Rock star sends huge donation to try and save Salford Lads Club

He won global fame with an acclaimed British pop band and American supergroup - yet Graham Nash has not forgotten his roots. The former Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young member has sent crisis-hit Salford Lads and Girls Club a huge donation.

He may have had a life filled with gorgeous women like Joni Mitchell, wild parties with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. But he was brought up in Skinner Street near to the club which is in Coronation Street, Ordsall.

The Club was a place where he and and his Hollies band mate, Allan Clarke, would often rehearse. In his 2013 autobiography, Wild Tales, he recalled how the streets where he lived were reduced to rubble by Luftwaffe bombers.

READ MORE: 'This is such a special place': Music and TV stars back Save Salford Lads Club campaign

Salford and neighbouring Manchester defined him even through he has been an American citizen since the 1980s. He and Clarke were both members of the club.

Now, Graham has donated £10,000 to the club, which needs to find £250,000 by the end of November to avoid closure. His gift has pushed the amount raised so far via a Manchester Evening News' GoFundMe fundraiser to £22,000 in just two days.

You can donate to the fundraiser here

Rising costs and a reduction in grant income means the world famous club, which opened in 1903 with a mission to "Brighten Young Lives and Make Good Citizens", is on the brink of shutting.

In 1985, the club was used as the setting for an iconic image of Manchester band The Smiths. The image brought global recognition and a source of funding from fans of the group who continue to make a pilgrimage to the venue.

The club offers sport and other activities six days a week to more than 200 young people in one of the most deprived areas of the country. The club needs £108,000 to cover the current monthly losses for another six months while it gets initiatives established to generate more funds long term. But a futher £55,000 is needed for new staff for six months to do this. It estimates another £98,000 is needed to replenish reserves which are running out.

Last year, the club's annual income was £160,000. It included donations, money from open days and visitors hiring the Grade II listed building for weddings and the online shop. But outgoings for the coming 12 months are estimated to be £394,700.

It is hoped Graham's donation may prompt others to dig deep to help the club, including property developers who are reaping rewards from a current boom in the city.

The Charlatans singer, Tim Burgess, originally from Boothstown in Salford, posted on social media about the need to keep the club alive. He wrote: "@salfordladsclub has been there for so many people over the years - a real community hub, with a place in music folklore gathered along the way."

He added: "Well, they need us now, so let's rally round and help them out. Dig deep, it's for the worthiest of causes."

Graham's passion for music started in church choirs and then at Salford Grammar, where he fell in love with the power of the human voice rather than instrumentation.

Harmony has been at the centre of his music – no more so than in the songs found on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s 1970 masterpiece Deja Vu including the Nash penned "Teach Your Children" and "Our House".

When The Hollies scored their first hit, in 1963 with (Ain’t That Just) Like Me, 21-year-old Graham gave his first pay packet to his mother, He recalled: “That’s when we knew we’d made it....and we didn’t have to do what our dads did.”

Another member of Salford Lads Club who joined in 1933 was Graham's uncle, Ben Wallsworth, who would become the city's long serving chairman of the council's planning committee, and Mayor. Ben was concert secretary at Salford Labour Club in the 1960s and his nephew hounded him to let his band play a spot one night.

Ben finally gave in and booked the band. He told they could play two songs then walked on stage to stop them and get them off, because he didn’t think they were very good. The band were The Hollies.

A fundraiser has been set up to raise vital cash for the institution. To donate, click HERE.