Salford Lads Club is in his blood. His great grandfather was one of the founders who stumped up £10,000 – the equivalent of £1.5m today – for it to open in 1903.
And now Robin Wight is honouring his family’s legacy by joining the fight to keep it in business.
The much needed community facility is in urgent need of £250,000 before the end of November to survive.
Salford Lads Club is on the brink of closure – it needs our help
Robin travelled 200 miles from his home in Exmoor, Somerset, to visit Salford Lads Club in Coronation Street, Ordsall, after the Manchester Evening News broke the story of its financial crisis. His great grandfather James Grimble Groves and great uncle William Grimble Groves, who were partners in the Groves Whitnall Brewery in nearby Regent Road, founded the club over 120 years ago.
The brewery was a major employer in the area, employing around 2,000 people.
Robin, an energetic 80-year-old who sports a purple shiny raincoat and matching hat, said: “I am a Mancunian in my gene pool. My mother was the daughter of RM Groves – one of my grandparents – and he was the son of James Groves who set up the club with his brother, William Groves in 1903.
“Now I really want to help to save Salford Lads Club, which is an extraordinary memorial to the many members who have come through it and done well. For it not to continue would be awful and I am going to do all that I can to help.
“I think it is so important, not just because it supports so many young people, but it is also a living cultural heritage. We have top musicians (Graham Nash) giving £10,000 to help it because they know how important it is. This is as important to British culture as The Cavern in Liverpool was for The Beatles.
“I would like every school in Manchester to get a module where pupils can do work and see all that Salford Lads Club has done. We need to keep this memorial to the creativity and enthusiasm of young people. It is important in keeping young people away from the route of gangs and street violence but equally important is that the club now welcomes girls too.
“Where else is there in Britain like Salford Lads Club. I don’t think there is. If we have got to raise £1m for a future legacy fund for the club we have got to get it. I would also like to see a Friends of the Salford Lads Club set up.”
Robin comes from a proud family of Salfordians who have given back to the community. His grandfather, James, as well as being chairman and managing director of the brewery, also served as an MP for Salford South constituency. His uncle, William Grimble Groves was active in public service for much of his life. He was a councillor in Salford from 1883 to 1895 and a Justice of the Peace there from 1892 to 1910.
Robin inherited the entrepreneurial gene, and founded one of the most prestigious advertising agencies in the UK, WCRS, in 1979 with clients like BMW, Land Rover, and Orange. He has the sartorial style of Willy Wonka fused with the finest Savile Row tailoring. He also has authentic Mancunian roots and a determination to make sure his ancestor’s legacy does not go under.
Explaining his vivid shiny purple raincoat and hat he said: “You’re only on this planet once”. His style, contacts, and vim could be a major asset in taking the club to calmer financial waters.
Robin has worked for a number of charities, including one for Prince Edward – now the Duke of Edinburgh – raising £65m for it. In 2004 he set up a charity called The Ideas Foundation which partners young people with educators, companies and funders to nurture new talent. “The idea is to get young people from disadvantaged backgrounds between the ages of 13 and 17 and get them mentoring from top creative brands. A number come through that route into the advertising industry,” he said.
(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
His secret for looking so fit, well, and alive at 80? “Don’t ever get grown up”, he said. “I have some energy left and for the sake of my great grandfather I cannot let this club go.”
Asked bluntly if the club will shut he said defiantly: “No”.
The club is in a serious financial crisis and its reserves are expected to dwindle to nothing by the end of November. Leslie Holmes, projects manager at the club, said: “Brexit had a massive impact. We normally had so many visitors from Europe. Since Brexit the cost of posting T-shirts out to Germany say, and other countries doubled overnight.
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“Yet we are such an important spot in music tourism. We have 1,500 visitors since mid July that we have recorded, and we only have two open days a week. On average they spend £13 each when here.”
Leslie has worked at the club for 22 years. “I have given a big part of my life to this club. I wanted to save it when I came in 2002, (when Lottery chiefs recommended demolition) and it can’t close, no way. This is the most important heritage site in the city – I would say the north of England, it is so vital.
“People have got to start looking at supporting not just the museums and galleries but this place – the work it does is incredible. After Brexit we then got Covid – and the club was not eligible for emergency funding from the government. When it finally opened up we got more numbers coming in but we were then hit by the rising cost of living. These three things were a perfect storm.
“We have tried to carry on but we are just not priority when applying for grants. Even small grants have dried up.”
A fundraiser has been set up to raise vital cash for the institution. So far, stars such as Peter Hook and The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess have backed it.
To donate, click HERE.
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