also wrote ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ as a folk song for Peggy Seeger, who later became his wife. The track became a major international hit for Roberta Flack in 1972, winning Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Billboard ranked it as the number-one Hot 100 single of the year.
“My memories of The Cona? Wow! I first tumbled down those steps on Saturday, June 9th, 1962, and emerged into the sunlight about eight years later. I used to go there on most nights and I remember that coffees cost one shilling while hamburgers were 1s 3d. The Cona was owned by Gus Fox but the manager was a super-cool, tall, bearded dude called Martin Foley.”
You could also bring your own records to play and swap, with American Folk, Jazz and lots of rare Black Soul from the States changing hands. Which later led to The Cona being at the heart of the city’s Northern Soul scene too. Its modest size meant there were often more cool young things spilling out onto the pavement than there were inside. There would always be crowds of Beatniks and Hippies outside wearing sheepskin jackets and Hush Puppies with Dylan records under their arms, in the early 60s. It was the type of place where Bob Dylan himself would have hung out during his time in Manchester for his infamous 1966 ‘Judas’ performance at the city’s former Free Trade Hall.
“I remember seeing the name St Louis Union scrawled on a wall at school and wondering ‘who the hell is St Louis Union?’. They were the ultimate mod band. They wore the clothes, they had the attitude. If they weren’t working you could find them every Saturday at The Cona coffee bar on Tib Lane opposite Manchester Town Hall. You hung out at The Cona to see what people were wearing and downstairs there was a little cellar where impromptu jams would take place. It was right by the offices of CND, they had some rickety garret upstairs. So, it was very hip and very cool to hang out there, a remarkable place.
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Mahatma Gandhi also frequented The Cona, or a young Asian drama student by the name of Krishna Banji from Pendlebury did. You may know him better by his stage name – Sir Ben Kingsley, known for his starring role as Mahatma Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982), for which he subsequently won the Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
It was at The Cona that an influential young textile designer from Prestwich named Celia Birtwell – ‘referred to as the most talented textile designers ever’ by Manolo Blahnik – first met her future husband Ossie. Raymond "Ossie" Clark is now considered an icon of British fashion in his own right, as a designer who was a major figure in London’s Swinging Sixties. Celia later went on to become David Hockney's muse during the 60's and features in his painting – Mr and Mrs Clarke and Percy.
Ian (Gareth) Evans the former Manager of Darren’s favourite ever Manchester band – The Stone Roses, is pictured in one of a few photographs of The Cona by Shirley Baker. The rare black and white image taken in 1966, appears on the cover of Rainy City Blues, a compilation of rare tracks celebrating Manchester's place in the British Beat Boom. The image shows (L–R) Gareth Evans, Paul Wilson, ‘Brummy’ Paul and two Salford nurses affectionately named ‘Potty’ Pat and ‘Big’ Sue, who were dedicated Manchester Mods.
“The Cona was the epicentre of the Mod scene, anyone who wanted to check out the latest fashions stood outside (there was more going on outside than inside). We used to sit in there with a coffee and people watch. We got chatting one night to two folk singers (not our bag) but they were really nice guys, I never forgot their names Martin Carthy and Ewan MacColl. Happy days when Manchester was FAB.”
For most Manchester Mods at the time, Saturday afternoons were spent cruising the city’s dirty old streets on chromed Lambrettas in mohair suits, sharp white shirts and American loafers, before eventually meeting up at The Cona where there was lots of space to park their scooters. They would then move on to the All Nighter at the iconic Twisted Wheel Club on Brazennose Street. The Cona was often referred to as ‘the Wheel’s waiting room’ as it was simply where everyone met before going to the now legendary venue at around 11pm. It was not unusual for Roger Eagle the Twisted Wheel DJ, to be in the Cona talking records, and selling copies of his R&B Scene magazine before his set at ‘The Wheel’.
“The Cona Coffee Bar was where you could take in your own records to play. You would take your own in and also listen to other people’s and pick it up from there. There were a few like minded people around and you would bump into them.”
What’s fascinating about owning a property with such a rich history is that you wonder about how many chance meetings or significant moments happened right where I’m sitting writing these words, and how many of the stories have been lost. One thing is certain, the cultural significance and influence of The Cona is worth far more than its Grade Two listing will ever be. I took great pleasure from reading the stories I found and I take great pride in owning a Manchester icon and sharing its story with anyone who will listen.