‘The secret is it’s always evolving’: How Afflecks became a Manchester institution

Could this 40-year-old indie experiment be the secret to regenerating 21st-century high streets, asks Colin Drury

Our generation: with original regulars now bringing their grandchildren in for an education in consumer cool, Afflecks has been a part of Manchester for four decades (Jody Hartley)

When Kim Turner was offered the chance to open a stall in a new bazaar being set up in Manchester 40 years ago, he had his doubts.

The then 27-year-old musician had enquired about running a small vintage clothes stand in a city centre arts market. Instead, the owners had told him he could have a spot at their new venture – in a derelict Victorian department store in a part of town, just north of Piccadilly, overrun with petty crime.

“I thought the idea was daft,” he says today. “There was no future there. The council were talking about knocking the whole neighbourhood down. But I only wanted a temporary thing between [playing in] bands so I took it: sell some clobber, make a few quid and get out when it all inevitably went tits-up.”