Jameson Cult Film Club comes to Manchester

A big (belated) thank you to Jameson Cult Film Club (and also Noel 'Filmrant' Mellor for taking me as his plus one!) for putting on a great evening at Manchester Academy 2 last Thursday. It really was a double decker of a Manchester entertainment sandwich. The bread and butter was the plentiful Jamesons cocktails that were in sweet (very sweet... almost sickly?) abundance (but I'm not complaining, I heart sickly abundance booze). The juicy filling started with a thin layer of Manchester band 1913 (think a moody, Editor-esque, Joy Division-inspired quintet...if they were a sandwich filling, they'd probably be tuna paste), followed by a screening of Anton Corbijn's Control (big fat slabs of good old cheddar cheese) finished off with a dashing off Clint Boon playing all your Manchester favourites (the pickle). Overall, a really enjoyable night - made even better because it was all free (recession proof fun!)! And a winning formula from the Jameson's Cult Film Club gang - they definitely know that Mancs are always hungry for Manchester-filled goodness.

Manchester Artist’s Plectrum Portrait a Sure Pick at Auction

Manchester-based Ed Chapman is one of the country’s leading mosaic artists. He has created portraits of some of the most iconic people of all time – including John Lennon, David Bowie and Debbie Harry. Last night, one of his more unusual mosaics – a portrait of Jimi Hendrix made from 5,000 Fender plectrums – was expected to reach up to £16,000 at Cancer Research’s Sound & Vision music heritage auction at London’s Abbey Road Studio.

On his website, Ed says about his plectrum portrait:

"Jimi Hendrix is a guitar legend and nobody played a Fender guitar quite like him.

“I decided to use plectrums to create a portrait of him because I like experimenting with different materials and textures and I think it is a fitting tribute to the musician.

“There’s no better place for it to go on sale than at a legendary home of music and I hope it raises as much as possible for charity.”

Do Mancunians and Scousers need separate airports?

Funniest quote I’ve read today is in the MEN from Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary:

“We know that Mancunians and Scousers don't like each other – so Mancunians will use Manchester and Scousers will use Liverpool airport where we also fly from.”

It might be because I’m not actually a Mancunian (born in Halifax, grew up in Solihull... yes, the ‘posh’ part of Birmingham) that I do not appreciate the friction between Manchester and Liverpool inhabitants. All I know is that my Dad supports Manchester United and my cousins support Liverpool, which results in many a banterful family gathering.

Anyway, the MEN was interviewing O’Leary about the news that Manchester airport has struck a multi-million with the low-cost airline (insert your own witty comment about ‘low-cost’ airlines being anything but). From April, Ryanair will be introducing flights to destinations such as Madrid, Alicante, Tenerife and Faro.

So all together now... *we’re all going on a summer holiday*....

If only I could convince the boy (aka Filmrant) to go on an aeroplane.

What’s in a name? Starbucks logo change stirs social media reaction

I haven't written a blog post for a while...*naughty me*... so here's one I wrote earlier this month for the Smith & Smith PR blog. It's not about Manchester, but it is about Starbucks. And there must be like a million Starbucks in Manchester, so it's totes relevant...Enjoy.

So, yet another company has changed its logo, creating a wave of online reactions. Starbucks has dropped its name from the emblem that adorns tens of thousands of spherical paper cups and kept the, um, the… ur… green Rapunzel princess with lobster claws as hands(??).

My Twitter feed has needed a triple espresso just to keep up with the reactions:

@monalis_solis clearly isn’t a fan of change, tweeting: “Oh no! How am I supposed to get used to this?”

While @LogoMotives is equally as perplexed as me as who or what the person in the picture is: “Starbucks logo always looked like woman holding legs in air to me.”

What’s in a name? Well @MikeBellTweets seems to think it’s everything, tweeting: “Starbucks logo has lost its identity.”

To some though, it appears it is a very weird and grotesque thing to have done. @autmurmis tweets: “Starbucks new logo makes me feel uncomfortable. Familiar yet distant. What’s wrong with them?”

Finally, @amylarrick probably thinks we should all grab a frappacino and chill out about it: “Not a huge change really I’m cool with it.”

I can’t help but remember the Gap logo fiasco(see Alex’s blog post “Online reputation – manage it, don’t damage it”). How long do we think it will be until Starbucks hosts an online poll to see whether or not they should change their logo again?

A Manc-filled weekend of food, drink and pampering

Eating, drinking and pampering my way around Manchester over one weekend... Bliss.

Thursday:
Chroma, city centre – Pizza, beer. Yum.
Obsidian, city centre – Cocktails, champagne. Drunk.

Friday:
Spa Satori, Northern Quarter – Back, neck and shoulder massage. Amazing.
Metropolitan, West Didsbury – Hot rum cocktail, mulled wine. Cosy.
The Great Kathmandu Tandoori Restaurant, West Didsbury – Food, food and more food. Full.
One Lounge Bar, West Disbury – Singapore Sling. Sickly.

