Some days are stranger than others.

Nor relevant, you may suggest, in a music column ... aahhh but it is.

We are dealing with oddities here and, apparently, oddity is something that is firmly built into the fabric of north west music.

I refer now to Friday night and an evening that was truly bizarre; that is, not 'bizarre in the studenty 'Oh that was bizarre' kind of way, which usually refers to nothing more unusual than the scoffing of Quattro Formaggi while watching The Simpsons. But this was, indeed, worthy of bizarre status. It was an event organised by the MDMA (Manchester and District Music Archive) and, I do appreciate that such a sentence may induce an immediate somnolent sensation but, wake up and bear with me. The MDMA is proving successful, not only in assembling all manner of curiosities from across the rich musical history, but also in attracting interest from young and old alike. And such was the case at Friday's event at The Kings Arms in Salford. (The very pub, incidentally, in which George Orwell scribbled the notes for The Road to Wigan Pier. An extraordinary place, actually, blessed with an upstairs 'circus' room that seems to enhance a feeling of creativity)

On Friday, we dutifully settled down to soak in a screening from the edge of Manchester's musical legacy ... a 1977 Granada filming of the infamous Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds - the outfit that featured Durutti guitarist Vini Reilly, Primal Scream drummer Toby Lyons and, fleetingly, Morrissey) as well as a rare BBC2 In Concert programme showcasing the extreme talents of anarchic whacko, punk, doo-wop, reggae and Pythonesque comedy outfit, The Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias. All of which would be cemented by the faintly inebriated CP Lee, one time singer in that very same 'band' and latterly, author, raconteur and Salfordian professor of pop!

One of the main reasons one attends such an event, of course, is not really to watch the films at all. It is a way to be seen and, more to the point, see who else might happen to turn up and 'be seen' while, themselves seeing who else is being seen ... ad infinitum. The downside of this is that one tends to become lumbered with some trainspotter oik, as I did, and proceeded to spend the entire evening bragging to me about his rare collection of Nosebleeds live recordings. Who would want such a thing? As Vini Reilly freely admitted, on stage on Friday night, The Nosebleeds had little artistic value at all. What they did have, in abundance, was a Wythenshawrian gang-like mentality that often spilled over into their set. To see them live was to risk personal injury, mostly at the hands of Mr Banger himself who would lurch at certain members of the audience in a manner that, in these more enlightened times, would see him charged with GBH. I was standing next to Paul Morley when Banger famously ended Morley's dancing days by stamping on the NME writer's leg.

On Friday night, on film, we saw the ferociously macho Mr Banger physically assaulting television presented Tony Wilson in 1977. An action that brought forth cheers from across the audience.

The truly bizarre nature of the evening arrived at the conclusion, as Vini Reilly, CP Lee, Matt from the MDMA gathered on stage for a raffle which included, among the process, a pair of trainers signed by Elbow! More interestingly perhaps. This sundry trio were joined on stage by the lesser spotter Edward Banger himself. To the utter astonishment, given that Banger's former days were spent in the persona of an edgy, near psychotic self-proclaimed nutcase thug, he has reinvented himself in a rather different mould. Ed arrived in a mini-skirt, fishnet tights, heavy make-up and a bandana. More intriguingly, his character appears to have softened to a level of obvious intelligence and sensitivity .. . It transpired that Banger now performs in a transsexual cabaret act ... and, indeed, why not?

I blinked at the sight of all this and, for the first time in my life, clapped at the antics of this Wythensawe legend. Bizarre indeed.