With its origins dating back hundreds of years, traceable to Italy, bingo has been enjoyed in halls and community centres throughout Manchester for generations.
The entertainment and leisure culture of Manchester is made of a rich and ever-changing tapestry that accommodates all tastes and ages. Some fads come and go, while others stick around and become part of the city’s fabric.
One of the city’s first loves is football – you’re either red or blue – while Manchester continues to produce some of the world’s finest musicians, with each leaving their own indelible mark on the city.
In this article, we will focus on another evergreen part of Manchester’s leisure culture and explore how it has evolved to stay relevant in a changing marketplace. Though it doesn’t have the same glamour traditionally attached to it, the game of bingo remains a major part of our city.
A changing game
With its origins dating back hundreds of years, traceable to Italy, bingo has been enjoyed in halls and community centres throughout Manchester for generations. But although the basic rules of the game remain largely untouched, new versions of it have emerged to help keep it relevant in a digital world.
The game has effortlessly made the leap online, which has helped connect the game to a younger audience, including the city’s student population. New versions of the game, like bingo slots, offer something fresh and exciting, while quick-fire versions of the classic rules, where sessions last no more than a couple of minutes, are a better fit for many modern players.
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Bingo halls
But bingo’s move online has not been at the expense of the classic bingo halls, which you will find throughout the city and Greater Manchester. The classic bingo hall is a true hub for communities, helping friends socialise and providing laughter and companionship for thousands.
The facilities play important roles in the lives of many and, although many younger players are more engaged with the digital offering, traditional bingo hall games continue to boast a charm all of their own.
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Bongo’s Bingo
Another way that bingo has remained relevant and trendy in modern Manchester is through the innovation of Bongo’s Bingo. Originating a few short miles away in Liverpool, Bongo’s Bingo features live entertainment, including live music and dancing.
The concept has taken the UK by storm and events have been held frequently in our city in recent years. In many ways, the events would be alien to traditional bingo players, but at the heart of everything remains the classic game beloved by so many.
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The future
In such a competitive entertainment marketplace, staying relevant and appealing to an ever-changing audience can be incredibly difficult. And in a city like Manchester, where there’s just so much to do, it’s perhaps doubly difficult.
But the simplicity of bingo’s rules, its adaptability and its accessibility to people of all backgrounds will likely ensure that it retains some kind of presence in the consciousness of local people. Whether that’s through digital media, Bongo’s Bingo or the bingo halls of old, we feel confident that Bingo will remain a part of our city’s culture for generations yet to come.
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Everton manager Sean Dyche randomly pops up in the music video for Blossoms’ new single – and he’s great
Danny Jones
Did anyone else think they’d ever see Sean Dyche make his acting debut in the role of a Northern crime boss in a silly little music video for the Blossoms?
No, us neither but that’s the bizarre alternate reality we’re living in, apparently.
Blossoms are currently working on the fifth studio album and have already released their lead single entitled, ‘To Do List (After The Break-Up)’, but now they have a new song out as well, with a rather amusing music video to go along with it and somehow Sean Dyche has found himself the star.
The Stockport band teased the curious collaboration in April, giving us just short glimpses of the Everton manager and former Burnley boss with very little explanation – all we know is that it looked funny and it was.
Dyche is still busy trying to finish the Premier League campaign as strong as possible after successfully navigating the Toffees to safety even in spite of their points deductions this season, but it sounds like keeping them up has given him enough time to moonlight as an actor.
Sending the indie five-piece on a mission to collect something of value (yes, that’s all the info we have at this point as the story is still to be continued), it looks like the Kettering-born coach has a larger role to play in whatever this narrative turns out to be.
Playing what can only be described as some kind of semi-Manc mafia figure on the hunt for a very valuable piece of art, i.e. a big giant gorilla statue – one that many Stopfordians spotted being lugged around various parts of the borough –
They also shared a little bit of BTS footage from the shoot for the music video last week. Some lovely head-bobbing and unassuming surroundings here:
As for the track itself, it’s a bit of stylistic change for the lads who’ve mastered their 80s-tinged indie formula over the past decade but it’s an absolute pop and is already stuck in our heads.
Revealing that they’ve collaborated with contemporary funk, disco and electronic icons Jungle on the track, it doesn’t take too long to hear the influences. Look forward to hearing it at Wythenshawe Park this summer.
You can watch the music video for ‘What Can I Say?’ and the ginger-goatee’d football manager extraordinaire in full character HERE.
He’s not the only footballing figure who’s made an entertainment crossover recently either.
Featured Images — Blossoms (via YouTube)/Virgin EMI
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KFC have launched their own perfume – oh, and a new burger
Danny Jones
Fast food giants KFC have launched their very own perfume in one of the weirdest marketing stunts we’ve seen in a long while.
That being said, we definitely want a bottle.
KFC‘s fried chicken-themed fragrance launches next month and is fashionably named ‘No 11 Eau de BBQ’, a nod to their newest menu item, the Ultimate BBQ Burger, which we also want in our possession as soon as humanly possible.
The franchise’s new signature scent launches in just a week’s time and, yes, you can genuinely buy it along with the new burger for a limited time only.
The UK-only release actually sold out when it came to pre-orders but Brits will be able to get their hands on another batch when the second lot drops on 7 May.
Promising a charcoal and smoky wood-scented aroma that immediately transports you to your mate’s back garden as he turns cheap burger patties into overly blackened dry pucks of meat that you definitely would’ve cooked better if you were in charge, the stunt is also helping raise money for non-profits.
Available in 100ml bottles and for just £11, 100% of the proceeds of every sale will go towards the KFC Foundation, which supports grassroots organisations empowering young people to unleash their potential and build a positive future in local communities across the country.
As for the burger that inspired it, the special edition menu item is a nod to BBQ season gradually approaching and they’ve even made a nod to our famously reliable British weather and its attempts to derail the art of outdoor grilling in a new advert.
KFC perfume and a new burger? Christmas has come well early this year.
The Ultimate BBQ Burger has already launched and will be on the menu until 9 June, priced at £6.49 or £9.99 for a box meal which comes with the burger, a regular mini fillet, regular fries, BBQ sauce and a drink.
And don’t worry, it’ll be available on delivery too — we know we’ve had problems with that when it comes to specials in the past.
As KFC’s No 11 Eau de BBQ perfume, you can wait in the online queue like everyone else HERE and let’s just say you’ll be fighting us and plenty of other Mancs for every last drop.