Photos of Manchester’s legendary gay clubnight Flesh and Clause 28 protests have gone on display at The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.
Documenting and celebrating the city’s LGBTQIA+ community, the new exhibition appears as part of the venue’s longstanding partnership with arts institution the British Culture Archive (BCA).
Named ‘Together As One – A Celebration Of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’, the exhibit launched on Thursday 28 July and will be in situ throughout the summer.
Photographs on display capture two pivotal moments in the city’s queer history.
Image: Peter J Walsh
Photography by Peter J Walsh documents the anti-Clause 28 protest, which was held in Manchester and saw over 20,000 people take to the streets to protest Clause 28 – an attempt to suppress the gay community at a time when it was already struggling to deal with the HIV & AIDS epidemic and the backlash towards the community driven by media.
Walsh, who is more well known for documenting the city’s nightlife during the ‘Madchester’ years is one of the few who documented this important protest that would help change the face of LGBTQIA+ rights in the UK.
Speaking on the Clause 28 Demo, Manchester, 1988 imagery, photographer Peter J Walsh said: “The Anti-Clause 28 demo was one of the largest demonstrations I had covered in Manchester during that period.
Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
“The starting point was on Oxford Road, by the Poly and the participants seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. Manchester City Council reckoned there were 20,000 people on the demo. It was loud, happy and vibrant.
“The country had been under Thatcher’s rule since 1979 and people were determined to fight back against this law.
“The left-wing council of Manchester welcomed the marchers and stood with them in solidarity against the divisive Tory Government. The LGBQTQIA+ communities civil liberties were under attack by Thatcher and we were prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with them and say enough is enough.”
Elsewhere, photographs by Jon Shard capture The Haçienda’s hallowed dancefloor club night, Flesh, first launched in October 1991.
Flesh was the flamboyant mid-week night at The Haçienda, which welcomed everyone, black, white, gay, straight and was also the home of the clubs’ first female resident DJs, Paulette and Kath McDermott.
Image: Jon Shard
Flesh arrived during a turbulent time during the club’s and city’s history., the comedown from the Halycon years of 1988-1990 was in full flow and regular ‘Hac’ nights were losing their appeal due to a number of heavy gang-related incidents and laddish clientele putting off the punters.
The Haçienda and nights such as Flesh fit into a tradition of creativity and cultural innovation in Manchester, which can be seen throughout the city today.
Speaking on the Flesh at The Haçienda imagery, photographer Jon Shard said: “My friends and people around me, would be talking about it all month.
Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
“People came from all over, you had people from Europe coming over for it – it was always packed and full of energy. It was one of the most important nights there – probably the biggest gay night in Europe.
“It was always special. I was there for every single one, it was the best night to shoot because of the carnival atmosphere. It was really colourful, everyone would spend two or three days working out what they were going to wear for it.”
The new exhibit ‘Together As One – A Celebration of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’ follows on from the success of ‘A Woman’s Work’, the first instalment by the BCA in the hotel,
Throughout the summer, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and The Refuge Bar and Restaurant will be hosting a series of summer activities in celebration of all things Pride.
Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
From Sparkle Weekend celebrations, a new exhibition celebrating Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ community in partnership with British Culture Archive, and of course the iconic Come As You Are Weekender – there’s something for everyone.
To find out more about the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel x British Culture Archive ‘Together As One – A Celebration Of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’, visit the hotel’s website here:
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Gorillaz announce huge Manchester arena gig on upcoming UK and Ireland tour
Daisy Jackson
Gorillaz are well and truly back, and they’ve announced a huge Manchester gig on the upcoming The Mountain Tour.
The legendary band, created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, will be performing at the Co-op Live arena next spring.
Gorillaz is a virtual band made up of singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, drummer Russel Hobbs and Japanese guitar prodigy Noodle.
The huge tour announcement comes along with the announcement of their new album, The Mountain, which features a whole myriad of collaborations including Johnny Marr, IDLES’ Joe Talbot and Dennis Hopper.
