A petition to save one of Manchester’s legendary metal pubs from permanent closure has racked up hundreds of signatures.
It was sadly announced last Friday that the city centre’s staple metal music and gig venue, Grand Central, would be permanently closing its doors after being an Oxford Street stalwart for over 20 years.
Rumours had already begun circulating that the wildly-popular haunt would be calling it a day during it its temporary closure amid the COVID-19 pandemic – with the venue confirming on social media that it would not be reopening on the country’s so-called ‘Freedom Day’ last Monday as it “had a few things to sort first”.
Now, just a week after that initial announcement, the venue announced that it would “not be reopening the way it was”.
Breaking the news in a statement shared to Facebook, alongside a group photo of all the staff members, Grand Central said: “The stories are true, Grand Central won’t be re opening the way it was.
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“All the now former staff want to thank Tom for everything he has done for us and for giving the alternative scene a home for the last 20+ years [and] I’m sure everyone has stories connected to this little pub.
“Thank you to everyone for all your custom over the years, we will miss you.”
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The venue also urged fans to come together and share their memories of times spent there over the years in a bid to not “let the memory of GRAND F***ING CENTRAL die”.
Not long after the closure announcement was made on Facebook, hundreds of people flocked to share their sadness at the news, with many saying it’s “devastating” for the city’s alternative scene, and that “Manchester has just lost a main part of its culture”.
“I will never forget this place and everyone I have either served or had the pleasure to have a drink with,” one Facebook user wrote.
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Another person said: “Absolutely gutted isn’t even the word. Everyone was so nice and there was never ever trouble there, I’ve had some banging convos with people I didn’t even know I would always start my nights out there – I will miss you terribly.”
Grand Central has announced that it will “not be reopening the way it was” / Credit: Grand Central
Some punters have been so devastated by the closure news that they decided to take matters into their own hands and launch a petition to save the venue – which is believed to have been acquired by the Stonegate Pubs group.
Organised by Emma Gould and directed at Stonegate Brewery, the petition reads: “One of the last few remaining sanctuaries for the rock/metal/alternative folk in and around Manchester. Our venues keep disappearing and it’s time to stand up and say ”we’re not gonna take it”.
“Even if it doesn’t achieve anything, our voices need to be heard and the brewery need to realise exactly how this will impact us.”
Having already racked up over 600 signatures and counting, you can sign the petition here.
Six teenage boys arrested following stabbing of 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre
Emily Sergeant
Six teenage boys have been arrested following the stabbing of a 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called out to reports of a ‘serious assault’ near the Riverside Shopping Centre in central Rochdale on Saturday (29 August), and when they arrived on the scene, they found that a 13-year-old boy had been stabbed.
The young boy currently remains in hospital receiving treatment, while a police investigation into the incident is open and ongoing.
Two teenage boys were first arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article on the same day the incident occurred (29 August), but have since been released on bail.
Officers then made four further arrests yesterday (31 August), again all teenage boys who were arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article, with enquires ongoing.
A Section 60 and 60AA ‘stop and search’ authority was introduced in Rochdale town centre following the recent incidents in area and following reports of youths carrying weapons in the locality, and this has now been extended to 3pm today (Tuesday 1 September).
“This was a serious and sustained attack that could have had far more tragic consequences,” explained Detective Superintendent, Richard Hunt .”Our team of experienced detectives is working around the clock to understand exactly what happened, identify all those involved, and secure the strongest possible evidence.
“We will relentlessly pursue every lead available to us and will leave no stone unturned in bringing all those responsible before the courts.
“Community safety remains our absolute priority, and we are committed to ensuring those who seek to bring violence onto our streets are held fully accountable for their actions.”
Can you help? Anyone who witnessed the incident, was in the town centre at the time, or has any mobile phone, CCTV, or dashcam footage, is urged to come forward and speak to police on 101, quoting log 2750 of 29/08/2026, or using the LiveChat function on the GMP website.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
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High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review
Amy Williams
What a night spent reliving our childhood.
Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming.
Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.
It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along.
If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant.
Emily Sergeant -
27th July 2021 
