It was a place of outlandish pranks, love affairs, legendary drunken parties and the first home many people ever had in the city. Sadly, all that remains are photographs and memories that generations of former students will never forget. Now reduced to rubble, Owens Park Tower was once the gold standard in student digs when it was built in 1965. It had sinks in every room, shared kitchen facilities, a dining room, and a music hall where the infamous Owens Park BOP student night would run until 2009. At one of those events in the late 1980s, The Chemical Brothers played their first ever gig. Other musicians who've lived in the tower include Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien. More famous names also inhabited those walls. Rik Mayall, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jack Whitehall all lived there, with the latter saying it had 'so many sordid memories'. The tower – and the shenanigans that took place there – have long been the focal point for the student community in Fallowfield , and helped enshrine its legendary status. This was the case even just a few years after it started welcoming undergraduates. In March 1969, The Guardian newspaper reported that a student séance and a series of vivid dreams had caused panic after predicting an aircraft would crash into the side of the tower on Sunday night. This led to around a hundred students spending the night elsewhere out of fear the premonition would come true. Those who dismissed the predicted catastrophe and stayed put were periodically awoken during the night by the "Sounds of screaming aircraft engines, which some jokers had recorded and blasted from microphones at strategic points around the block." Some reportedly joined "small parties of fatalists in common rooms." In contrast, others chose to wake up and go outside between 2:30 and 3:30 am, roughly when the disaster was predicted to happen. The tower block was still standing the following morning, waiting for its deserters to return. Married couple Paul Carr and Jeni Carr met in Owens Park Tower in the 1980s. "It’s a very special place for us, for obvious reasons," Paul previously told the M.E.N. "In early October 1983 Jeni and I met for the first time in one of the two lifts in the Owens Park Tower. "It was my first day back in my second year as a Botany student, and Jeni’s first day in her first year to study Economics. She asked in that brief encounter if I was a first year student. At that moment I knew I’d met my future wife.” A year earlier, when Paul first moved in, he had a baptism of fire: "I’ll never forget the first night when, after our familiarisation walk around the OP site, followed by an evening in the bar, a few of us stood waiting to cross the road to get a Prairie Dog from the Canadian Charcoal Pit opposite. Yes, we were somewhat worse for wear, but I’ll remember the unicyclist who almost collided with us forever!" The 61-meter-high tower also became the foundation of a notorious student drinking game. Those brave or foolish enough to take part had to down a shot of spirits on every floor of the 19-story building. But perhaps the most celebrated part of the student halls' legend was its weekly BOP (Big Old Party) nights, held for decades every Friday in the tower's ballroom. BOP nights started in the mid-'80s and were notoriously wild, often with a theme, with many attending in fancy dress. As long as you had a student card and were patient enough to endure the snaking queues outside, you could come to the BOP. BOP nights have been described as having the feel of a classic school disco but with alcohol, lots of it. In addition to the main tower bar, there was another bar in the large hall upstairs with DJs and plenty of room for seating and standing. The campus faced demolition plans in 2001, but protests forced the university to reconsider. And in 2002, the tower was used as part of the athletes' village for the Commonwealth Games. In 2017, society magazine Tatler published a snooty review of the halls in an article giving prospective students (who presumably were avid Tatler readers) advice about studying in Manchester. The article described the halls as "a bit grimy, but a blast." Prospective undergraduates were advised to avoid staying in the tower "unless you are lulled by the sound of rugby lads bombing off the walls and gargling shots". Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here In 2020, Owens Park Tower was the scene of a revolt when students tore down 'lockdown fences' during a passionate protest against the university's decision to "pen them in" during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, the tower closed as part of a wider ongoing regeneration of the Fallowfield Campus. The tower's demolition was completed this Spring as part of the University of Manchester's wider regeneration of the Fallowfield Campus. The university has posted time-lapse footage of the demolition of the iconic building, which is part of preparation for a new era for the site. The construction of more modern student accommodation on site, consisting of up to 5,400 student beds, is now set to go ahead after planning permission was secured. The University of Manchester said the changes in Fallowfield are part of an "exciting package of changes". This includes the £1.7bn innovation district, Sister – a joint venture between the University and Bruntwood SciTech. The project aims to transform the University's former North campus and is expected to generate over 10,000 on-site full-time jobs and contribute around £ 1.5 billion to the economy in Manchester annually, the university said. Dr Simon Merrywest, Executive Director for the Student Experience at The University of Manchester, said: "Every student that studies with us deserves a safe place to call home and a learning environment that supports them in reaching their full potential. We are investing in our Fallowfield Campus to ensure it meets the needs of our students. "We are always listening and working to improve the experience of our students, and we understand the availability of high-quality, good value student accommodation is insufficient in this city. The changes to our Fallowfield Campus will bring seismic benefits to our student community, from the moment they arrive to the day they graduate." Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE