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Bez and Shaun Ryder are back on our TV screens for Celebrity Gogglebox tomorrow

The pair are forming part of the star-studded line up for this year's Gogglebox: Celebrity Special for SU2C.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 22nd October 2020
Channel 4 / Gogglebox

Fan-favourite Mancunians Bez and Shaun Ryder are returning to our TV screens tomorrow evening for another celebrity special of Gogglebox.

Well, we say ‘fan-favourites’.

But let’s just say the Happy Mondays bandmates made quite the impression on the public the last time they featured on an episode of the hit Channel 4 reality show back in June this year.

The pair are once again forming part of the star-studded line up for this year’s hour-long Gogglebox: Celebrity Special for SU2C (Stand Up to Cancer UK) and will be joined by the likes of show newcomers The Who’s Roger Daltry, comedian John Bishop, fellow comics David Mitchell and his wife Victoria Coren Mitchell, and Line of Duty stars Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston, as well as many other returning famous faces to give their thoughts on the television from the previous week.

Shaun Ryder said filming the show with Bez was “really good fun”.

He continued: “It’s not like a job really, it’s just me and him. We’ve been like that for the best part of 40 years – we sat watching telly and films and commentating on everything when we were on the tour bus.”

Bez also revealed that he’s found watching some shows more difficult than others though, saying: “The most embarrassing one for us is Naked Attraction. That’s the most embarrassing one,” he said.

“Sat there looking at willies, it’s not my favourite thing.”

Channel 4 / Gogglebox

After their last appearance on Gogglebox – which is a show with a simple but interesting premise that sees different groups of friends and families offer their opinions on the TV shows from the previous week – they pair managed to rack up over 200 Ofcom complaints following an unsurprisingly brazen conversation which ruffled a few feathers among audience members.

They ended up discussing drug use on the programme after Ryder admitted he didn’t understand how far a metre was, but did “know how many grams are in an ounce”, before diving into comic detail about his dating efforts during the Hacienda heydays, stating: “My chat up line used to be, ‘Do you want a line?'”

An Ofcom spokesperson said of the situation at the time: “We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.”

Complaints were also received from members of the public regarding Bez and Shaun’s apparent lack of social distancing efforts amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as the pair do not share a household / social bubble, so we can only presume this will be paid closer attention to in tomorrow’s episode.

Sounds like we’re in for another good hour of telly.

Gogglebox: Celebrity Special for SU2C is airing on Channel 4 at 9pm on Friday 23rd October.

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Some Oasis fans are only just discovering who ‘Cast No Shadow’ is dedicated to

Danny Jones Danny Jones Noel Gallagher wrote Cast No Shadow about Oasis

Die-hard Oasis fans typically pride themselves on knowing the most intricate details about the band and its history, from where the first demos were recorded and when, to how Peggy Gallagher takes her tea, but we were surprised to learn that many don’t know who ‘Cast No Shadow’ is dedicated to.

Fans are already queuing up outside Heaton Park ahead of the Manc band’s massive homecoming, but we’d be curious to quiz how many of them know the story behind the track taken from Oasis’ seminal sophomore album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

It seems that until very recently, even some of the most avid Britpop fans were unaware that the song was written with another icon of the genre and local music legend in mind: Richard Ashcroft.

While claiming it was written about him would be too reductive, and Noel Gallagher himself has openly clarified this, he has also regularly made it known that the tune and some of the lyrics, in particular, act as somewhat of an ode to the Wigan wordsmith.

The elder Gallagher brother has long maintained a deep level of admiration for Ashcroft, citing him as one of the best singer-songwriters he’s ever come across, and regularly felt like both he and The Verve were not given the recognition they deserved at the time.

As touched upon briefly in the clip above, Noel dedicated the track to his friend Richard around the time that he split from his bandmates and began writing solo material, much of which has gone on to become beloved by countless Brits, certainly here in the North and Greater Manchester.

