A 12-year-old from Manchester has won the inaugural Johnny Marr Award from the Salford Foundation Trust. Get in there, lad.
Salford schoolkid, John Denton, has played the guitar since the age of eight and has been developing his skills ever since, busking on the rainy streets of the city centre and even playing gigs at Salford Lads Club.
Now the aspiring teen has been presented with a prestigious honour by one of his musical heroes, as the foundation dished out their first-ever Johnny Marr Award to the dedicated young performer.
Having met the legendary Smiths guitarist and songwriter previously at a signing of his last album, Fever Dreams Pts 1-4, where he asked his idol for advice about starting a band, we dare say this latest development is up there with one of the highlights of his career so far.
I’m pleased to be announcing John Denton as the winner of the @TheSalfordTrust ‘Johnny Marr Award’. It’s a privilege to be supporting a dedicated young musician. Well done John. pic.twitter.com/HoYXIY0IVY
Issuing a message of support on the Salford Foundation’s website, Marr said: “It’s a pleasure and privilege to give some assistance to a young musician especially when they’re as dedicated as John. Well done brother.”
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John has been delighting the streets of Salford and Manchester city centre for some time now and regularly pulls in sizeable crowds with his covers of songs by popular local bands — The Smiths being one of them.
With videos of his performances often being shared online and regularly gaining thousands of views across various social media platforms, he has already started to build a passionate following.
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Come rain or shine, he still belts it out all the same:
The Johnny Marr Award is chosen by a panel made up of members from the trust which supports talented young people in the city. The scheme will run for three years, selecting another young musician from Salford each year for financial assistance, each of whom will be awarded £1,000.
Peter Collins CBE, from the Salford Foundation Trust, said: “There couldn’t be a more worthy recipient of the Johnny Marr Award. Even though John is only 12 he’s already proven he’s committed to making a future in music and we’re delighted the Trust can give him a helping hand on this journey.”
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John has said he will be putting the funds towards more singing and guitar lessons and future music projects, as well as hopefully levelling up his performances.
Better still, after his first chat with Marr, John has since formed his own band called, The Height – named after an area in Salford near where he lives – and the group released their first single, ‘Go’ just before Christmas. Well in, boys.
John’s dad Phil said of his son’s award: “John’s ambition is to have a career in music. He will be using the funding to have music lessons to help both his guitar playing and his singing. In these tough times, it’s a massive help and means that he can progress in his passion.
“Music is not a hobby for John but just who he is and a creative outlet he hopes to enjoy for the rest of his life. He is incredibly grateful to Johnny and the Salford Foundation Trust who have provided this opportunity.
“It is a real privilege to get this award and he is determined to make the very most of the opportunity he has been given.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester following the well-earned recognition, Denton told John Sweeney that after having started out asking cafes to let him play, “it’s going great now” and that he has another gig lined up in March.
“Not being big-headed but we hope to be like Johnny Marr and go on tour and get a big following.”
We wish you and your band every success, John — go out there and keep killing it.
We are absolutely loving how much this city is doing for its wonderful pool artists at the minute.
Featured Image — Johnny Marr (via Instagram/Twitter)
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Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Niall Horan is heading back to Manchester with a massive arena show just announced
Daisy Jackson
Niall Horan will be back in Manchester this year on a huge newly-announced European arena tour.
The former One Direction star (and chart-topper in his own right) has just announced his Dinner Party Live On Tour tour.
The tour comes in support of his upcoming fourth solo studio album, Dinner Party, which promises to be ‘cinematic and organic’.
Niall Horan will be performing at the Co-op Live in Manchester this September, along with gigs in other UK cities including Sheffield, Glasgow, and Newcastle.
He’ll then head right across Europe, playing music from his multi-Platinum-selling songbook.
Niall first shot to fame as one-fifth of One Direction, but has one of the group’s strongest solo careers, with three chart-topping albums and massive hits like Slow Hands, Heaven, and Our Song.
Niall Horan is heading back to Manchester with a massive arena show just announced
He’s also worked on some exciting collaborations with the likes of Anne-Marie, and most recently Myles Smith.
£1 from every ticket sold for Niall Horan’s Dinner Party tour will be donated to the LIVE Trust, which is dedicated to protecting, expanding, and supporting grassroots music across the UK.
Niall Horan will be at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Friday 25 September.
Tickets will go on sale from 10am on Thursday 2 April HERE.
Danny Jones -
1st February 2023 
