A new documentary film about cult busking band The Piccadilly Rats is to premiere in Manchester next month.
The Piccadilly Rats: Live in Moderation is directed by filmmaker Nathan Cunningham, and produced by Greg Bass, alongside band members Gaz Stanley and Tommy Piggott, and it follows the gaggle of old buskers as they take their band from the cold and rainy streets of Manchester, right to the big stage – with some “hilarious and heartbreaking consequences” along the way.
The beloved band, made up of homeless musician Buddy Awful, old Tommy ‘Trouble’ Piggot, drummer Martin Busterabcat, and “street dancer” the late Ray Boddington, were known for bringing joy to the people of our city with their unique and scratchy rock’n’roll street performances.
But they always dreamed of more than singing and dancing in the rain.
The new 87-minute documentary will take viewers along with the band on their ambitious journey to the top, which is admittedly met with “nothing but a procession of epic failures”, before they eventually get an offer to perform at a big festival on the same bill as one of their music idols, Noel Gallagher.
It's been nowt but blood, sweat and tears! But as promised, The Piccadilly Rats LIVE in moderation debuts at @HOME_mcr on July 9th at 6pm followed by Q&A. Follow the link and get your tickets while you still can. Up the Rats!! 🐀 https://t.co/vrLmy9Cmk8
By proving that even a bunch of old-timers can have their moment in the limelight, The Piccadilly Rats: Live in Moderation has already been described as “hilarious and heartbreaking”.
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It ultimately aims to tell the story of “the last of a dying breed of Mancunians”.
“I chose to make this film because I saw the importance of its social documentation,” explained director Nathan Cunningham ahead of next month’s premier.
He continued: “This documentary is a wonderful story of love, friendship, loyalty and of course, rock n roll. The film is beautifully shot but keeps its rawness throughout. It was very important for me to show beauty within the raw.
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“The characters are at their best in these true and honest moments”.
The Piccadilly Rats: Live in Moderation is to premier at HOME Manchester on Saturday 9 July / Credit: The Piccadilly Rats
The Piccadilly Rats: Live in Moderation is to premiere at HOME Manchester on Saturday 9 July at 6pm, before it’s taken out on the film festival circuit.
The premier will also be followed with a Q&A by Nathan Cunningham, Greg Bass, and band members Gaz and Tommy.
You can find out more and grab tickets to the screening here.
Featured Image – HOME MCR
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Fall Out Boy announce massive Manchester gig on upcoming tour – how to get tickets
Daisy Jackson
Fall Out Boy have announced a huge UK and European tour, including a massive gig here in Manchester.
The legendary pop-punk group, who were behind hit songs like Sugar, We’re Goin Down and Dance, Dance, will be heading this way on their headline tour, So Much For (Tour) Dust.
Today, the Grammy Award-nominated noughties rock icons announced 15 dates, including a stop at the AO Arena on 29 October.
The new Fall Out Boy tour is in support of their forthcoming new album So Much (For) Stardust, which is due for release on 24 March 2023.
Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman surprised fans with a homecoming show in Chicago’s 1000-capacity Metro, which sold out immediately.
They first played the same venue back in September 2002, a pivotal gig in their huge career.
Patrick said on their return: “Twenty years ago, I told my mom I was going to take a semester off [college] because we were headlining Metro and I wanted to see how that would work out…”
Pete Wentz added: “Walking up those stairs is the closest thing this band will have to church.”
The show also featured the live public debut of both Love From The Other Side and Heartbreak Feels So Good, two tracks from the new album.
Fall Out Boy have recently taken part in The Hella Mega Tour, alongside Green Day and Weezer, playing in front of more than one million fans across the globe.
So Much (For) Stardust is Fall Out Boy’s eighth studio album and first since 2018’s M A N I A, which garnered a GRAMMY nomination for Best Rock Album.
Fans who pre-order the new album from falloutboy.lnk.to/store/ will get exclusive pre-sale access to UK and Europe tour tickets, with the pre-sale going live at 4pm on Wednesday 8 February.
General tickets will be available for purchase from 10am Friday 17 February.
Fall Out Boy will be joined by PVRIS and nothing.nowhere. on all European dates.
Fall Out Boy’s UK tour dates in full
October
27 October – Leeds, First Direct Arena
28 October – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
29 October – Manchester, AO Arena
31 October – Birmingham, Utilita Arena Birmingham
2 November – London, The O2
Featured image: Publicity picture
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People can’t decide whether or not Liam Gallagher did a surprise gig in a random pub
Danny Jones
People on social media are torn over a clip that appears to show Liam Gallagher, or a very impressive lookalike, doing an impromptu performance at a local pub in Kent.
The video has had thousands of likes and shares, not to mention countless views, as people online are struggling to suss whether it is actually Liam or not.
Originally shared to TikTok by user Jake Body, the video of the supposed surprise Liam Gallagher gig was captured in a local pub in Halling, a small village located in the North Downs part of Kent and seems to have plenty of people commenting that it was indeed him.
That being said, there are just as many saying the opposite and we’re now at the point where we really don’t know what we believe anymore.
As you can see, it doesn’t just look like him, the individual (whoever he is) sounds and stands exactly like him too. It’s beyond uncanny.
Again, it’s not like we haven’t seen lookalikes and people doing that very recognisable impression before but to have all three in one video, you have to admit there’s part of you that makes you second-guess yourself.
Many online have noted that the 50-year-old has recently had hip surgery and so it’s unlikely that he just decided to head down to a random boozer and do a surprise performance.
On the other hand, he did recently decide to book a skiing holiday for the following week just days later.
Busy bloke but he could have squeezed in a quick set, we suppose? That being said, someone did rather amusingly remark that he had to cut his performance short by 30 minutes.
Despite several people commenting and tagging the man himself and saying things like “thanks for the picture!” and so on, they do fail to provide any further evidence to prove whether it was actually him.
However, it’s worth noting that the younger Oasis brother has unassumingly popped into his fair share of watering holes in the past and even did enjoy a jamming session with some other locals in County Mayo, Ireland a few years back, so a surprise Liam Gallagher gig in a pub isn’t as unlikely as it sounds.
Guess the only way we’ll find out for sure is to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Fingers crossed he clears up the debate.
Emily Sergeant -
20th June 2022 
