Social Avenue: The Manchester promoters throwing safe parties in a pandemic
Superstar record spinners Eats Everything, Darius Syrossian, Alan Fitzpatrick, Judge Jules and Skream have all signed up to feature on the bills for the socially-distanced events at Trafford Park, which have - against all odds - proven to be a huge triumph.
There’s some amazing footage doing the rounds on social media right now showing thousands of people packed inside a pool party – floating on top of inflatable dinghies whilst electronic music buzzes overhead.
But what’s most striking about these images isn’t the colossal crowd or the pounding soundtrack. It’s the fact that they’re broadcast from Wuhan.
Yes, that Wuhan – the same place where coronavirus first reared its ugly head before ravaging the world.
Just a few short weeks ago, scenes like this were utterly unimaginable. Most of the people in the video were confined to their homes as recently as April – with the city severed from the rest of the country.
But this part of Hubei, once a terrifying picture of sickness and panic, is back partying like COVID never happened.
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Seeing the return of the festival in Wuhan has stoked feelings of surprise, astonishment and even envy in the western world.
But these images also offer an optimistic glimpse into the future.
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One day, that will be us again.
We’re not there yet, sadly. But, hopefully in the months ahead, full-scale raving will return.
And in the meantime, Social Avenue – the safe dancing event series based right here in Manchester – is helping us get there, one step at a time.
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Social Avenue founders, Brian & Jorge
Whilst the UK continues to try and shake off the lingering symptoms of coronavirus; bars, restaurants and exercise centres have all cautiously returned to action.
But parties and festivals have remained largely banned.
Between the loud volume, close contact and big crowds, experts consider music events to be some of the most likely gatherings to cause an outbreak.
However, Social Avenue’s ‘dance at a distance’ series has found a way to tick the safety boxes whilst treating electronic music lovers to their first live raves since March.
Superstar record spinners Eats Everything, Darius Syrossian, Alan Fitzpatrick, Judge Jules and Skream have all signed up to feature on the bills for the socially-distanced events at Trafford Park, which have – against all odds – proven to be a huge triumph.
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Social Avenue
Social Avenue events see people partying in their own little pockets at allocated tables – with drinks and grub available to order from start to finish.
One-way systems are in place around the car park – as well as hygiene stations and social distancing measures.
Face coverings are also encouraged and handed out to every person on arrival.
The pair behind the promotion, Brian and Jorge, thought about the idea shortly after events stopped completely in March. They couldn’t help but wonder if there was another way for live music to continue.
“We slowly started to work more on the idea of a socially distant event series which seemed very ambitious at the time,” the duo said.
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“But once Boris announced that outdoor social distancing events could go ahead, we immediately pushed forward with our planning.”
Two weeks later on July 25 – Social Avenue was born, and summer was saved.
Social Avenue
Whilst the first few events were challenging, the promotion soon found its feet.
The team found a way to welcome 500 people into Trafford Park by working closely with local authorities; investing in a health and safety team to go above and beyond the guidelines set by the local council and government.
Brian and Jorge said: “Our Health & Safety Officer, Brian Cleary has taken no shortcuts on our site and has made sure that every possible guideline and more has been covered for everyone’s safety.
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“It’s been stressful and the hours have most definitely been excessively more than any other project but our full team at JBM Music have been amazing throughout!
“We are definitely happy with the current outcome, the feedback we are getting from attendees is very positive. We hope to carry on this same momentum and keep building the blocks to the safest socially distant event series in the UK. “
Brian and Jorge say the events industry “has been left in the dark in regards to guidance and help”, and they’ve had to think outside of the box to ensure maximum safely for all ticket-holders at Social Avenue.
Extra measures include hand sanitiser being on tables and toilets – as well as site supervisors and door staff handing out extra masks out in case someone loses theirs.
But of course, all of the measures in the world are still utterly ineffective if the public don’t follow the rules.
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Fortunately, so far at Social Avenue, the crowd has been compliant.
“The general feeling and way people have acted have been absolutely brilliant,” explained the promoters.
‘Those who have attended Social Avenue have really embraced the new measures in place, and this really helps us do our job safely and even better.”
Despite the major success of Social Avenue so far, the future still hangs in the balance. Brian and Jorge know everything can change in an instant – which is why they’re doing everything they can to ensure the series continues for as long as possible.
Social Avenue
“We want to keep our JBM Music staff in work as well as provide work for bar staff, site crew, security, cleaners, lighting/audio engineers etc,” explain the promoters.
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“The whole entertainment industry itself has been turned upside down with no real vision still to how it will return or what measures are going to be in place for the return in the future.
“Lots more events are beginning to pop up with social distancing in place. Whilst these will not be to everybody’s taste, it is really crucial to urge people to support small businesses, as the amount of people it benefits within our industry is huge. Where possible we urge people to hang onto tickets for postponed gigs, too.”
“If social distancing events are something we have to carry in to next year due to the pandemic we are ready to do so.
“We’re also ready to build on our current idea to create something much bigger for Manchester!”
Find out more about Social Avenue and grab tickets for their parties here.
