Social Avenue: The Manchester promoters throwing safe parties in a pandemic
Superstar record spinners Eats Everything, Darius Syrossian, Alan Fitzpatrick, Judge Jules and Skream have all signed up to feature on the bills for the socially-distanced events at Trafford Park, which have - against all odds - proven to be a huge triumph.
There’s some amazing footage doing the rounds on social media right now showing thousands of people packed inside a pool party – floating on top of inflatable dinghies whilst electronic music buzzes overhead.
But what’s most striking about these images isn’t the colossal crowd or the pounding soundtrack. It’s the fact that they’re broadcast from Wuhan.
Yes, that Wuhan – the same place where coronavirus first reared its ugly head before ravaging the world.
Just a few short weeks ago, scenes like this were utterly unimaginable. Most of the people in the video were confined to their homes as recently as April – with the city severed from the rest of the country.
But this part of Hubei, once a terrifying picture of sickness and panic, is back partying like COVID never happened.
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Seeing the return of the festival in Wuhan has stoked feelings of surprise, astonishment and even envy in the western world.
But these images also offer an optimistic glimpse into the future.
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One day, that will be us again.
We’re not there yet, sadly. But, hopefully in the months ahead, full-scale raving will return.
And in the meantime, Social Avenue – the safe dancing event series based right here in Manchester – is helping us get there, one step at a time.
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Social Avenue founders, Brian & Jorge
Whilst the UK continues to try and shake off the lingering symptoms of coronavirus; bars, restaurants and exercise centres have all cautiously returned to action.
But parties and festivals have remained largely banned.
Between the loud volume, close contact and big crowds, experts consider music events to be some of the most likely gatherings to cause an outbreak.
However, Social Avenue’s ‘dance at a distance’ series has found a way to tick the safety boxes whilst treating electronic music lovers to their first live raves since March.
Superstar record spinners Eats Everything, Darius Syrossian, Alan Fitzpatrick, Judge Jules and Skream have all signed up to feature on the bills for the socially-distanced events at Trafford Park, which have – against all odds – proven to be a huge triumph.
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Social Avenue
Social Avenue events see people partying in their own little pockets at allocated tables – with drinks and grub available to order from start to finish.
One-way systems are in place around the car park – as well as hygiene stations and social distancing measures.
Face coverings are also encouraged and handed out to every person on arrival.
The pair behind the promotion, Brian and Jorge, thought about the idea shortly after events stopped completely in March. They couldn’t help but wonder if there was another way for live music to continue.
“We slowly started to work more on the idea of a socially distant event series which seemed very ambitious at the time,” the duo said.
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“But once Boris announced that outdoor social distancing events could go ahead, we immediately pushed forward with our planning.”
Two weeks later on July 25 – Social Avenue was born, and summer was saved.
Social Avenue
Whilst the first few events were challenging, the promotion soon found its feet.
The team found a way to welcome 500 people into Trafford Park by working closely with local authorities; investing in a health and safety team to go above and beyond the guidelines set by the local council and government.
Brian and Jorge said: “Our Health & Safety Officer, Brian Cleary has taken no shortcuts on our site and has made sure that every possible guideline and more has been covered for everyone’s safety.
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“It’s been stressful and the hours have most definitely been excessively more than any other project but our full team at JBM Music have been amazing throughout!
“We are definitely happy with the current outcome, the feedback we are getting from attendees is very positive. We hope to carry on this same momentum and keep building the blocks to the safest socially distant event series in the UK. “
Brian and Jorge say the events industry “has been left in the dark in regards to guidance and help”, and they’ve had to think outside of the box to ensure maximum safely for all ticket-holders at Social Avenue.
Extra measures include hand sanitiser being on tables and toilets – as well as site supervisors and door staff handing out extra masks out in case someone loses theirs.
But of course, all of the measures in the world are still utterly ineffective if the public don’t follow the rules.
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Fortunately, so far at Social Avenue, the crowd has been compliant.
“The general feeling and way people have acted have been absolutely brilliant,” explained the promoters.
‘Those who have attended Social Avenue have really embraced the new measures in place, and this really helps us do our job safely and even better.”
Despite the major success of Social Avenue so far, the future still hangs in the balance. Brian and Jorge know everything can change in an instant – which is why they’re doing everything they can to ensure the series continues for as long as possible.
Social Avenue
“We want to keep our JBM Music staff in work as well as provide work for bar staff, site crew, security, cleaners, lighting/audio engineers etc,” explain the promoters.
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“The whole entertainment industry itself has been turned upside down with no real vision still to how it will return or what measures are going to be in place for the return in the future.
“Lots more events are beginning to pop up with social distancing in place. Whilst these will not be to everybody’s taste, it is really crucial to urge people to support small businesses, as the amount of people it benefits within our industry is huge. Where possible we urge people to hang onto tickets for postponed gigs, too.”
“If social distancing events are something we have to carry in to next year due to the pandemic we are ready to do so.
“We’re also ready to build on our current idea to create something much bigger for Manchester!”
Find out more about Social Avenue and grab tickets for their parties here.
Audio
Review | Villanelle debut: Liam Gallagher’s son’s band release their first track – here’s our review
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher’s son, Gene, and his band Villanelle, have officially released their debut single to the masses, and since we’re still very much immersing ourselves in everything even remotely to do with Oasis, we thought we’d give this first track a review.