Saturday:
Spirit Hairdressers, Chorlton – Highlights, cut and blow dry. Fresh look.
Freds, Chorlton – Presents for me and friends. Fave clothes shop.

Sunday:
Alberts Shed, Castlefield – Scallops, coq au vin, treacle tart. Three courses of yummyness. Four rounds of Happy Birthday.

Going underground...

A collection of snaps from Manchester Confidential's Tunnel Tours. Fully recommend the tours for a completely unique view of Manchester.

We’re here, we’re queer... and bloomin’ proud of Manchester

So, last weekend was the August bank holiday. The last chance to celebrate the final remains of our hazy, lazy, rainy summer. And what better way to rejoice than with the colourful, extravagant, feel good carnival that is Manchester Pride?

The action all kicked off a few days before with Pride Fringe, which saw a jam-packed timetable of fun and games aimed at the old and the young, the straight and the gay, the male and female, and everyone else in between. There were women’s defence classes, a pink dog show (courtesy of Manchester Dogs' Home), and more culture, art and music than you could shake a rainbow-coloured (phallic) stick at.

My first Manchester Pride experience began on the torrential Saturday. I had agreed to take part in the parade with Northern Quarter-based charity Creative Support. (And when I said ‘agreed to take part’, I mean ‘actively forced them to let me take part). Customised glittery t-shirts, rainbow-coloured fake-eyelashes and face paint a-plenty, we were ready to go. The crowd was ten-deep and determined to cheer the grey clouds away. There were even naked people hanging out of top floor flat windows gulping G&T’s out of plastic cups. Now if that’s not a party, I don’t know what is.

The rest of the weekend was a blur of line dancing, STEPS routines, sing-a-longs with Kelis, meet ‘n’ greets with electopop act Dragonette, gatecrashing VIP areas, schmoozing with (...stalking...) corrie stars, pinching ex-Blue Peter presenter’s bottoms, and numerous repeats of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. Phew.

Manchester Pride as it currently stands has been going for seven years, but Pride events in one form or another have been taking place in the capital of the north for 20 years. Not only is Manchester Pride the best excuse ever for a reet good time (that’s my ‘Manchester accent’), it also raises money for a number of LGBT organisations and groups in the region...and since 2003, all you froicsome lovers have helped Manchester Pride raise £780,000 - further proof that Manchester Pride is quite frankly the best in the country.

Manchester should be proud to host such a fantastic event, which involves anyone and everyone from all walks of life. (Even the church-going homophobes were literally embraced with arms wide open.) So now the countdown begins to next year’s bonanza...and as one of the Creative Support members said...we’ve now got 12 whole months to plan our Lady Gaga outfits for MP11.

Psssssstttt.....before you move on to a more interesting blog (like the lovely Filmrant's)....Manchester Pride has been nominated for the ‘Best Annual Gay Destination Event’ and it’s definitely going to win...because it’s blates the Best Annual Gay Destination Event. So please vote for them here.

What happens when a Manchester PR company puts on a showbiz event in London?? This...

Smith & Smith PR were challenged to put on the launch party for Pineapple Eyewear at Pineapple Dance Studios, Covent Garden...here's the promo video of the results.




You can read more about the Pineapple Eyewar schmoozefest here on my blog post on the Smith & Smith PR website.

**Air kisses daaaarling** MWAH xxx

Ian Brown Vs Parklife ROUND TWO: Attack of the crazy students

After a good night’s sleep (which was full of dreams about monkeys with mullet haircuts dressed in parkas...) I awoke on Saturday morning raring to go for round two of The Warehouse Project’s Platt Fields Park weekender – aka Parklife. Despite having experienced the intense queuing system during the previous night’s Ian Brown gig, I was naively unaware of just how chaotic the entrance to Platt Fields Park would be on this particular sunny afternoon. Masses of students and youngsters, all dressed in bang-on-trend uniforms from Top Shop, descended on the Fallowfield location. Attempts from these young cool folk to jump the snaking queue were met with boos and chants from the crowd, followed by being removed from the premises by no-sense-of-humour-security. Get back in your place young man.

The day-long festival was spread over a much greater area on the Saturday compared to Friday, with seven tents/stages (instead of three) and much more entertainment, including a silent disco hidden away in a secret garden and a giant inflated elephant (which I think had been a bouncy castle at one point). Attempts to watch the England Vs USA match on the big screen lasted for about ten minutes after the need for more beer and also the loo (don’t get me started on the toilet queues btw...) took over. The silent disco was a much better way to spend half an hour or so, and even got me and my fella dancing to *insert Bo Selecta! voice here* Craig David.Oh dear.

With a lineup consisting of Fake Blood, Kele, Kissy Sell Out, Calvin Harris and Simion Mobile Disco, the organisers were very much attracting a different audience from the previous night. All of the DJs and acts I saw were energetic, stupidly fun and really got the crowd jumping. An extra thumbs up to Simion Mobile Disco who made me wish I was five years younger (and I’m not even that old) so I could stand the sweaty heat of the tent to dance for just another five minutes longer. Finally, headliner Friendly Fires did not disappoint. With the crowd singing along and dancing to all their hits such as Jump in the Pool and Paris it was a fantastic way to end a great day. Roll on next year’s summer offering from the Warehouse Project please!

