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The Mancunian Way: Too Good at Goodbyes
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Here’s the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello
I spent a day with a friend in a surprisingly sunny Sunderland this week, having driven up from Manchester to see the one and only Beyoncé perform at the Stadium of Light.
While the venue was more than capable of hosting the concert – with thousands in attendance – it did make me leave with an appreciation for how much better Manchester is when it comes to holding large-scale events.
Getting to the stadium via the Metro was a doddle (albeit incredibly jam-packed) but walking from the station to the gates felt like a trek as we waded past supermarkets, side streets and football pitches to get to our prime standing spot in front of Queen Bey. Getting out of the stadium was equally manic, with roads blocked, ‘permit only’ streets causing traffic, little direction of how to get away from the crowds and the Metro seemingly out of operation by the time the show finished.
While Manchester’s transport systems are far from perfect, we’re incredibly lucky to have what we do have. While queues and traffic will always be the norm after any concert anywhere, I feel like Manchester is somewhat better suited to handle the after-show rush as we have plenty of options to use.
That being said, as we’ll soon find out in two of today’s stories, not all shows run smoothly and not all of Manchester’s transport options are quiet. Today’s Mancunian Way will also look at a shoe entrepreneur and a man who woke thousands of Mancunians up every morning.
‘Honestly heartbroken’
As singer Sam Smith took to the stage at Manchester’s AO Arena on Wednesday night, it had all the hallmarks of being a night to remember. Just hours before the gig, the star had teased online that it would feature a ‘special surprise’ – with many suspecting it might even involve Madonna.
But, as Sam finished their fourth song Too Good at Goodbyes (ironic), the lights went out and the show was over. It left fans to come up with multiple theories for why the show had ended early, including power cuts, emergency evacuations and even Sam falling down some stairs.
The singer later put out a statement saying they had suffered vocal issues and were unable to continue. “Today in soundcheck I felt fine and was so excited to give Manchester an amazing show tonight, with a special surprise at the end,” the singer said, before adding they felt something ‘really wrong’ with their voice during the show.
“I came off stage and have tried everything to get my voice back in gear but it won’t,” they went on to say. “I am honestly heartbroken.”
Fans at the gig told reporter James Holt that there was confusion at the arena as they waited to find out more about the reasons for the midway cancellation. “Sam came out and everyone was screaming and getting into it,” one fan explained. “They dedicated their show to Tina Turner and told us they had a surprise for us.
“Little did we [know] the surprise was them not coming back on stage. First it was an issue which would be sorted in two minutes, then about 25 minutes later we were told to go home. Someone came on and said they were sorry but they have had to cancel the show due to vocal issues. Some people had booked hotels and everything it’s a joke.”
Sam has since cancelled shows in Glasgow and Birmingham following doctor’s orders to go on vocal rest, with refunds being offered to those with tickets to any of the three shows.
Pull(ed) up to the station
Plans to create two new platforms at Manchester’s Piccadilly station have been pulled by Network Rail.
The plans for platforms 15 and 16, which date back more than a decade, were to help ease rail congestion across the North but have now been withdrawn as bosses ‘move forward’ and look at alternative options.
Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s managing director for the North West and Central region, told Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan: “The rail industry has come together to work on these proposals, building into a long-term vision that will get the best for our passengers and freight users alike. We also have ambitious plans for the future of Manchester Oxford Road.
“We’re removing our previous planning application so we can move forward with a new approach, something we’ll be consulting residents and businesses on later in the year.”
The move comes as rail minister Huw Merriman announced a £72m funding package aimed at improving train services in Manchester and across the North West. It will be used to create a third platform at Salford Crescent to reduce congestion and delays.
Mr Merriman said: “This new investment will help make train services more reliable for the people of Manchester and beyond, marking another milestone in a decade’s worth of rail improvements across the region.
“An efficient railway is key to levelling up and the improvements achieved through this package will help boost local economies and connect people to opportunities, as well as friends and family.”
On air
Peter Baker never imagined he would spend years as the voice of Greater Manchester’s mornings.
Having just finished studying sound engineering at the University of Bath in 1975, Peter decided to try his hand as a radio DJ and set his sights on Piccadilly Radio 261, Manchester’s first independent local radio station.
Invited to attend an audition at the station after sending bosses a demo tape in the hopes of getting a job there, a 20-year-old Peter became the person thousands of Mancunians woke up to each morning.
“I got off at Piccadilly Station and there was this big light up billboard that said ‘Welcome to Manchester, home of Piccadilly Radio’ just as you come out,” Baker told reporter Lee Grimsditch. “I thought bloody hell, this is a big thing!”
Peter was initially given the ‘graveyard slot’ from 11pm to 6am which was filled with interviews and call-ins. With nowhere in the city to stay in his first few weeks, Peter initially stayed in a youth hostel in St Peter’s Square and then a fellow DJ’s house before finding a flat in the city. But he didn’t mind at all.
“It was absolutely bloody brilliant it was,” he recalls. “It was wonderful living in Manchester. And me being a southern Jessie as well, I never thought I would ever get a job in Manchester.”
Peter said being given the ‘baptism of fire’ that was the night shift meant he had to learn quickly on the job. And that included how to pronounce Manchester’s boroughs and areas. He explained: “As soon as you got there (Piccadilly Radio) you got a sheet of paper that said ‘these are the names of the places you will pronounce wrong’. I said what do you mean, this place called ‘Black-ley’? No, it’s pronounced ‘Blake-ley’.”
“There were some strange things,” he added. “We got postcards then because we didn’t have the internet, of course. I remember on the night show we got lots of postcards from a place called Penguin Shell. I had no idea where the hell this was.
“I looked in my Manchester A-to-Z and couldn’t find it. We worked out these were the people on the night shift at the Penguin factory at McVitie’s, and they put the shell of chocolate on the Penguin biscuits.”
Peter, now 67, quickly flourished at Piccadilly Radio and went on to host the rock show before becoming its breakfast host from 1978 to 1982 where he interviewed the likes of ABBA and Elvis Costello.
After nine years at the station, he left the station to pursue a career in TV presenting at Granada Television. But he returned to radio six years later in 1988 when his former station was split into two. He presented Key 103’s breakfast show for seven years until 1995.
He’s since gone into the world of voiceover acting, voicing everything from adverts and tour guides to documentaries and audiobooks. He says people’s connection with radio has changed since his days at the helm of the breakfast show.
“Radio isn’t as important in people’s lives as it once was,” Peter explains. “If you’re into music we’ve all got Tidal or Spotify on our phone and you can think of any record now.
“You don’t even need to go to your record collection or listen to the radio for your favourite song to come on, because you can play it yourself.”
You can read more about Peter’s story here.
That’s a wrap
14 packs of tortillas, two tubes of Veet cream, two packs of socks and a handful of Activia yoghurts might sound like part of a shopping list for a very unorthodox night in, but they are actually just part of a large number of items seized by police.
Officers pulled over a silver Volkswagen Golf on Hyde Road in Denton on Wednesday evening after believing it was linked to a series of shoplifting offences outside of Greater Manchester.
The unusual combination of goods were found inside the vehicle, alongside flatbreads, roll-on deodorant, mushy peas, bin bags, cereal and a large quantity of alcohol.
The force says a total of £3,500-worth of goods were recovered from the car. Two people were arrested on suspicion of theft and going equipped to steal.
Read more about the seized goods here.
A perfect fit for business
Matthew Burgess charged just £25 to redesign his first pair of sneakers for a classmate at Pendleton College. His customised designs are now selling for £10,000 at auction and are worn by the likes of Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande.
Matthew, from Boothstown, left school with just three GCSEs and told reporter Ramazani Mwamba that it made him feel disappointed and ‘a bit s***’ at how he had done. But his entrepreneurial spirit saw him grow his talents into a now-thriving business.
Once the requests for customisation came in, Matthew created an Instagram account called MattB Customs and a website to take orders. Classmates would buy their pair of trainers from traditional retail stores and then hand it over to Matthew to customise it with a bespoke design for a fee.
But having worked with ‘some really smelly shoes’ for too long, he switched up the formula to work on new shoes and it paid off. “Because I was grafting so much, it was actually good money because I wasn’t paying tax,” Matthew told Rami. “In a week I was doing around £200, which when you’re 17 is fully good, when you’re still going to college.”
Since then, he’s worked with the likes of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford and collaborated with brands including Netflix and Google. He even collaborated with Stella McCartney and saw his designs featured at London Fashion Week.
But Matthew remains humble and now employs people who experienced similar positions as he did growing up. He explains: “The thing I’m most proud about is how much money my business has been able to pay people and them make a living off it, being able to give people a way of earning consistent good income as an artist.”
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Weather etc
Temperatures: Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by lunchtime. 20C.
Roadworks: Snake Pass is closed due to roadworks from Ladybower Reservoir to the Royal Oak Inn, Glossop, until May 26.
Trivia question: Sam Smith won an Oscar for their song Writing’s on the Wall, but what was the name of the Bond film it appeared in?
Manchester headlines
- Prize: A former bingo caller from Manchester has won a prestigious award for his book. Jarvis was presented the Oscar’s book prize by HRH Princess Beatrice. The award has previously been won by the likes of Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas De Quincey and Francis Burnett. More here.
- Waterfront: Plans to create 52 homes on the banks of the River Irwell in Salford opposite the site where a Lancaster bomber crashed in World War Two have been submitted. Developers want to demolish existing buildings to create 38 three-bedroomed and 14 four-bedroomed properties over three storeys in four blocks.
- Alarms: A number of house alarms could be heard in parts of Burnage and Levenshulme on Thursday morning following a power cut. Electricity North West said around 389 properties were affected. Details here.
Worth a read
A 97-year-old RAF veteran took to the skies one more time thanks to a kind-hearted teenage pilot. Ex-engine fitter Harry Appleton, who first learnt to fly a plane at the age of 14, was treated to a 20-minute flight above the skies of Manchester in 18-year-old Nathaniel McMurray’s four-seater plane.
“It was a fabulous day,” Harry, from Swinton, recalled. “Absolutely perfect. There’s no other way to describe it.”
You can find out more about his story here.
That’s all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email [email protected].
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The answer to today’s trivia question is: Spectre.
