On the Eighth Day (New Brown Street then Oxford Rd)

"Originally in New Brown Street, the shop was founded with Mike Slaughter and Jenny, two of the nicest souls it was ever my pleasure to know.

Underneath the shop was a coffee bar called The Wishing Well which only a couple of years earlier never seemed to close and was therefore much visited in the small hours of Sunday morning by revellers from The Cavern all nighters in desperate search for something resembling a decent brew before plunging back into the dark , sweaty, loud cellar that gave us all a chance to enjoy a real change society as well as having a damn good time. "

Anon

"For my 21st birthday, my then boyfriend bought me a full length burgundy velvet cloak from On the Eight Day when it was on New Brown St. I used to buy embroidered indian voile from Oldham market and make smocks and long skirts and sell them sale or return in the shop. It was the best shop for hippy clothing, jewellery, bags, paraphernalia, etc. and probably the first in Manchester (that I remember).

They moved to Oxford Rd. and after a while, they fazed out the clothes and eventually turned it into the cafe/restaurant."

Sue Platt

On the Eighth Day - I remember their first day, on New Brown Street: saggy settee by the counter upstairs, the hand-made acoustic guitars: beautiful craft work.

I knew that the hippie dream was all over in the early 70s: people from the 8th D on Oxford Road hired a coach to go see Stomu Yamasht'a and the Red Buddha Theatre in Liverpool.

It was a last minute thing, so I jumped on board. Year before it'd be no problem being on your own, you made friends easy. That night, there and back, no one spoke to me; they even took their own food: bread with swirls of colour through it, and stuck to their little clique, shared nothing. It wasn't just them though, it was everywhere, people closed in on themselves, shut off what had once been an open and generous lifestyle. Drugs and their toll took over, people became more involved in own worlds, own experiences. It was all finished.

Michael Murray - 15/11/11