Born in the 1930s

A generation of Teddy Boys;   

Salford could not handle them

They were making too much noise.

They were sent out to the fields

Into the depths of Madam's Wood

Where they could carry out their debauchery

Where they'd continue to spill their blood.

 

In the midst of Victorian terraces

Above a network of mines

An odyssey was born here

To stand the test of time.

An overspill was created

On the edge of a Dirty Old Town

For years the battles would rage

To wear its tarnished crown.

 

Each estate became a stronghold

For thugs to call their own

'The shops a no-go area

The streets unsafe to roam.'

'The old guys had respect,

But not their junkie offspring

Sitting around the park

Digging deep with a syringe.'

 

That's what people think

But it wasn't all that bad.

With games like Relivo,

There was always fun to be had.

Kickabouts on Lanccies

Until the end o’day.

Go out, knocking on y'mates

Avoiding Kenyon Way.

Friday nights were even better,

Getting chased by police in vans,

All for traipsing down the train track,

And buying booze from Stan's.

 

We were all naughty boys back then

Taboo drinking underage;

Supping anything we could get our hands,

20/20 was all the rage.

Sampling illicit substances

The sensations were immense;

Disregarding any consequences

Those come downs were intense.

This town had a reputation

Outsiders would look down their nose

At teenagers smoking roll ups

And kids in hand-me-down clothes

Graffiti adorned the walls

The laundrette had seen better days

Peel Hall was overrun

Car theft was the latest craze

 

 

Crime was on the increase

Unemployment was rife

Faced with little prospects

Good people took their own life

A dark time for my home town

The outlook was bleak

Mental illness had a stigma

Ones with voices could not speak

 

 

How could anyone prosper,

From flats so derelict?

Who could be successful

from The Peoples Republic???

 

The infamous Ryder brothers

From The Monday's and Black Grape

A striker called Jimmy Hampson

Who drowned in a boating lake.

We could never forget

Christopher Eccleston

The most unpopular Doctor

Still Joey's favourite son.

 

It doesn't matter who your folks are

Or where you originate

Cos anyone can make it

In this corner of M28.

Its not where you've come from

But the journey you undertook,

To get where you want to be

Without becoming an underhand crook.

 

So before you cast dispersions

Of pierced kids with head lice

One day they could escape

From this LH Paradise.