Salix Homes is raising money for the 112-year-old club in Ordsall after purchasing a limited edition t-shirt featuring Manchester band The Smiths, signed by the photographer who took the iconic image – Stephen Wright.
The famous photo shows Morrisey, Andy Rourke, Johnny Marr and Mike Joyce stood outside Salford Lads Club on the corner of Coronation Street and St Ignatius Way and it was used on their Queen is Dead album.
Salix Homes, which owns 8,500 homes across central Salford, will raffle off the framed and signed t-shirt to raise more money for the club.
Renowned photographer Stephen Wright, who took the photograph of the band in 1985, has granted the club permission to reproduce the image on a t-shirt for 12 months to raise much-needed funds for the club.
So far 3,500 t-shirts have been sold worldwide, raising around £28,000 for the club, but only six signed versions of the t-shirt have been produced.
Money raised from the t-shirt sales will be used to fund the Salford Sioux Project – which will see children from the Ordsall estate travel to South Dakota as part of an American exchange.
This August six youngsters will take part in the exchange to learn more about native American heritage and the money raised so far has also funded next year’s trip.
Lee Sugden, chief executive at Salix Homes, said: “Salix Homes is very proud to support Salford Lads Club which is situated in the heart of one of our estates in Ordsall.
“The Salford Sioux Project is a fantastic initiative that will see our tenants’ children travel to America to learn more about the native Indian culture and its links with Salford.
“There have only been six signed versions of the iconic t-shirts produced, so we expect they’ll be in very high demand and we hope to use ours to raise as much money as possible for Salford Lads Club to help them continue the excellent work they do for young people in our community.”
Leslie Holmes, project manager at Salford Lads Club, added: “The response to the t-shirts has been incredible and we would like to thank photographer Stephen Wright for allowing us to use The Smiths photograph on our shirt.
“It’s great that Salix Homes is supporting us, and that money raised through their fundraising idea will enable more local young people the chance to visit the USA next year.”
The t-shirts have been printed in dark green reminiscent of the colour used on the Queen is Dead album. More images from the original photo-shoot can be seen at www.smithsphotos.com
Photo:The signed and framed collectable t-shirt.
