the moss garden

The cat scratched out the blue

gorse whipped banks

burst the bubbles brown

This was the cover I painted for Blue Cat records “Out of the Blue” compilation released in 2004, compiled by the late, great, Mary O’Meara. The Bluecat bar was Danny Donnelly’s place on Shaw Road, Heaton Moor.

The Bluecat was a very cool, very different live entertainment venue, radical in the area at the time. It was the first independent bar in Stockport, everywhere else was brewery controlled. There were regular music and comedy nights, poetry, drama, and lots of spontaneous happenings, with many now famous names appearing at the start of their careers and some well known artists. The Bluecat trailblazed the wave of indie bars and venues that have now re-energised Stockport.