Art & Culture

New National Trust park planned for Castlefield Viaduct

The charity and heritage organisation says it wants to bring the Grade II listed viaduct back into use by transforming it into a "green oasis" for locals.

The Manc The Manc - 22nd June 2021

The National Trust has unveiled plans to transform the Grade II listed Castlefield Viaduct into a “hidden oasis above the busy city” by building a public park on the former rail line.

The charity and heritage organisation revealed it was in the early stages of the renovation project, which aims to transform Castlefield Viaduct into a free-to-access park and meeting place – a similar concept to Manhattan’s High Line.

The National Trust said the green space would “celebrate the nature, beauty and history of the viaduct” whilst fitting in with existing plans for the city, functioning as a “stepping stone to other South Manchester green spaces and attractions on foot or bike.”

Artist projections of the renovated rail bridge show viaduct paths lined with bright plants, tall trees and bursting shrubbery.

Castlefield Viaduct could become “a free-to-access park and meeting place” / Image: National Trust
The National Trust said the green space would “celebrate the nature, beauty and history of the viaduct” / Image: National Trust

Built in 1892, Castlefield Viaduct was used to transport heavy rail traffic in and out of Manchester Central railway station until 1969.

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The former railway station has since been utilised as an events space in the form of Manchester Central Convention Complex – but the viaduct itself has stood unused and unchanged for over 50 years, with the exception of essential repairs and maintenance.

The National Trust is hoping to open to begin renovation work in the coming months and open the new green space by next summer.

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In the meantime, it is assessing the safety and condition of the viaduct whilst seeking feedback from the local community and launching an application for planning permission.

The National Trust is hoping to open the new green space by next summer / Image: National Trust
How the viaduct looks today / Image: National Trust

Nearby residents are being invited to a series of upcoming online events due to be broadcast in June and July, with an online survey appearing from tomorrow (June 23) to July 25.

A drop-in event is also being planned for July 22 from 12-3pm at the Science and Industry Museum. 

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More information on the Castlefield Viaduct scheme is available online at the National Trust website.

Events are taking place online on Wednesday June 30 at 1pm, Thursday July 1 at 6pm, and Tuesday July 6 at 7pm.

Art & Culture

Review | Villanelle debut: Liam Gallagher’s son’s band release their first track – here’s our review

Danny Jones Danny Jones Villanelle debut song 'Hinge' first single track review

Liam Gallagher’s son, Gene, and his band Villanelle, have officially released their debut single to the masses, and since we’re still very much immersing ourselves in everything even remotely to do with Oasis, we thought we’d give this first track a review.

Now, if you’re expecting a familiar Britpop vibe like his dad and uncle used to bash out back in the day, you’d be very wrong…

It’s one thing to settle into something similar to what you’ve grown up around and try to continue a lineage if you’re from a successful family – especially with a legacy as important and influential as the one left by Liam and Noel – but we’re glad to report they’ve done something pretty different.

24-year-old Gene Gallagher and his bandmates Ben Taylor (guitar), Jack Schiavo (bass), and Andrew Richmond (drums) haven’t just tried to do an impression of Oasis; instead, they’ve found their own sound, and while it does give somewhat of an old-school flavour, it’s not what we expected.

It takes literally milliseconds for you to click into realising the vibe they’re going for.

‘Hinge’ is a simplistic but hard-hitting, grungey and dark debut from Villanelle, who, despite having played a number of in-progress songs live over the last year or so, have only just dropped their first studio single.

In fact, they’ve actually taken the admittedly bizarre and unorthodox first steps of having already played live with Liam Gallagher on the Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour before they actually released anything people can easily listen to outside of their live performances.

Nevertheless, the young four-piece introduces Villanelle as the latest post-punk outfit amidst the ongoing revival of the classic rock genre.

That is to say that punk is a tried and true classic style of music, not that these lads are trying to sound like The Rolling Stones…

Anyway, we’re getting sidetracked: Villanelle draw plenty of influences from both original and contemporary examples of this sonic subculture, and while it isn’t explosive per se, ‘Hinge’ is short, direct and hits the same formulaic notes.