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Bez and Shaun Ryder are starring in a new gangster movie – nope, not kidding
Danny Jones
No, you didn’t misread the headline and you’re not on acid: Manchester music legends Bez and Shaun Ryder are set to feature in a brand-new gangster film.
Yes, the ones from the Happy Mondays – why are you having such trouble processing this?
Seriously though, we did a little double-take ourselves when we came across this news, but the familiar Manc faces look to be among the ensemble of a brand-new gangster movie by Irish writer, actor, producer and filmmaker, Ciaron Davies.
And this is just a little leak or rumour that may have been blown out of proportion: you can take it from the horse’s mouth as Happy Mondays frontman, Ryder, recently shared the news on social media.
As you can see, the new film is called Geezers and is billed as a “British crime caper” written and directed by Davies, featuring Shaun as hard-man Robbie and Bez as ‘Monk’. If you saw Ryder shaking off that snake biting his hand like it was nothing then you already know he’s hard as nails.
Although it’s not strictly listed as a comedy per se, ‘caper’ would suggest plenty of humour and light-heartedness, so we’re thinking more like The Gentleman, Italian Job, or maybe even Four Lions, rather than a serious crime thriller.
Now, while we’ve seen both of the Salfordians on screen before not only in the likes of music videos, interviews, panel shows and even as two of the funniest guests to ever go on Celebrity Gogglebox, this latest venture will serve as their respective acting debuts.
According to the IMDb page, the synopsis of the film is as follows: “Crime caper about a stolen bag of money. Caught in the crossfire are ‘The Geezers’ a bunch of wannabe criminals who have bitten off more than they can chew. With 24 hours to grab the cash, London may just go up in smoke tonight.”
Shame it’s not set on the mean streets of Manchester, or better yet Salford, but you’ve still very much caught our interest.
You can see the first promotional poster for the film down below.
As for Davies, he has been involved with a number of small-budget TV film projects, as well as appearing in shorts and even video games, so it’s fair to say that getting 62-year-old Ryder and his ever-energetic hype man, 60, involved is quite the coup for his movie-making career.
Although the film has no release date just yet, we know that filming locations having included parts of Warrington and Pinewood Studios, will be produced by Loose Gripp Films and distributed by publishers High Fliers.
Given the high-octane nature of Geezers and its genre, the feature will involve lots of action, stunts, violence and even martial arts – though how much kung-fu these two will have learned for the project remains to be seen…
All we know is that the film is supposedly “coming soon” and if you don’t want to see Bez and Shaun Ryder doing their best impression of a Guy Ritchie gangster movie then you’re lying to yourself. Praying for a Rowetta cameo to put the cherry on top.
Featured Images — Shaun Ryder (via X)/Loose Gripp Films/IMDb
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Blossoms at O2 Ritz Manchester – five-night hometown residency is already a triumph
Daisy Jackson
Blossoms are a band who were born and forged here in Greater Manchester, and now they’re back retracing their steps with a five-night residency across the venues that launched them into the big leagues.
Their star has risen all the way to arena level and headline shows at Wythenshawe Park at this point, especially here in their hometown, so the chance to see them back in these cosy-ish little venues is special, and a little bizarre.
For night two of their landmark sold-out gig series, it was the turn of the O2 Ritz, that sweaty spot off Oxford Road where the floor bounces downstairs and you stick to the carpets upstairs.
Poetically, the first time I ever saw Blossoms was in this very room in 2016, when they had the mid-afternoon slot at Neighbourhood festival and the queue to get in went all the way back to St Peter’s Square.
Since those days, Blossoms have come a long, long way, and their live show has evolved and matured from five lads thrashing on their instruments to this well-oiled, hip-swaying, flares-wearing, chart-topping machine.
There’s even choreography now – how fancy!
A stand-out moment from the show is actually a song from their new, fifth studio album Gary, which is still barely eight weeks old.
A spoof recording of legendary Manchester indie club 42s rings out, then all five band members abandon their stations, slinging keytars and marching drums around their necks so that they can dance together in front of neon signs.
Blossoms have just done their second of five shows in Manchester, this time at the O2 Ritz. Credit: The Manc GroupBlossoms on stage at the O2 Ritz in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Blossoms promised more disco with this album and they bloody meant it. It’s not just the flares and the blow-dries and the moustaches (though those do help) – it’s in the funk and groove that’s gradually crept into their music exponentially with each album release.
This is still indie rock but it’s the most danceable of its genre. Good luck keeping your shoulders from wiggling and jiggling in here. Good luck keeping that grin off your face.
And Gary is one of the most unexpectedly fun albums to be released in the last year – the fact they called it Gary, named after a giant fibreglass garden centre Gorilla, should’ve been our clue. It could border on silly were it not such a masterpiece.
It seems like the only thing Blossoms are trying to prove is that you can be wildly successful without taking yourself too seriously. They just seem like a group who want to have a good time and it’s totally infectious.
Case in point – when each band member is introduced, keyboardist Myles Kellock plays the riff of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi and The Biz. Unexpected.
Blossoms also clearly give a sh*t about their live shows and graft at it – I’ve seen these guys an awful lot and it’s because their tour dates are plentiful and consistently worth the ticket price.
This is definitely the biggest era of their career so far, but have they peaked? Not even close.
The Manc -
20th August 2020 
