We recently popped our heads into the wittily named Withy Groove Records, the new vinyl exchange and all things music that quietly opened up its doors late last year but is now one of the latest hidden gems in the Northern Quarter.
Opening up on the edge of Shudehill on the edge of NQ and just down the road from the Withy Grove Stores buildings (hence the clever little name), the new basement record shop technically began trading in December 2023 but has only just had its front signage completed and the name put above the door.
We especially like the new striking Haçienda-inspired lettering, not that we’re biased towards black and yellow logos or anything…
But seriously though, this little den of old discs, vintage vinyl and music memorabilia is an absolute must-visit for any audiophiles out there.
From the moment you step inside to see the walls lined with countless circles of PVC, iconic album covers and old gig posters, you immediately feel like you’re walking into a player’s paradise and ready to discover a diamond in the rough.
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If you’re a regular vinyl collector, the experience will feel familiar and there isn’t necessarily any one thing that makes it feel different from other independent record shops other than the fact it is literally like a bunker built by someone who left society before the invention of the compact disc.
Founder Paul, who owns the unit situated just next door to Rambo’s — Manchester’s iconic and longest-running tattoo parlour — set up Withy Groove as nothing more than a passion project from one music lover to another, i.e. this city as a whole, and we fully expect Mancs to fall in love with this one too.
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Housing everything from 60s and 70s rock and roll classics, a healthy stock of psychedelia and genre-bending artists like Frank Zappa, to deep cuts throughout the Manchester music scene, a dedicated ‘rare and collector’s items’ section with some serious valuable issues and more, it’s a gold mine.
Beyond both lesser-known and legendary LPs, you’ll find plenty of 45sin the several boxes of seven-inch singles, books, frames, as well as t-shirts, merch and even an old pair of maracas that Bez would be proud to shake about with the best of them. There really is a bit of everything.
If you like those somewhat rough and ready spaces that don’t need a whole lot of bells and whistles to what they do best, which in this case is buy and sell records, then Withy Groove is a great place to gander the next time you’re feeling all muso and fancy some old fashioned analogue shopping.
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In fact, still in their early days, it couldn’t be any more old school in here as it’s strictly cash-only at the minute — but, once again, given the whole vibe of the shop, there’s something very nice and tangible about the physical music experience it taps back into.
If you’re heading out for a really good find on Record Store Day 2024, we definitely recommend you venture into here and, better still, there are some really good new releases and special prints on this year’s list.
The Northern Quarter’s newest record shop gets a thumbs up from us.
Role Model at O2 Apollo, Manchester – a night where everyone wanted to be Sally | Review
Clementine Hall
The O2 Apollo was a sea of cowboy hats and gingham for Role Model’s return to Manchesteron his No Place Like Tour.
If you don’t know who Role Model is, then you’re probably not a 20-something year old girl addicted to TikTok and strawberry matcha like me – and that’s absolutely fine, but Role Model, aka Tucker Pillsbury, is more than just a social star with a couple of viral hits.
His steep incline to stardom, especially through his latest album Kansas Anymore released last summer, and the follow-up deluxe Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye), earlier this year, has recently seen him perform on SNL with Charli XCX, as well as this week featuring in People’s Magazine Sexiest Man Alive 2025 edition in the centrefold spot, no less.
So it’s safe to say, he really is the man of the moment.
Role Model on stage at O2 Apollo Manchester in November 2025 / Image: The Manc Group
The all-American heartthrob wasted no time getting into his catalogue of hits, kicking things off with ‘Writing’s On The Wall’, before transitioning smoothly into ‘Look At That Woman’ and ‘Scumbag’, all taken from his 2024 album.
Guitar firmly in hand, Role Model shimmied across the stage effortlessly as a sea of adoring fans sang every single word back without fail.
The highlights from the show are never-ending, like taking a seat and singing the beautiful ‘Something, Somehow, Someday’ from a leather notebook – which he tells us is “my favourite song I’ve ever written, and I’m going to read it to you like a story”.
His vocals are identical to the studio recordings, and the energy in the room was just how you wanted it to be, especially during the iconic bridge in ‘Some Protector’.
Presuming you’re not familiar with the Role Model lore? Well, allow me to fill you in.
Each night during the undeniable smash-hit, ‘Sally, When the Wine Runs Out’, Tucker brings out a special guest to be that night’s so-called ‘Sally’ and dance on stage with him.
On the European tour so far, London were treated to Lewis Capaldi and Niall Horan back to back, so it’s safe to say we were waiting with baited breath to be introduced to our very-own Sally.
Although we didn’t get anyone famous (we were hoping he’d go super meta and get Sally from Corrie, but alas), what did get was arguably better. A lovely, smiling fan who held Tucker’s hand and had the absolute time of her life for that one-minute where all eyes were on her – this is what it’s truly all about, at the end of the day.
If anyone in that crowd went home without feeling a bit in love with Role Model, then I’d be very surprised.
His effortless charisma oozed throughout the performance, and we can’t wait to welcome him back in Manchester again.
Maybe next time, I’ll be Sally.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Clubland Live is returning to Manchester with an arena show that will be ‘the biggest night of your life’
Daisy Jackson
Clubland will be back with a live arena show in Manchester next year, following massive success and feel-good parties for the last few years.
There’ll be five cities on the newly announced tour, which will fill arenas with classic dance tunes and the full Clubland experience.
As well as Manchester, the tour will visit Leeds, Glasgow, Newcastle and Aberdeen in May next year.
The three-hour action-packed show will bring together some big names from as far back as the 90s in the dance music world, along with some of the biggest new names on the scene.
Each city will have a slightly different line-up, but for Manchester it includes Cascada, Ultrabeat, and Ben Nicky.
The new Clubland show at the AO Arena will be reliving the times where dance music produced the best tunes, energy and feel-good factor from throughout the generations.
Clubland started life as a series of compilation albums in 2002, and become the umbrella brand for an entire movement of commercial dance music, spawning countless classic hits over the years.
That’s included artists like Cascada, Scooter, BassHunter and Ultrabeat amongst many, many more – selling 30 million albums.
And Clubland TV remains one of the most popular music channels on UK music TV, bringing a mix of the both the classics and new tunes to thousands of people every day.
Clubland Live launched in 2008 and played to tens of thousands of people across the UK, in a landmark moment for the dance music industry.
And now it’s back again for a live show at the AO Arena.
Clubland Live will be at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday 2 May 2026, with tickets on sale from 10am on Friday 7 November HERE.
Danny Jones -
16th March 2024 