It’s also fair to say you can hear a bit of the recognisable LG whine in Gene’s vocals at times, too. Listen to it in full down below and see if you agree.

Even the basic found-footage style video fits into the same category.

To call it straightforward isn’t intended as any kind of a diss, by the way – some of our favourite tunes and best artists spearheading the renaissance of the punk scene write like this.

What we will say is that it looks like bloody good fun to both play and listen to in a small, sweaty room, with plenty of pits and people bouncing off the walls.

Gallagher Sr. might be surprised to see his son going for a slightly heavier, more hardcore route with his sound, but he can’t accuse him of forgetting his roots as the child of a ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Star.’

The boys are actually hitting the road this winter, including a date at The Castle Hotel in the Northern Quarter, if you fancy grabbing a ticket.

You can grab your tickets to see Villanelle on tour HERE, and in the meantime, let us know what you think of their debut track down in the comments.

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Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)

Art & Culture

Johnny Marr teases his work on upcoming Gorillaz album

Danny Jones Danny Jones Johnny Marr features on collabs for new Gorillaz album The Mountain

Legendary Manchester musician Johnny Marr has revealed he features on the new Gorillaz album, adding even more interest in the highly anticipated release.

The Mountain is the ninth studio LP from the musical collective led by Damon Albarn, which is set to drop in early 2026, more than three years on from their last album, Cracker Island.

Although the virtual band made up of several real-life creatives (though the ex-Blur frontman and artist, Jamie Hewlett, technically remain the only two consistent core members) hasn’t been away for too long, each new project brings a wave of excitement.

With that in mind, we have no shame in admitting we have even more interest in Gorillaz’s latest album now that we know Johnny Marr is attached to it.

In the new rundown of tunes already posted earlier this month, the former Smiths songwriter and lead guitarist features on four different songs on the new record. You can see it in full down below:

Gorrilaz – The Mountain tracklist

1. The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash)
2. The Moon Cave (feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda and Black Thought)
3. The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks)
4. The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen)
5. Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar)
6. The God of Lying (feat. IDLES)
7. The Empty Dream Machine (feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
8. The Manifesto (feat. Trueno and Proof)
9. The Plastic Guru (feat. Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
10. Delirium (feat. Mark E. Smith)
11. Damascus (feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey)
12. The Shadowy Light (feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash)
13. Casablanca (feat. Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr)
14. The Sweet Prince (feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
15. The Sad God (feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna and Anoushka Shankar)

As you can see, the 61-year-old appears for the first time on song seven, ‘The Empty Dream Machine’, as well as ‘The Plastic Guru’, ‘Casablanca’, and the penultimate track on the album, ‘The Sweet Prince’.

You might even call it a fitting title for one of Manchester’s most famous musical sons.

It’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the captivating soundscape already teased by the group, with Gorillaz having now shared ‘The Happy Dictator’ featuring art pop duo Sparks.

A strong and politically loaded start.

Marr – who only released his fourth batch of solo material, Fever Dream Pts 1-4, back in 2022 – has continued to craft and produce with countless other artists over the past few decades, sharing the studio with fellow icons such as Noel Gallagher, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads and many more.

He even helped create the score for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack with legendary composer Hans Zimmer.

That being said, we can only hope to hear some of his famous guitar tones sprinkled throughout this album, though it’s still unclear as to exactly how much input he had on The Mountain overall.

What we do know about the album is that it’s the first to be released via Albarn’s new record label KONG; it’s 15 tracks, and was largely made following extended recording sessions across India, with the likes of Ajay Prasanna, Omar Souleyman and Anoushka Shankar, joining IDLES, Jalen Ngonda and other collabs.

Perhaps most excitingly, the announcement of ‘Gorillaz no.9’ came alongside a series of tour dates, including one right here in Manchester. We can’t wait to see 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle ‘live’ in 0161.

Gorillaz announce huge Manchester arena gig on upcoming UK and Ireland tour
It’s another big venue debut, too.

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Featured Images — Raph_PH (via Flickr/KONG (press shot)

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