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.
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
Audio
After All 2026 – the affordable grassroots music festival happening in Northern Quarter
Danny Jones
Grassroots music event After All Festival is returning to Manchester this weekend, with rising local artists and affordable tickets.
Now well over half a decade since it was founded, All All Fest takes place in the heart of the Northern Quarter, and this year they’re proving that their slow and steady approach to backing the best new up-and-coming bands at core intimate venues is more important than ever.
With plenty of previous acts having impressed in recent years, we’re looking forward to seeing how 2026 stacks up in comparison to its predecessors.
Increasingly prolific native group Dirty Laces are set to headline the whole thing, Manilla Times are locked in, and Bolton’s very own James Holt also stands out on the lineup, just to highlight a few.
As the festival continues to grow in size and popularity, they have obviously had to scale things up even further this year.
That being said, beloved live music spot and Manc institution, Band on the Wall, is among the chosen arts spaces for this latest iteration.
BoW will be offering up their 500-capacity main room to the organisers for the very first time, serving as the de facto main stage of After All Fest 2026.
Joining them will be the Rose and Monkey next door, as well as cult favourite pub, Gullivers on Oldham Street, who have a long history of supporting local musicians and the arts in general.
And would you look at that, now you’ve got all the stage splits and set times, too.
Labelled by Dead Records’ Rob Fiddaman as “one of the UK’s most exciting new music festivals”, homegrown DJing legend Dave Sweetmore has also described it as “unique in so many ways”, hailing it as a “brilliant event with a great atmosphere to discover new music.”
Having been ourselves on multiple occasions since its inception in 2019 – both as Audio North off-duty and as punters before then – we can’t recommend it highly enough.
The latest edition takes place at 12 noon onwards this Saturday until 2am on Sunday, 17 May, and while the cheapest early bird tickets (£16.50) are long gone, general admission tickets are still available, with prices starting from just £20. Grab yours HERE before they sell out.
It’s not the only live music event worth being a part of this month…
Global girl group Katseye add Manchester to huge new world tour
Daisy Jackson
Katseye have announced a major arena world tour for this year – and the global girl group are coming to Manchester for the first time.
The pop superstars will be performing at the Co-op Live as part of their WILDWORLD TOUR, which is taking them right across the UK, Europe and North America.
Katseye formed through The Debut: Dream Academy, which narrowed 120,000 applicants down to just six talented singers and dancers – though the group will be touring as a five-piece this time (Manon Bannerman has taken a hiatus from the band).
The Los Angeles-based global girl group, formed by HYBE and Geffen Records, merges K-pop dance training with Western pop sounds, with members hailing from across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and beyond.
The group is currently made up of Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, and Yoonchae Jeung.
Katseye have not yet released a full studio album but have achieved major commercial success with songs like Gabriella, Pinky Up, Gnarly, and Internet Girl.
The group have already performed a major slot at Coachella, as well as taking the stage at the GRAMMY Awards this year where they were also nominated for two awards (including Best New Artist).
Katseye will be releasing their third EP, WILD, this summer ahead of their world tour, which reaches Manchester in September.
Tickets will first be on sale via a Weverse Artist Presale from 11am on Wednesday 20 May, followed by the Katseye.World presale from 3pm.
Fans can also register for presale access by pre-ordering Katseye’s new EP WILD or by signing up – no purchase necessary.
General sale will begin at 3pm on Thursday 21 May HERE.
Katseye WILDWORLD Tour – UK and European dates
1 September – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
3 September – London, UK – The O2
6 September – Manchester, UK – Co-Op Live
9 September – Paris, France – Accor Arena
11 September – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
Emily Sergeant -
20th June 2022 
