A play about the infamous muscle squeezer Akinwale Arobieke,aka Purple Aki, is coming to Salford next month.
Notorious across the North West for his bizarre requests, the story of Purple Aki is something of an urban legend.
For North West teens growing up in the 80s and 90s, stories of a man asking to feel their muscles were common and Aki wasn’t considered much more than the butt of a joke – but over the years things took a darker turn.
Often seen carrying his signature plastic bag in hand, in 2006 he was officially banned from asking strangers to perform squats for him or from touching, feeling, and measuring muscles after harassing a number of young people.
Facebook groups were even set up in Manchester dedicated to him, with one called Purple Aki Watch 0161 promising to ‘keep Manchester squat free’, and in 2016 the BBC even made a documentary about him entitled The Man Who Squeezes Muscles – Searching For Purple Aki.
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Although Purple Aki was never convicted of a sex offence, he was banned from loitering near schools, gyms, or sports clubs and from entering the towns of St Helens, Warrington, or Widnes without police permission.
In the years that followed, Purple Aki would unsuccessfully attempt to overturn his muscle-squeezing ban, apologise in court to victims for forcing them to perform ‘inverted piggybacks’, and refer to himself as “infamous, notorious, everything from a bogeyman to whatever.”
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Now, his story will be brought to life with a show taking place at The White Hotel in Salford this September.
A description for the play reads: “She’s got the time, the curiosity, the resources—and a thirst for true crime. Meet Aki Browne—online sleuth like no other…
“A one-act play, featuring the hunt for a real-life bogeyman / racist caricature, this is an absurd journey into the obsessive world of a digital detective.”
The Treatment author Michael Nash has called the play a “supercharged drama of love, pursuit and that idea which our culture has done its best to empty of meaning, namely, ‘identity’”, adding: “Collings restores meaning, fiercely, wisely, and above all, with heart.”
Comparing the work to an “ultra-concentrated Moby Dick”, he continues: “The rendering of voices is magnificent and right: this is how the real world sounds! Unlike most writers in this land, Austin Collings is not in breach of the Weeds Act (1959).”
Due to take place on Thursday 21 September at The White Hotel in Salford, tickets are priced from just £10.
Featured image – BBC
Boroughs
M&S launches massive recruitment drive in Greater Manchester with hundreds of jobs available
Emily Sergeant
M&S has launched a massive recruitment drive across Greater Manchester.
With the festive season fast approaching, and most British stores having already unveiled their Christmas ranges for 2026, one of the country’s largest brands has launched a massive UK-wide seasonal recruitment drives to gear up for what is always one of the busiest times of the year for the retail industry.
M&S has announced it will recruit more than 300 new colleagues to support its store teams across Greater Manchester this festive season.
As mentioned Christmas is one of the busiest moments of the year for M&S, and seasonal colleagues play a ‘vital’ part in delivering that.
New recruits will be tasked with helping M&S deliver a ‘brilliant’ service for customers.
Stores with vacancies span the whole of Greater Manchester – including Altrincham, Bolton Middlebrook, Bury The Rock, Manchester Market Street, Prestwich, Sale, Stockport, Stretford, Trafford Centre, and Walkden.
M&S has launched a massive recruitment drive in Greater Manchester with hundreds of jobs available / Credit: M&S Manchester | Supplied
M&S says the roles are ‘fast-moving and hands-on’, with colleagues required to work together to make sure customers still get the very best of M&S, even at its busiest.
The roles will pay £13.41 per hour, with successful applicants receiving the training, tools and support needed to get up to speed quickly.
“We can’t wait to welcome over 300 new colleagues to our store teams here in Greater Manchester,” commented Zeba Khan, who is the Regional Manager at M&S.
“As we get ready for our busiest time of year, it’s a great opportunity to join us and help bring a magical M&S Christmas to our customers.
“We have a range of opportunities available, whether joining our city centre flagship or our fresh market-style foodhalls. We’re looking for colleagues who are passionate about delivering great customer service and being part of a team.”
If you need bringing up to speed a little, as part of the ongoing £150m investment into Greater Manchester’s tram network, essential improvement work is being carried out on three major Metrolink lines across the region in a bid to make the network ‘safer’ and ‘more resilient and reliable for passengers’ for years to come.
This means that from today (Monday 19 October) through to Sunday 1 November, tram improvement works will take place at Deansgate-Castlefield, and Trafford Bar.
Additional works will also take place in the city centre during this time, allowing TfGM to keep closures of the tram network to a minimum.
During the dates above, no trams will run on the Altrincham, Trafford Centre, and Eccles lines.
A number of shuttle bus services will the running over the course of the two-week closure, however – with services arriving every 10 or 15 minutes, depending on the line, and you can find a full list of these here.
But despite the alternative services, widespread disruption is still expected for hundreds of people.
TfGM has issued a statement on the works being carried out, and offered support to anyone who may need it: “This is essential work that will help keep our tram network safe, reliable and fit for the future. We’re sorry for the disruption and we’ll be doing everything we can to make sure people can still get around while it’s taking place.
“We’ve listened carefully to feedback from customers during previous closures and have introduced more direct shuttle buses between key locations and extra buses on local Bee Network routes.
“If you use any of the affected lines, now is the time to check your travel plans.
“We’d encourage everyone to visit the Bee Network website or app before travelling so they can see the options available to them and allow extra time where necessary.”
Services will resume on these lines from start of service on Monday 2 November.
However there will be some minor route changes through the city centre in place from Monday 2 to Wednesday 4 November, so it’s important to check your journey before you travel.
Georgina Pellant -
11th August 2023 
