Dirty Old Town

The song was written about Salford, Greater Manchester, England, the city where MacColl was born and brought up. It was originally composed for an interlude to cover an awkward scene change in his 1949 play Landscape with Chimneys, set in a North of England industrial town,^[1] but with the growing popularity of folk music the song became a standard. The first verse refers to the Gasworks croft, which was a piece of open land adjacent to the Gasworks 53°28′50″N 2°16′36″W / 53.4806°N 2.2768°W / 53.4806; -2.2768, and then speaks of the old canal, which was the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal. The line in the original version about smelling a spring on “the Salford wind” is sometimes sung as “the sulphured wind”. But in any case, most singers tend to drop the Salford reference altogether, in favour of calling the wind “smoky”.

A portion of the canal referenced by the song

Salford docks, another place mentioned in the song

The Dubliners

Chart (1968)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)^[2]	10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[3]	-

Recordings and performances

Notable renditions of the song include:

The first public performance may have been in the play "Landscape with Chimneys", written for Theatre Workshop, produced by Joan Littlewood, 1951
The first recording, by McColl himself, "Dirty Old Town / Sheffield Apprentice", TRC 56 / 1952
The flip side of "Hard Case / Dirty Old Town", vocals by McColl and Peggy Seeger, Alan Lomax and the Ramblers, Decca F 10787 (single, UK, 1956)
Folk singer Jackie Washington on his 1962 album Jackie Washington^[4]
Esther Ofarim in 1963 and 1964
The Spinners, the Settlers, Donovan, Gary Shearston, and Chad & Jeremy, all in 1964
The Broadway cast of Wait a Minim! on 1966 London LP, Original Cast Recording by Frank Productions. Featuring Andrew and Paul Tracy, Dana Valery and Nigel Pegram
Roger Whittaker, on his 1968 album Durham Town
The Dubliners, charting in the Top 10 in the Irish Charts. Also appeared on their 1968 album Drinkin' and Courtin'
Rod Stewart, on his 1969 first album, An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down
The Clancy Brothers, on their 1970 album Flowers in the Valley, sung by Liam Clancy
Eddie Carr sang "Dirty Old Town" ("F. Virtuoso") as a B-side 45 rpm single on People Records (Hollywood, Ca) produced by Virtue-Stiles 1970
The Pogues, on their 1985 second album, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash and was later included at the end of the Rescue Me series finale.
Townes Van Zandt as a limited edition single, recorded September 1996
The Specials, on their 1996 covers album Today's Specials
Father Noel Furlong (Graham Norton) sang part of the song in the 1997 Father Ted episode Hell.
Emscherkurve 77 as "Alte Dreckige Stadt" in German, on their 2001 Album Die Macht Vom Niederrhein
The Mountain Goats, on their 2002 EP Devil in the Shortwave
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, on their 2003 EP, Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead and 2003 film, Dirty Old Town
Donovan, on his 2004 album, Sixty Four (recorded 1964)
Frank Black (accompanied by Marty Brown) on his 2006 double album, Fast Man Raider Man
Lorraine Leckie and her Demons on the 2008 album Four Cold Angels (with Spider Stacy of the Pogues and Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, on their 2009 live album, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Live
Jon Christos, 2009 limited edition single CD
Nolwenn Leroy on the 2011 re-release of her album Bretonne
Bettye LaVette on her 2012 album, Thankful N' Thoughtful
Played at the memorial service for Stéphane Charbonnier, Paris 2015^[5]

References

↑ Ewan MacColl Songbook
↑ "Chart Track: Week 00, 1967". Irish Singles Chart.
↑ "Archive Chart: 1967" UK Singles Chart.
↑ Vanguard VS-9110
↑ Irish musician plays 'Dirty Old Town' at Paris funeral of Charlie Hebdo editor

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Discussion of lyrics at The Mudcat Cafe
Material on Salford Gasworks at The National Archives

The Dubliners

Ciarán Bourke Ronnie Drew Luke Kelly Barney McKenna John Sheahan Bobby Lynch Jim McCann Seán Cannon Eamonn Campbell Paddy Reilly Patsy Watchorn

Studio albums	A Drop of the Hard Stuff More of the Hard Stuff Drinkin' and Courtin' At It Again At Home with The Dubliners Revolution Double Dubliners Plain and Simple Now A Parcel of Rogues 15 Years On Together Again Prodigal Sons 25 Years Celebration The Dubliner's Dublin 30 Years A-Greying Further Along 40 Years

Live albums	The Dubliners In Concert Live at the Albert Hall Live Live at Montreux Finnegan Wakes Live in Carré Alive Alive-O A Night Out with The Dubliners Live from the Gaiety Live At Vicar Street A Time to Remember An Evening with The Dublin Legends: Live in Vienna

Compilation albums	The Best of The Dubliners It's The Dubliners A Drop of The Dubliners Home, Boys, Home Greatest Hits Best of The Dubliners Spirit Of The Irish 36 Great Performances The Definitive Dubliners At Their Best The Best of the Original Dubliners Too Late to Stop Now: The Very Best of the Dubliners Live At Vicar Street The Late Late Show Tribute The Very Best Of: The Dubliners Wild Rover Irish Favorites Original Dubliners 50 Years 20 Greatest Hits Drinking and Wenching

Irish chart singles	"Nelson's Farewell" "Black Velvet Band" "All For Me Grog" "Seven Drunken Nights" "Never Wed An Old Man" "Dirty Old Town" "Hand Me Down My Bible" "Free the People" "Raglan Road" "Don't Get Married" "The Irish Rover" "Marino Waltz" "Jack's Heroes" "The Rose" "Red Roses for Me" "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" "The Rocky Road to Poland" "The Auld Triangle"

Other singles	"The Wild Rover" "Whiskey In The Jar" "Four Green Fields" "Now I'm Easy" "Working Man"

DVDs	Live from the Gaiety Live at Vicar Street 50 Years: Celebration Concert in Dublin

Related articles	The Dubliners discography Ronnie Drew discography Folk music of Ireland Gerry O'Connor

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