Salford has just got its first-ever interactive trail that celebrates the incredible legacy of the city’s music and cultural footprint.
Made possible through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, Echo Salford is is a brand-new and immersive augmented reality (AR) experience that takes users all across Salford to the places and spaces that best showcases the city and borough’s iconic musical and cultural history.
Starting at MediaCity, and taking in the sights of Salford Lads Club, Islington Mill, and Maxwell Hall along the way, before ending at the infamous Kings Arms, the trail promises to take people on a “mind-opening visual and audio journey”.
The ultimate aim of the trail is to “inspire and educate” people, all while showing just how important Salford is to the culture of Greater Manchester.
Accessed via the Echo Salford app, the trail will enable users to launch an AR experience at each location, view never-before-seen images, create musical content and other digital takeaways, and downloadable memorabilia too.
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From exploring the Edwardian elegance and Smith’s room at the Salford Lads Club, with history spanning over 100 years, to immersing yourself in the artistic epicentre of Islington Mill – which is creating a new wave of artists and creators to this day – Echo Salford is also said to be a “celebration” of the “diversity and inclusion that runs through the city”.
You’ll event get to submit a poem in the style of the wondrous John Cooper Clarke at The Lowry, which he’ll also personally review and award prizes to the best of.
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A new interactive AR trail celebrating Salford’s music and culture has just launched / Credit: The Lowry | Wikimedia Commons
Not enough to get you hooked?
How about the fact that you’ll even be able to enjoy the dulcet tones and supporting commentary of some local and national treasures around the trail too? Think guidance from the likes of Peter Hook, Maxine Peake, and John Cooper Clarke, as well as the next generation of incredible talent from the city such as Priya Matharu, and Cheddar Gorgeous.
Ultimately, the creators of Echo Salford say the app is about “sharing, uncovering, and restoring” heritage content.
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It will so this all while supporting new and future music in Salford, as well as providing career opportunities for both students and early-stage professionals as they start their media production careers too.
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett says the Echo Salford app is “a perfect example of the world-class innovation produced here in Salford”.
Launch day is finally here for @EchoSalford – the first ever Salford immersive culture and music trail app! 📱
He continued: “This wonderful immersive trail shows off Salford’s vibrant cultural and musical past, present and future.
“Bringing buildings and people to life in front of our eyes, there are many Salford greats to spot along the route [and] I would encourage residents and visitors interested in music, culture, or local history to download the app.
“It really is a fun way to explore Salford at your own pace.”
Noel Gallagher says there ‘won’t be any fighting’ as he speaks on Oasis reunion for the first time
Danny Jones
Noel Gallagher has spoken about the Oasis reunion for the first time and has promised there’ll be ‘no fighting’ when they set off on tour next summer.
In contrast to the younger Gallagher brother, who has been arguably more active and vocal about himself and Oasis since the reunion was confirmed, Noel has been pretty quiet on the comeback up until now.
However, speaking at the recent ‘Legends’ exhibition by Zoë Law held at the National Portrait Gallery, the guitarist and solo artist was quoted as saying that things won’t be anywhere near as rock and roll as it was back in Britpop’s heyday, as well as assuring he and Liam won’t be at each other’s throats.
The Oasis songwriter said of the upcoming tour dates: “No, it won’t be as raucous as back in the day, because we’re on the wrong side of 50 now, so we’re too old.
“We’re too old to give a s**t now, so there won’t be any fallouts, there won’t be any fighting.” When asked if he’s glad to have buried the feud after a decade and a half of bad-mouthing and back and forth, the 57-year-old could only reply, ‘Of course.’
In Noel’s eyes at least, while many have been speculating that this reunion tour isn’t just a one-off (fingers crossed), he described wanting the now enormous world tour – with dates in the UK, Ireland, US, Australia, Japan, South America and more – to be a sort of “lap of honour” for the band.
Make of that what you will.
There have been reports that the duo have new music ‘ready to go’ or at least written, but let’s just say we got our Christmas wish with the reunion itself, so we’re not going to push our luck and risk jinxing anything by asking for too much. For now, we’ll settle for them remembering they love each other.
Noel in one of his last shows saying that no one sounds like Rkid (Liam) and in the interview for the DM's 30th anniversary he also spoke highly of Liam, and there are still people who are afraid that they will fight, Oasis is back! enjoy pic.twitter.com/lMcIXyUgic
As for relations between him and Liam, we don’t know too much beyond the pictures we eventually saw of them smiling and joking together during that photo shoot for the official announcement in the summer.
That being said, iconic frontman and part-time troll has enjoyed playing a very comical version of kiss and make up on social media – as well as using the word ‘celestial’ a lot for some reason. He did, however, respond to what he called a “ridiculous question” rather recently.
Although he refused to name who it came from, he replied in truly irreverent LG fashion: “Oasis gonna be as good as you once were because when some bands get back together there not as good I said listen here you c*** even on our bad day we’ll still wipe the floor with [the] majority of bands out there.”
Meanwhile, it really does like the two have overcome their difference as Noel had the following to say in his interview for the Law’s photography series. We only hope this means there’s nothing holding them back from putting on the shows of a lifetime…
Iggy Pop announces landmark gig in Manchester next year
Thomas Melia
Pivotal punk icon Iggy Pop has released a massive Manchester tour date as part of a series of UK gigs taking place in 2025.
‘The Godfather of Punk’ and all-round rockstar last visited the music capital of the North way back in 1993 where he performed at Manchester Academy more than 30 years ago.
The latest comeback gigs announced next year will see the living legend headlining the O2 Victoria Warehouse, which can host up to 3,500 avid fans and attendees.
Manchester can expect his usual on-stage antics, shirtless attire, iconic hairdo and plenty of energy. We’re no stranger to hosting some of the most iconic gigs of all time anyway, so this should be ‘She’s a Business’ as usual.
The former Stooges vocalist turned successful solo artist has been keeping himself a mainstay in pop culture featuring on the bill of ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’ by Måneskin in 2021.
It’s safe to say the star’s touring absence has been truly felt as this new date comes as the result of ‘overwhelming demand’ following the announcement of two other headline shows: one in London and an already sold-out Glasgow gig.
Iggy Pop’s Manchester tour date is for all his fans in the North, giving them the chance to experience his biggest anthems in an electrifying live setting and venue that never disappoints. This crowd is truly about to be ‘Livin’ on the Edge of the Night’.
Come on, how often do you get to throw out Iggy Pop puns?
Alongside being a hugely influential voice during one of the most important and historic eras of music, in more recent times, the man born James Newell Osterberg Jr. has been advocating for upcoming artists on social media in collaboration with BBC 6 Music.
In 2010, Iggy Pop was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of his work alongside fellow bandmates The Stooges.
This isn’t the only time Pop found himself rewarded for his work, receiving a Grammy in 2020 on behalf of his solo work titled the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’. He is a true legend not just of the genre but the music world as a whole.
Whether you’re attending for ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ or his more contemporary work like the raw hit ‘Frenzy’, he’s sure to roll out a selection of songs that spans his truly impressive musical career, one which dates back to the 1960s.
Iggy Pop is performing at O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on Saturday, 31 May 2025 with tickets on sale from Friday, 6 December. There is also presale available for MasterCard and O2 members, as well as through the venue itself.
Emily Sergeant -
9th September 2023 
