Posters are the new flyers you know.

listen to interview with gallery director
listen to interview pt 2
see posters by leading artists

Poster art is, in general, a new thing for the UK rock scene. While clubs have led the way with exotic flyers for their key nights, bands have limited themselves to photocopies on fluorescent paper. But all that's changing.

Now it's de rigueur to have a limited run of 25-100 posters created by a master craftsman to promote that "legendary" gig. And that's good news for Manchester's Richard Goodall Gallery.

It claims to be the only one in Europe dedicated to rock 'n' roll poster art. True or not, this hidden gem has amassed a collection of everything from modern day to 60s Fillmore, UK punk and psychedelia.

The gallery shows work from modern masters like Frank Kozik and Jermaine Rogers, alongside classic rarities. A personal relationship between the curators and key figures like Coop, Kozik and Uncle Charlie ensures that at least one copy from even the most exclusive print run will usually find its way to Manchester.

The Richard Goodall Gallery opened in 1999 with an exhibition of art and photographs related to Carlos Santana. It now covers two floors of a terrace in Manchester's northern quarter. And while the basement is now a shrine to poster art, the ground floor is still dedicated to the rock photographs and touring exhibitions on which the gallery was founded.

There are some real rarities here too, thanks to exclusive relationships with photographers such as Anton Corbijn (U2, Depeche Mode) and Michael Spencer Jones (Oasis).

Well worth checking out. Ed Swinden 11 December 02