Cast your minds back to 2015: NASA found water on Mars, Sepp Blatter finally stepped down from FIFA and Game of Thrones was still mint.
Oh yeah, and some bloke went around Greater Manchester turning potholes into penises.
For anyone who doesn’t remember this absolute renegade of the art world, ‘Wanksy‘ was a graffiti artist who came to prominence in 2015 and into the mid-late 2010s and his MO was pretty simple: find potholes and turn them into penis drawings.
Sometimes the simplest forms of comedy are the best.
Credit: Wanksy (via Facebook)
The construction worker and surveyor turned professional artist went viral for his series of admittedly childish and simple drawings that resembled the kind of thing you’d see in a secondary school kid’s exercise book – only these were bigger and smack bang in the middle of the road.
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But who says all art has to be high art? Even graffiti artists like Banksy himself would probably shrug off such a snooty label. His Manc counterpart got stick at the time, with many calling it nothing more than crude vandalism exposing young eyes to inappropriate imagery, there was actually a point to his work.
Speaking to the MEN back then, the mystery man said that “the roads of Manchester [were] in an appalling state, especially around Bury“, insisting that they were so bad that some of his cyclist friends were even hospitalised.
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Noting that they were a risk to cyclists and damaging cars left, right and centre in his hometown of Ramsbottom and further afield, he claims his purpose was “to attract attention to the pothole and make it memorable, adding that “nothing seemed to do this better than a giant comedy phallus.”
He wasn’t lying about the condition of the roads (2015)He quickly managed to get himself in the papers
It certainly got the attention he was hoping for.
As it happens, it would seem he is still up to his cheeky antics even now. The best part is that since the Facebook profile was set up as a community fan page, theoretically, anybody could have sent them in and posed as the man, the myth, the legend himself. He might never be caught.
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Moreover, these quick spray jobs were all done with non-permanent paint, essentially rendering them about as close to vandalism as a child’s sketching with chalk on the pavement outside their house. The perfect crime (if you could even call it one).
Nevertheless, Wanksy acknowledges the naughty nature of his pastime, saying that part of its charm is that it’s “speedy”, confessing that he doesn’t want to spend too long on the road in case he gets caught.
He keeps things creative.
However, his message was as clear then as it is now: “I just want to make people smile and draw attention to the problem.” Better still, his humourous albeit unorthodox methods continue to get results to this day.
As the years have gone by, Manchester’s roads and wider infrastructure have continued to improve and as exampled by numerous victories he has shared on social media.
As he told Bloomberg back in 2015, despite there being a rather futile ‘Fix My Street’ page designated for different regions across the UK, he found success and did so quicker by taking matters into his own hands. If you want a job done, do it yourself and all that.
So, if you’re one of those people who have always questioned what impact art can make in the world, think again.
Still, if you’d rather see some of his namesake’s work instead, a massive exhibition including one of his rarest works arrived in 0161 this month.
A music festival is coming to a Manchester skate park
Danny Jones
With the sun starting to shine more consistently and the music festival season well and truly on its way, we’ll admit we weren’t expecting to see an event taking place on a Manchester skate park, of all places.
Projekts Skatepark, the long-standing skating hub and cultural hotspot located under Macunian Way, is set to host the fourth edition of the unapologetically named ‘Metlchester’.
Starting out life as little more than a small Oldham Street takeover, the city centre festival is returning for this year, bringing plenty of alternative music, skate vibes, bevs and more.
You can see the lineup confirmed so far down below:
The 2025 edition of the festival, a.k.a. ‘Metlchester Vol. 4’, is taking place later this month.
Projekts has been catering to local boarders for the past two decades, and along with their on-site cafe and bar, the space has been put to use for several other special events – case and point, Meltchester Festival, which first started back in 2022.
Bringing a healthy dose of garage rock, post-punk and psych music to NQ from the outset, now it’s expanded, you can expect even more variety when it comes to genre this time around, as well as a well-stocked in-house bar and street food stalls.
Oh yeah, and of course there’ll be the usual merch and skate shop for you to browse.
As for the aforementioned tunes, while last year’s festival was headlined by Night Beats and Frankie & The Witch Fingers, topping the bill this year are Snapped Ankles, along with a mix of grassroots artists, including local duo, Slap Rash, who recently featured as one of our Manc artists of the month for April.
Projekts opened back in 2004Slap RashCredit: Supplied
Set in collaboration with Sour Grapes Records, an equally longstanding regional promoter with hundreds of successful events to their name, they make up part of the Greater Manchester Music Commission.
Serving up an exciting springtime event full of energy, from the skate culture to the performances themselves, this is the perfect appetiser ahead of a busy summer schedule as we approach festival season.
They also happen to be the event coordinators for local music venue Big Hands, where not only are current Sicilian traders Rizzo’s are based (also set to join the festival for the day) but where this year’s after party will be held, which is free for ticket holders, by the way.
Set to kick off from 12 noon on 17 May, with a pro skater session running until 2pm before the tunage, Metlchester sounds like a belter.
Featured Images — quantum bunny (via Flickr)/Supplied
Art & Culture
Co-op Live has been named the number one arena in Europe following its debut year
Danny Jones
Despite a rocky opening month or so, Manchester’s Co-op Live made the ultimate instant recovery and has now been named the number one arena not just in the UK but all of Europe.
Manc music venues being best in class? Sounds about right.
Yes, even despite some obstacles, delays and early hiccups, Co-op Live‘s debut year as a live music and indoor entertainment venue has seen it beat out the likes of the long-established and iconic O2 in London to take the top spot.
The inaugural 12 months of the arena have not only seen it welcome all manner of music legends, as well as live sporting events such as the UFC and WWE, but the arena welcomed more visitors than any other venue across the continent during that time.
Names to have graced the industry-leading stage so far include Liam Gallagher, Stevie Nicks and Take That; Peter Kay, Elbow, Sabrina Carpenter, Paul McCartney, and so many more.
Commenting on the successful start, Tim Leiweke (CEO and chairman of the Oak View Groupbehind the venue) said: “Our ambition was to bring the world’s best music arena to one of the world’s greatest music cities and we are thrilled with the reaction from fans and artists alike over this past year.
“Co-op Live’s revolutionary acoustics investment has already attracted some of the world’s biggest artists and events to Manchester, with many more to come. And our sustainability commitment will ensure we remain responsible contributors to Manchester and the planet for years to come.
“We believe that amazing venues can transform cities for the better, and Co-op Live has done just that.”
It’s fair to say we’ve had some truly unforgettable nights in there already – and that’s just in the last month alone. Case and point:
With a continued commitment to achieving ‘Net Zero’ status too, the venue’s carbon reduction technologies, solar panels, heat pumps and rainwater harvesting, not to mention the recently refreshed CityLink walking in partnership with the Climate Pledge, are all things we can be proud of.
Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, went on to add: “We are delighted with the success of Co-op Live’s first year, and to see it taking the top spot off London.
“It shows Manchester is the home of live music in the UK, with Co-op Live bringing so many exclusives from artists like Bruce Springsteen to the city and Oasis playing massive hometown shows this summer – 2025 is going to be one of the biggest ever for our city’s music scene.”
Meanwhile, things are feeling less fortunate at the grassroots end of the spectrum, as the Music Venue Trust is imploring people to get behind a vulnerable Manc music institution.