The forgotten Salford music hall which played host to Paul McCartney, U2, Blondie and a legendary gig by The Smiths

It was a Friday afternoon in February, 1972, and Robert Conway was sat in his office at Salford University.

A man knocked on the door and asked if Robert, the university's entertainments officer, could put on a gig that night, adding almost as an after-thought, that the act was Paul McCartney's new band Wings. In fact, the man said, the former Beatle was sat outside in a van right now, if you'd like to meet him.

"I went out and there was a white van and there was Paul, Linda McCartney, a few kids and their dogs," said Robert.

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"They'd been sent from Manchester University, who wouldn't put them on. They said 'We want to play here tonight. Get as many people as you can. 50p a ticket, we'll split it 25p for us, 25p for the student union and we'll put on a concert'. In the space of two or three hours we managed to get 600 people in this hall."

The show, part of Wings now-fabled impromptu universities tour, is one of several legendary gigs that took place at Maxwell Hall, one of the most influential music venues in Greater Manchester throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Over the years the hall played host to the likes of U2, Blondie, Joy Division, New Order and a gig by The Smiths once hailed as one of the top 10 concerts of all time. But outside of music aficionados Maxwell Hall has largely been forgotten.

Now a new short film produced by Salford University and Salford council looks at its special place in Greater Manchester's musical history. Peter Hook recalls being a regular at the venue, before eventually playing it with Joy Division and New Order.

"It was was of those weird things," he said. "There were so many pubs on this