Modern English: The Manc agency building digital stages for the world’s biggest stars
Since setting up over a decade ago, Andy Hirst’s business has blossomed into the go-to brand for digital work in the music sphere - amassing an envious collection of star-studded case studies.
Manchester’s reputation as a musical ‘oasis’ was cemented long before the city bred the superstars of the same name. This was the city that spearheaded a music scene so stirring, it transcended the charts and became a cultural movement.
Of course, that was a long time ago, now. Even the most ardent ravers still clinging to their bucket hats for dear life will surely confess that the heady days of Madchester and 90s rock ‘n’ roll are behind us and are never coming back.
But that doesn’t mean the planet’s greatest musicians have stopped turning to the city for inspiration. Sure, they might not look over to The Hacienda or Dry Bar for ideas anymore. But they do keep consulting a little office space in St John’s.
You might not know it, but down an unassuming side street in Manchester’s city centre, a small team of digital creatives are quietly spending their days assembling digital platforms for the biggest stars in music today.
It’s a place called Modern English.
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The Modern English team
Since setting up over a decade ago, Andy Hirst’s business has blossomed into the go-to brand for digital work in the music sphere – amassing an envious collection of star-studded case studies.
Modern English began in creative technology and digital production through music and ended up working for media agencies. The team fine-tuned their processes in line with the music industry boom and ultimately hit a groove.
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Previous work includes Facebook apps for Elbow, Kylie Minogue and a host of others, e-commerce stores for The Smiths and New Order, and an app for The Charlatans (who played a gig in the Modern English office to launch it), as well as playing a pivotal role for local businesses during the pandemic.
The agency hosted United We Stream alongside Mayor Andy Burnham and Warehouse Project founder Sacha Lord (raising funds for Nordoff Robbins charity in the process), whilst helping fresh brands get off the ground mid-pandemic; supporting The Blues Kitchen with a brand spanking new website.
Modern English founder Andrew Hirst
Proudly Mancunian the brand may be, but Modern English’s work goes far beyond the borders of the M60. Much business has spanned the Atlantic, incorporating a wide variety of digital production work for an ever-growing list of glitzy clients.
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Projects have ranged from working on facial recognition technology for pop star Dua Lipa, to live streaming gigs for Black Eyed Peas and Lil Simz, various Spotify and Apple Music connected apps for the likes of Britney Spears and The Beatles, to building a playlist discovery tool for Warner Music in NYC called Topsify.
The team steered an award winning virtual campaign to announce Foo Fighters’ world-stopping headline slot at Glasto in 2017, and last year collaborated with Capitol Music in LA and NASA to launch an award winning AI experience set to the music of Beck’s latest album ‘Hyperspace’.
More recently, Modern English launched the website for legendary group The Rolling Stones and their new flagship store on Carnaby Street. This was before collaborating with Sony Music on behalf of legendary singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, creating a bespoke URL to mark the 20th anniversary of the Grammy Award winner’s iconic debut album, Songs in A Minor.
The agency has also worked alongside Warner to launch the site for Use Hearing Protection – an exhibition which pays tribute to the early days of Factory Records and the era during which Manchester took on a new, iconic form.
Modern English have become one of Manchester’s best-known digital agencies
It isn’t just the work that’s continued flooding in, though. The accolades have kept coming, too. Modern English is pretty much a permanent fixture at the Prolific North awards every year nowadays, with Andy himself being listed in the 42 under 42 by Insider Media in 2019.
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Yet, despite all the big names and coveted trophies, Modern English has done “next to no PR” during its first decade in business. The brand’s reputation of delivering high-end projects at speed has spread mostly via word of mouth, snowballing with every passing week.
In the space of just a few years, the team have gone from getting “dribs and drabs of website and film work” to sharing office space with Pixies manager, doing work for Mick Jagger, and becoming mates with Mark Lanegan.
Quite the transition.