What is a 'Manc'?

During my recent research into Manchester and its culture, I came across this useful definition of what a ‘Manc’ is, courtesy of Urban Dictionary:

Manc
Mancunian - Inhabitant of the city of Manchester, Northern England. Unfairly stereotyped as wearing kappa trackies (all chavs wear em, not just Manc chavs), stealing, being gangmembers and acting like Liam Gallagher or as though they're straight out of the cast of Shameless. ALL stereotypes are UNTRUE.

Manchester is the main city in the North and is the 3rd largest city in England. It is the birthplace of Socialism/Communism; many famous people such as Alan Turing, who designed the first electronic computer at the University of Manchester, are Mancunians.

They don't rob everything in sight like scousers. Most peadophiles are from the south and Shipman was from Hyde which is in Tameside, not Manchester. In general, the best kind of people.

Examples of Manc speech:

-I hate them smackhead emos round Urbis.

-Some scouser scallies tried to rob me but I kicked em back down the east lancs, sorted.

-Dead right mate.

So, there you go.

Ian Brown Vs Parklife ROUND ONE: The Mancunian Stereotype

If you passed by Platt Fields Park this weekend, no doubt you would have been witness to many a Ian Brown wannabe or many a student so drunk he couldn’t cope with the British legacy that is queuing.

On 11th and 12th June, the people who brought you the Warehouse Project (a fantastic and much needed – if not slightly overpriced – set of club nights in Manchester, which started off in the disused Boddingtons Brewery in 2006 and now takes place under Piccadilly Station for the Autumn/Winter clubbing and gigging season) put on a jolly good show in Fallowfield consisting on the Friday of headliner Ian Brown, supported by the likes of tried ‘n’ tested Mr Scruff and a tent sponsored by old school Hacienda peeps. Then on the Saturday, an array of dance and electro acts supported main band Friendly Fires for the ‘Parklife’ leg of the weekend. (And yes, it’s already been pointed out that the organisers named this day-long festival after a BLUR song *shock horror* when we all know that Blur and Oasis had a hand-bags-at-dawn-fall-out during the Britpop period. But, get over it. The event was set in a park. And there were people there. Many people were living life in the park for the day and best part of the night. Therefore, Parklife was a more than suitable name for the shindig. Yes? Yes.).

So, round one – Ian Brown. After only a couple of pints, I thought I was seeing double. Then I thought I was seeing quadruple. Then I thought I was seeing zillionuple. Who, or what, were these people dressed in the same uniform, talking the same talk and walking the exact same walk (not to mention choreographed dance moves)? Dear lord, I had entered the church of Ian Brown.

Prior to the event, I had been told (warned?) that: “Seeing Ian Brown in Manchester is like a religious gathering. Enjoy.” Hmmm. I wasn’t sure if I was a fan of religion. Nor that much of Mr Brown (sorry). So what was I – and the other few thousand who all looked remarkably like the man they all had come to see (standard shaggy bowl haircut, trenchcoat, swagger and gurn) – in store for?

Disappointingly, a few of the main stage acts seemed to have cancelled (Scratch Perverts and Mike Pickering were nowhere to be seen, which got me and my £3 programme completely in a tizz), but when in doubt, go see your friend Mr Scruff. Great beard, tasty tea and move-your-ass DJ sets – what’s not to like? Spinning his plastic in one of the smaller tents, Mr Scruff (aka Mr Andy Carthy) performed a funky soulful set which got the entire crowd shaking their hips, waving their arms, smiling slightly idiotically and hugging random strangers. Beautiful.

More mooching (and beer) was to be had after Mr Scruff. This quickly turned into a game of “who is the biggest Ian Brown wannabe/Manc cliché?” Then suddenly (and I mean suddenly – where had the Mike Pickering set on the main stage gone???) Mr Monkey Man himself came swaggering on to the stage. The crowd’s ears, nose and skin pricked up as it sensed its Messiah summoning it.

Mr Brown kicked off with Stone Roses classic “I Wanna Be Adored”. Out of tune? Yes. Cocky bastard? Oh yes. Sing-a-long crowd pleaser? Absolutely. Ian Brown played a belter of a set, ranging from early Stone Roses through to his more recent stuff. And if I had been a believer, rather than an atheist, I’m sure I would have seen some sort of light when he played F.E.A.R (everyone else in the crowd, with their arms held high, seemed to). All in all, I really enjoyed Ian Brown. It was completely what I expected – but enjoyable nonetheless. And a major factor of that was the crowd. The atmosphere was Manc and proud. I left Platt Fields Park with a swagger in my stride and a smile on my face.

Round 2 – Parklife… to be continued…