If the National Grid and Salford City Council thought Salfordians would stand by and let the iconic gas holders on Liverpool Street be demolished quietly, they have another think coming.
With two petitions on the go*, this afternoon also saw a musical protest, with an array of people singing along to Ewan MacColl's Dirty Old Town right next to the locally listed structures.
The gasworks epitomise Salford cultural heritage, as featured in the first line of MacColl's world famous song... 'I found my love by the gasworks croft/Dreamed a dream by the old canal...'
"They are iconic buildings and they could be made into much better structures, a community hub for all of Salford" explained Katrina Bell, who started one of the petitions "I just don't want to see them go they've been here that long."
Meanwhile Tony Easom, who organised the jam as well as another petition, was thrilled with the turnout of over two dozen people...
"It was great, I enjoyed every minute of it" he said "All these people turned up and joined in with us and a guy came along with a Salford City flag. Martin Gittens was here, Graham Walker, Bernard Cromarty and a host of others...We had a really good jam session."
But is it going to save them? "I'd like to think so yes" Tony insisted "We could do more of these leading up to them trying to demolish them. And if we lose and they do demolish them...maybe we should have a music festival here every year for Ewan MacColl and Dirty Old Town."
Of course, everyone present was hoping it won't come to that and the National Grid will, instead of demolishing the structures, re-think new creative uses for them, as has been done in London and many other places. In the meantime, the protests continue...
To see a video of the jam session see the Salford Star You Tube channel click here
For more background see previous Salford Star article click here
*To sign the two petitions click here and click here
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