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Mayor Andy Burnham to play special DJ set at Band on the Wall

He's back at it again.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 10th July 2024

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, is getting back behind the decks for another DJ set at one of the city’s most iconic music venues, Band on the Wall.

MC Andy Burnham as we like to call him from time to time is no stranger to doubling as DJ, and as odd as it may seem to have uttered that sentence about a politician on more than one occasion, he’s doing another set later this month.

Set to spin some classic indie favourites, Burnham will be joining the ‘All My Friends‘ club night founder Dave Masterman on the turntables, with the tunes expected to go on till late.

After the election result this past week, it’s fair to say the party atmosphere is pretty much guaranteed.

The All My Friends indie night has run in London and Manchester for over a decade now, with past
guest DJs including Josh Widdicombe, Chris Moyles, Polly James, Sunta Templeton and Ivo
Graham, as well as Elis James and John Robins, whose podcast Masterman produces.

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Looking ahead to the night itself, Andy says: “It is great to be DJing at such an iconic venue
in Manchester. I hope we can put on a memorable night together and we can raise some
money for a vital cause at the same time.”

As always, Burnham will also be donating his fee directly to the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, which helps support the homeless community across the region, with the aim of raising even more money for the crucial cause throughout the night.

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Masterman, buzzing that the Mayor will be getting involved, added: “The excitement around this booking has been off the charts… I’ve known about his superb taste in music for some time, so I thought I’d see if he fancied popping along.

“I couldn’t believe it when the response was an enthusiastic yes! What a fantastic night it’s going to be.” As we say, it’s not his first rodeo:

Northern mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram are going head-to-head in another charity DJ battle
His last turn around the tables raised some serious money too.

Read more:

Andy Burnham and the rest of the All My Friends gang play Band On The Wall next week on Friday, 19 July, with doors opening from 9:30pm and the curfew not until gone 2am, and you already know this thing will sell out fast.

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You can grab your tickets HERE.

See you there for a boogie to some indie bangers and we hope the big man is still in as good a mood as he was on election night.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Supplied/Shaun Peckham

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Tickets for Kendal Calling Festival’s 20th anniversary are already live and selling out fast

Danny Jones Danny Jones Kendal Calling tickets 2025

Following another hugely successful year for Kendal Calling, tickets for the 20th anniversary of the much-loved Northern festival have gone on sale and are already selling out rapidly.

2024 marked the 19th consecutive sold-out year for the festival, and you can bet your house on Kendal Calling 2025 tickets disappearing before you know it as well.

With more than 40,000 people making their way into Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District every 24 hours over the course of the four-day music and arts festivals, it’s one of the biggest and best festivals in the region.

We certainly enjoyed ourselves the last two years, put it that way.

To better put it into context for you, when broken down to the numbers the festival sees the town suddenly inflate to the third biggest town in the whole of Cumbria thanks to the hordes of new punters, families and returning fans that travel to the Lakes simply for the festival.

Dubbed by many as a ‘mini Glastonbury of the North’, the organisers have already built a remarkable reputation for themselves, attracting huge names over the years.

From Bastille, Elbow and Snoop Dogg; Catfish and the Bottlemen, Blondie, Chase and Status; Public Enemy, Calvin Harris, Tom Jones and countless others, Kendal Calling boasts some serious pedigree and is only set to go bigger and better from its 20th birthday – a huge milestone for any festival.

Viral moments from this year’s legendary lineup included Declan McKenna’s iconic set on Thursday’s opening night, Manchester’s very own Corella jumping into the main stage crowd and, of course, Gary Neville delighting crowds with a DJ set some amusing on-stage antics for us Mancs.

It’s moments like these that explain exactly why tickets sell out every year and why they’re already being snapped up not even a week after the 2024 edition wrapped up.

It also needs reminding that the festival is about much more than just the music.

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Following this year’s festival, Kendal Calling’s co-founder Andy Smith said: “From Paolo Nutini to Gary Neville, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds to Dick and Dom, packed out fields for Sugababes and The Reytons to the legendary Barrioke, woodlands adventures and swashbuckling parades… even a special visit from the Fury family backstage.

“The history books continue to be written, and 19 years in this could, quite possibly, have been our best one yet! As festival-goers set off for another year and we return the fields to the wildlife who call it home, we want to extend an enormous and heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who makes Kendal Calling the magical place that it is!

“The revelry, the community and the unutterable feeling of joy span every corner of our site and that is all down to you!” They’ve made sure to keep repaying that gratitude too by freezing ticket prices and even, with payment plans also available from as little as £15 per month.

So, with tickets for 2025 and their 20th-anniversary festival already on sale, we can only urge you to give it a go. Taking place from 31 July-3 August, adult early bird passes with camping for the full weekend start from £184.95 including fees.

You can find the full list of options HERE. We hope to see you in the fields next year and you can read our full review of Kendal Calling 2024 down below.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Abbie Jennings (supplied)

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Tributes pour in for Manc legend and Piccadilly Rats dancer ‘Tommy Trouble’

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Tributes pour in for Manc legend and Piccadilly Rats dancer 'Tommy Trouble'

Piccadilly Rats legend Tommy Piggot, known by many as Tommy Trouble, has died.

Tommy is a familiar face to most Mancs thanks to his years performing with Piccadilly Rats, a well-known busking and street performance band.

He was often seen dancing in Piccadilly Gardens, wearing his signature police helmet, and once opened the Parklife festival main stage with the group.

They were even the stars of a music video for Tameside rock band CABBAGE.

The Piccadilly Rats haven’t performed for several years following the death of their frontman Ray Boddington, who passed away after being hit by a tram in 2019.

Tommy Trouble passed away on Monday evening at the age of 82 after suffering a seizure, his family said, following several years struggling with cancer, dementia and epilepsy.

Tributes are flooding in for the much-loved Manc icon, who will be ‘sadly missed’.

One person wrote: “So sad to hear of the passing of Tommy from The Piccadilly Rats. He was wonderful.”

Nathan Cunningham, director of the documentary The Piccadilly Rats: Live in Moderation, described Tommy Trouble as ‘a mad, funny, loving, caring man’.

He said: “RIP Tommy Trouble. A Manc folk hero and a friend who shared his life with me for 6yrs during the making of the Piccadilly Rats Film.

“A mad, funny, loving, caring, man. He made me laugh, he made me cry. God bless his soul as he dances with Ray in the sky.”

Someone else wrote on Facebook: “Just read that Tommy Piggot(known around Piccadilly as Tommy trouble passed away on Monday. He was well known around market st as he was always dancing wearing a policeman’s helmet mainly outside Primark Manchester.

“He lately used to go on buses collecting an armful of free papers and distribute them around Piccadilly. I always stopped and had a few words with him and slip him a tenner. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.”

In a tribute supplied to the MEN by his family, they said: “He loved just going to town and dancing and bringing that joy to other people. That’s what he loved to do.”

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Featured image: CABBAGE

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