Now, if you’re expecting a familiar Britpop vibe like his dad and uncle used to bash out back in the day, you’d be very wrong…
It’s one thing to settle into something similar to what you’ve grown up around and try to continue a lineage if you’re from a successful family – especially with a legacy as important and influential as the one left by Liam and Noel – but we’re glad to report they’ve done something pretty different.
24-year-old Gene Gallagher and his bandmates Ben Taylor (guitar), Jack Schiavo (bass), and Andrew Richmond (drums) haven’t just tried to do an impression of Oasis; instead, they’ve found their own sound, and while it does give somewhat of an old-school flavour, it’s not what we expected.
It takes literally milliseconds for you to click into realising the vibe they’re going for.
‘Hinge’ is a simplistic but hard-hitting, grungey and dark debut from Villanelle, who, despite having played a number of in-progress songs live over the last year or so, have only just dropped their first studio single.
In fact, they’ve actually taken the admittedly bizarre and unorthodox first steps of having already played live with Liam Gallagher on the Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour before they actually released anything people can easily listen to outside of their live performances.
Nevertheless, the young four-piece introduces Villanelle as the latest post-punk outfit amidst the ongoing revival of the classic rock genre.
That is to say that punk is a tried and true classic style of music, not that these lads are trying to sound like The Rolling Stones…
Anyway, we’re getting sidetracked: Villanelle draw plenty of influences from both original and contemporary examples of this sonic subculture, and while it isn’t explosive per se, ‘Hinge’ is short, direct and hits the same formulaic notes.
It’s also fair to say you can hear a bit of the recognisable LG whine in Gene’s vocals at times, too. Listen to it in full down below and see if you agree.
Even the basic found-footage style video fits into the same category.
To call it straightforward isn’t intended as any kind of a diss, by the way – some of our favourite tunes and best artists spearheading the renaissance of the punk scene write like this.
What we will say is that it looks like bloody good fun to both play and listen to in a small, sweaty room, with plenty of pits and people bouncing off the walls.
Gallagher Sr. might be surprised to see his son going for a slightly heavier, more hardcore route with his sound, but he can’t accuse him of forgetting his roots as the child of a ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Star.’
The boys are actually hitting the road this winter, including a date at The Castle Hotel in the Northern Quarter, if you fancy grabbing a ticket.
You can grab your tickets to see Villanelle on tour HERE, and in the meantime, let us know what you think of their debut track down in the comments.
Johnny Marr teases his work on upcoming Gorillaz album
Danny Jones
Legendary Manchester musician Johnny Marr has revealed he features on the new Gorillaz album, adding even more interest in the highly anticipated release.
The Mountain is the ninth studio LP from the musical collective led by Damon Albarn, which is set to drop in early 2026, more than three years on from their last album, Cracker Island.
Although the virtual band made up of several real-life creatives (though the ex-Blur frontman and artist, Jamie Hewlett, technically remain the only two consistent core members) hasn’t been away for too long, each new project brings a wave of excitement.
With that in mind, we have no shame in admitting we have even more interest in Gorillaz’s latest album now that we know Johnny Marr is attached to it.
I’m pleased to share that I appear on four tracks on the upcoming Gorillaz album The Mountain. It’s a privilege to be a part of this record along with so many great artists. #Gorillaz#JohnnyMarrpic.twitter.com/KXVZxgyGg9
In the new rundown of tunes already posted earlier this month, the former Smiths songwriter and lead guitarist features on four different songs on the new record. You can see it in full down below:
Gorrilaz – The Mountain tracklist
1. The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash) 2. The Moon Cave (feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda and Black Thought) 3. The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks) 4. The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen) 5. Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar) 6. The God of Lying (feat. IDLES) 7. The Empty Dream Machine (feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) 8. The Manifesto (feat. Trueno and Proof) 9. The Plastic Guru (feat. Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) 10. Delirium (feat. Mark E. Smith) 11. Damascus (feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey) 12. The Shadowy Light (feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash) 13. Casablanca (feat. Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr) 14. The Sweet Prince (feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) 15. The Sad God (feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna and Anoushka Shankar)
As you can see, the 61-year-old appears for the first time on song seven, ‘The Empty Dream Machine’, as well as ‘The Plastic Guru’, ‘Casablanca’, and the penultimate track on the album, ‘The Sweet Prince’.
It’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the captivating soundscape already teased by the group, with Gorillaz having now shared ‘The Happy Dictator’ featuring art pop duo Sparks.
A strong and politically loaded start.
Marr – who only released his fourth batch of solo material, Fever Dream Pts 1-4, back in 2022 – has continued to craft and produce with countless other artists over the past few decades, sharing the studio with fellow icons such as Noel Gallagher, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads and many more.
He even helped create the score for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack with legendary composer Hans Zimmer.
That being said, we can only hope to hear some of his famous guitar tones sprinkled throughout this album, though it’s still unclear as to exactly how much input he had on The Mountain overall.
What we do know about the album is that it’s the first to be released via Albarn’s new record label KONG; it’s 15 tracks, and was largely made following extended recording sessions across India, with the likes of Ajay Prasanna, Omar Souleyman and Anoushka Shankar, joining IDLES, Jalen Ngonda and other collabs.
Perhaps most excitingly, the announcement of ‘Gorillaz no.9’ came alongside a series of tour dates, including one right here in Manchester. We can’t wait to see 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle ‘live’ in 0161.
The Manc -
20th August 2020 