It’s their ninth studio album and promises to be a ‘playlist for a party on the border between this world and whatever happens next, exploring the journey of life and the thrill of existence’.
The Gorillaz The Mountain Tour will visit arenas across the UK and Ireland next Spring, with support from Trueno, and follows the sold-out 5-star House of Kong exhibition and four triumphant performances at Copper Box Arena.
Manchester will get the new Gorillaz tour first, with the band kicking things off at Co-op Live on 21 March before heading to cities including Leeds, Cardiff, Nottingham, and Liverpool.
The BRIT and Grammy-winning virtual band formed following a collision of mishaps, meetings and pure luck to blow up a pre-digital world.
The album will officially release on 20 March 2026.
General on sale begins at 11am on Friday 19 September HERE.
Gorillaz’ ‘The Mountain Tour’ dates in full
MARCH 21 – Co-op Live, Manchester 22 – BP Pulse Live, Birmingham 24 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow (support from Trueno) 25 – First Direct Arena, Leeds 27 – Utilitia Arena, Cardiff (support from Trueno) 28 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham (support from Trueno) 29 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool (support from Trueno) 31 – SSE Arena, Belfast
APRIL 1 – 3Arena, Dublin (support from Trueno)
JUNE 20 – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London (support from Sparks and Trueno)
Featured image: Press image
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The adopted Manc indie pop star with that we’re backing to win the Mercury Prize this year
Danny Jones
The 2025 Mercury Music Prize shortlist is officially out, and we’re proud to say that the North has been well represented once again this time around, with multiple names from the top end of the nation featured among the nominees – including an adopted Manchester-based rising star.
You know what, cratch that: she might as well be a Manc music queen at this point, if you ask.
We may be heavily biased here, but with indie and alt-pop artist CMAT making her way onto the Mercury Music Prize award shortlist this year, our vote is practically already cast.
If you haven’t listened to CMAT yet, then you’re seriously missing out, and following the release of her latest LP, Euro-Country, at the end of August, it’s little surprise she’s earned the Mercury nod.
She may be Irish-born, but the ‘Dubyone Diana’ truly started to make a name for herself in Manchester, and you’re damn right we’re taking her as one of our own.
Moving to 0161 as a teenager with her old band, Bad Sea, she was just 17 when she got here; now 29 and making fairly different music to the kind she did as part of the previous duo, she’s grown massively in popularity over the last few years – and she’s done a lot of it from right here in Greater Manchester.
From playing the city centre music venue circuit to stunning crowds at the likes of Kendal Calling and Glastonbury Festival, she’s come a long way in a relatively short amount of time.
Come on, if this isn’t award-winning energy, then we don’t know what is…
We welcome her to keep leaning into country music as much as she wants.
There’s another reason we want CMAT to win the Mercury Prize
It isn’t just because we’re somewhat biased local fans that we’re putting our money on her winning the 2025 Mercury Prize: she nearly already did this time last year for her sophomore outing, Crazymad, For Me, having released three impressive studio albums in less than 36 months.
“As she was reading it, I had this weird flip in my stomach, that I didn’t want to win the Mercury Prize for THAT record, because I had a feeling I could make something better.
“Two days later, I started to make EURO-COUNTRY. The Mercury Prize put a bottle rocket up my bum, to try and do something a bit more cutting edge and experimental and intense, if that makes sense.”
She signed off by adding, “I didn’t necessarily expect to be nominated again as a result, but I am very happy to have been.” We had a feeling she would, to be honest, hence why she was among our artists of the month – not even a fortnight before the shortlist was announced, no less.
Unsurprisingly, the likes of Fontaines D.C. and Sam Fender are also on there after a standout 12 months for both artists, but we’re sticking with CMAT for our 2025 Mercury Prize winner. After all, surely she can’t miss out two years in a row?
Georgina Pellant -
29th July 2022 
