Definately the best music venue in Manchester, perhaps even in the Northwest or England. Wonderfully sized (probably similar proportions to academy 1), the significant difference though is the shape. The Apollo basically has no internal cornering, a wonderfully rounded interior allows perfect sound distribution. So basically this venue is LOUD! Do not expect to be able to talk at all during a performance, you haven't got a prayer. Other pros include an angled floor so no matter how far back you are you can clearly see the band.
One tiny problem is that it is in Ardwick, so a 5 minute bus ride or 20 minute walk friom Piccadilly. This isn't the end of the world, this venue is so superior to academy that it could be 3 times further out and you'd still go. Nominated for best venue in Britain for NME 2007 awards, I think Glasgow Barrowlands won in the end but it says something for the pedigree.

A great little venue.  Built as a cinema, it's smallish and quite intimate, with a good view wherever you sit or stand.  For music gigs, they usually remove the seats from the lower level and the two bars in the auditorium stay open throughout.  There are two advantages to this - the first is that you can get plenty of refreshment - the second is that it means people are moving around all the time so you're less likely to get rammed in like sardines.  Unlike the big arenas, the atmosphere feels much more like a club or student union venue and you can actually get near to the band if you want to.  If you prefer to sit down, there's always seating on the upstairs level, where the view really is excellent and you're still never too far away from the stage.  My favourite Manchester venue, especially for rocking and dancing.

The venue is fantastic. However, I recently went to see Jodeci- what a load of rubbish! It was amateur night for a variety of MCs. Jodeci finally came on at about 9.50pm and went off stage at 10.10pm. They were able to change and come out about 15mins later to say that one of the band was ill and they couldn't continue. It wouldn't have mattered anyway as the acoustics of the night were so poor - not usually a feature of the Apollo. I've tried to get a refund - nobody is replying!
Patricia Adams

going to see pendulum and bloc party here, i have heard it is a good venue so the shows should be good too.

the best venue in the northwest by far,seen all of the best rock bands here in the past,and black stone cherry will do it proud,what a band,see you there in october cant wait.....paul guy in manchester