I recently had the pleasure of a short trip to Manchester to play a gig, and managed to grab some photos as I shimmied around town.
One of the first things I saw upon my arrival was this carefully drawn penis on top of a gig poster. Which I liked.
The fourth busiest station in the UK outside London, Manchester Piccadilly undertook a huge £100m refurbishment in 2002, leaving it with an efficient but utterly soulless terminus. [—]
Clearly punters legging it from taxis is a big thing in Manchester!
The amazing levitating sign.
The Daily Express Building, located on Great Ancoats Street, is a striking Grade II listed building designed by engineer, Sir Owen Williams. It was built in 1939 to house one of three Daily Express offices; the other two similar buildings are located in London and Glasgow. See a photo of the London office here.
Street art.
Homage to the 1971 American blaxploitation action-crime, Shaft.
Erected in June 1999, the ‘New Broom’ sculpture by George Wyllie is a painted steel and stone creation located on the corner of John Street and Thomas Street. It was commissioned when the Northern Quarter was being regenerated and is a reference to the area being cleaned-up, a process that is still ongoing. [—]
Bumbag Good Life. OK!
The former wholesale fish market in the Northern quarter.
Old shop doorway.
Oooh, everyone loves a bit of hanky panky!
Homage to Manchester legend, Tony Wilson, co-founder of Factory Records and the founder and manager of the Haçienda nightclub.
Disused warehouses in the Northern Quarter.
Butty Bar on Tib Street.
Bowie street artwork.
We stopped off for a bit at the Koffee Pot. The food was decent enough (and the beer excellent) but the vibes were a little strained thanks to a wilfully obscure DJ lurking in the corner who insisted in playing Music To Make You Want To Murder Someone through a grating PA that made a smartphone’s speaker sound like a Funktion One soundsystem.
Dating back to at least 1811, the former Edinburgh Castle pub in Blossom Street closed some time ago and there seems little prospect of it reopening. Read more here.
A distinctly old school kind of boozer, The City on Oldham Street drew this response on the BITE website:
After bolting from the hipster coolness of the Castle down the road I found this place. Not hip & not cool, and not the sort of pub you recommend to your maiden aunt. Customers were mostly sozzled or stoned & those who could talk did so in that loud fashion of the intoxicated, positive the world wants to hear their opinions. And this was around 3pm on a week day.
The Monochrome Set were playing Gullivers further down the road, and it’s a splendid pub with a live room upstairs.
I always enjoy photographing the stickers and graffiti I find in the backstage dressing room, but this was the first time I’d seen a ‘Cock Cat’.
I loved the venue. A little bit tatty but warm and inviting. Perfect!
Local support band The Things did a great job of warming up the crowd.
I try to pack lightly when I travel, but the absolute essentials for every gig are always: one cowbell + fairy lights.
Mr Moran in a dress.
[Monochrome Set photos © V Spanu]
We hit the town after the show, passing this Hooky artwork.
First stop was Bar Pop in Canal Street which was a heap of fun.
The music was as pop-tastic cheesy as you like – perfect for a well-oiled late crowd of revellers 🙂
Our final destination was Cruz 101, a late night dance/house gay club located in an old warehouse.
Hope to see you again soon, Manchester!
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