Morrissey donates £20,000 to club

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Former Smiths singer Morrissey has donated £20,000 to help restore a youth club that featured on the inner sleeve of the band's The Queen Is Dead album.

The group posed outside Salford Lads Club in 1986 and fans have travelled to see the red-brick building ever since.

But the club's owners are now trying to raise £1m for repairs to the building, which has listed status.

Morrissey reportedly wanted to make a secret donation, but relented when told the publicity would help the campaign.

The building was built in 1903 by brewers JG and WG Groves and formally opened as a boys-only club in 1904 by Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Movement.

The club is trying to raise £1m towards repairsIn its heyday there was a thriving membership of 2,000 but numbers are now down to about 200, although it caters for boys and girls.

The tiled interior is virtually unchanged, with original fittings including a boxing ring, snooker rooms, and a gym with a viewing balcony.

English Heritage has recognised the building as the "most complete example of this rare form of social provision to survive in England".

The appeal fund, which is currently at the £330,000 mark, received another boost recently when property developer Chek Whyte donated money after visiting the club undercover in Channel 4's Secret Millionaire programme.

The money will be used to put insulation into the roof and carry out work on the ceiling.