The Parrswood has always had more to it than your average suburban pub. Directly opposite stood the former Capitol Theatre which later became ABC’s northern production centre for ITV, which attracted everyone from The Beatles to Julie Walters. During the studio years, from 1956 to 1968, shows such as Armchair Theatre were produced in Didsbury, drawing actors, crew, and visiting talent. The pub naturally became part of that story. Locals recall performers popping across the road for a pint between recordings.

In 1958, the Quarrymen, who would later rename to The Beatles, attended an audition at ABC Studios, which were based in the former Capitol Theatre on Didsbury’s School Lane. The actual audition, however, was held across the road at The Parrswood, the band did not pass the audition, so a television appearance never happened, but the pub earned its place in music history as the first venue outside Liverpool where John Lennon and Paul McCartney played live together.

In later years, the ABC studios became part of Manchester Metropolitan University, training actors such as Julie Walters, Bernard Hill, and David Threlfall, before the building was demolished in the late 1990s and replaced with flats now known as Capitol Court.

The Parrswood therefore occupies more than a street corner. It stands at the intersection of transport history along Kingsway and Parrs Wood Road, a media era of live television, and a social era when the line between local pub and celebrity haunt blurred, giving Didsbury its own place in music and broadcasting history.