The now 58-year-old Oasis songwriter believes the ‘Bittersweet Symphony’, ‘A Song for the Lovers’ and ‘They Don’t Own Me’ writer, just to name a very small but stellar sample size, was overlooked for far too long and, to some degree, still is massively underappreciated.

We tend to agree.

In fact, we think he put it best when he said this in a BBC Radio 1 interview back in 1997: “I don’t write songs about many people – I’ve written songs about him [Liam], I’ve written songs about me mam, I’ve written songs about my wife, I’ve written songs about Richard Ashcroft.”

“That man is a genius, and I tell you what, man, he ain’t doing it for himself: he’s doing it for me. He has got to be a better songwriter than me, and in return, I’ve got to write better songs than him. That’s what it’s about.”

‘Cast No Shadow’ also led to one of the most beautiful but subtle pieces of art you can find anywhere in Manchester – a personal favourite of ours, we’ll confess.

Noel has revealed on multiple occasions that when he first played and revealed that he’d dedicated ‘Cast No Shadow’ to Ashcroft, Richard himself was left nearly ‘in tears’.

Speaking to The Guardian back in 2010, just a year after Oasis parted ways on the painful night in Paris, Ashcroft himself confessed: “I can’t work out if he means I’m a witch, vampire or just incredibly emaciated and thin cos, you know, I haven’t really got enough body mass to cast a shadow?”

You’d have to ask the ‘Champagne Supernova’ creator himself, but he’s said that while written directly about him, it is a tribute to his “genius”, and when his friend and fellow Greater Mancunian artist finally got his number one for ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’, he said he was “the happiest man in the world.”

His love for The Verve as a whole still remains, too, insisting that just like Liam’s love for The Stone Roses’ John Squire, he believes lead guitarist Nick McCabe is still “one of the best” he’s ever seen.

The Live ’25 reunion has don’t plenty to reignite and an already firm love affair with one of the biggest bands there’s ever been, and it’s also encouraged a whole new generation and demographic of fans to dig further down into the various facets of being Oasis fans involves. Exhibit B…

Explaining the ‘Poznań’ and why Oasis fans are doing it at their Live ’25 reunion tour gigs

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Featured Images — manc_wanderer (via Instagram)/Simon Q (via Flickr)

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Nostalgic ready-to-drink Breezer makes UK return after a decade

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Nostalgic ready-to-drink Breezer makes UK return after a decade

An iconic ready-to-drink favourite has launched back into the UK – oh yes, Breezer is back. 

First launched in the 1990s, Breezers – then pitched as an ‘alcopop’ – were a staple on dancefloors and at barbecues right across the UK. 

And now Bacardi has decided to bring these delicious, fruity, easy-drinking bottles back to British shores. 

There are three new flavours to try as Breezers return to your fridges – Zesty Orange, Zingy Lime, and Crisp Watermelon.

And Breezer launched back into Manchester last night with a suitably memorable party, turning a spot in the Northern Quarter into a corner shop. 

The ‘local Cornerbop’ was stacked with your usual essentials, plus shelf after shelf of these colourful glass ready-to-drink bottles. 

Nostalgic ready-to-drink Breezer makes UK return after a decade
Inside the Breezer ‘Cornerbop’ corner shop in Manchester
Nostalgic ready-to-drink Breezer makes UK return after a decade
Breezer is back, in three new flavours

The Breezer relaunch party saw Tarsza and Rennie Peters spinning nostalgic anthems with a modern twist at a pop-up party in a corner shop.

Steve Young, business unit director for Bacardi in the UK & Ireland, said: “We know there is a lot of love for Breezer in the UK, and we are confident a new generation of consumers will fall in love with the new Breezer.

“RTDs are booming, however, the Flavoured Alcoholic Beverages category could do with a bit more excitement. By bringing back Breezer we’re definitely putting the fruity taste into FAB.”

The iconic ready-to-drink classic is back – and better than ever. 

Follow @breezer on Instagram for more.

18+, please drink responsibly.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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