Naturally, the pandemic has presented a tough period for Modern English, as it has for almost every local business. But the future remains bright – with a number of secretive but “very exciting” projects apparently in the pipeline for 2021 and beyond.
These include a physical box set for a major artist, a 30th anniversary campaign for a world-renowned group, and a big AR project that could potentially be worth a staggering £1 million.
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“Moving ahead, we’ll be leaning more on the creative side of the business,” owner Andy explains.
“Modern English has always been about creating new firsts and never resting on your laurels. It’s that attitude that got us through the pandemic.
“We’re looking to do more groundbreaking creative work like we’ve done in the past, being as innovative and future-thinking as we can.”
It seems the agency is only destined to get bigger: both in structure and reputation.
When our little company started 10 years ago, one of the goals was to see Modern English’s name in Rolling Stone. That dream came true this week ⚡️
— Modern English Digital (@ModernEnglish) June 3, 2021
Madchester might always be recognised as the apex of music in the city. As a region, we may never be looked at in quite that way again.
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But to suggest Manchester is no longer the influence it once was is naive. Indeed, the city is still setting up soapboxes for the top talent just like it was 30 years ago. Sometimes in a digital way.
A little Mancunian agency called Modern English is rolling out an online red carpet for the planet’s creatives every single year. And millions are watching.
Manchester and music. There must be something in the water…
Nearly 60% of Brits are too ‘uncomfortable’ to use the toilet at work, new survey finds
Emily Sergeant
The UK is currently in the middle of a toilet aversion epidemic, it would seem… or at least if the results of a new survey are anything to go by.
For some people, nipping to the loo at the work seems like a simple task as any, perhaps even a welcome break from the busyness or the monotony of their day-to-day duties, but for others it’s a much less pleasant experience – for a whole multitude of reasons, we might add.
Whether it be below-par facilites, a cleanliness choice, personal health reasons, or even something as simple as avoiding bathroom small talk with colleagues, a new survey by Victorian Plumbing has discovered that there is a widespread reluctance among UK employees to use workplace toilets – with more than half saying they find the experience ‘uncomfortable’.
The company’s new findings – taken from a survey of 1,000 Brits – uncovered that, overall, 57% feel uncomfortable using their workplace toilet.
Nearly 60% of Brits are too ‘uncomfortable’ to use the toilet at work / Credit: Point3D (via Unsplash)
As a result, two in five employees say they’ll only use their work bathroom when they are absolutely desperate to go, and more than one in 10 (13%) of employees admit that they avoid it at all costs, preferring to hold it in instead.
There was also some gender disparities in the results, as the study found that 26% of women admit they never use the workplace toilet for bowel movements, compared to just 9% of men, as for many women, it apparently comes down to the fear of being judged or feeling embarrassed (57%), encountering colleagues (55%), and being overheard (54%).
More than 4% of women said they’re more likely to use the toilet at work while on their period, however, and 18% cited that they have to due to medical conditions like endometriosis.
But do these actions have consequences? Of course they do.
Around one in 10 people will avoid going altogether / Credit: Victorian Plumbing
With the average employee spending more than 36 hours per week at work, according to recent statistics, avoiding the workplace toilet could likely cause some real damage, so it’s no surprise that 41% of Brits say holding it in during the work day causes them physical discomfort or pain.
A further 39% confessed that the habit leads to stress and anxiety, and three in 10 have found that it reduces their focus and productivity.
The results from the survey are what prompted Victorian Plumbing to create the ‘Superior Stalls Policy’, which aims to inspire employers to reconsider their workplace bathroom setups so employees are more comfortable.
“Brits feel far less comfortable using workplace toilets than their own at home, and this doesn’t sit right with us,” commented Alex Woods, who is a bathroom expert at Victorian Plumbing.
“Yes, there’s no place like your own toilet, but with the average Brit spending over 36 hours a week at work, everyone deserves to feel at ease – even in the loo.”
Featured Image – Possessed Photography (via Unsplash)
Business
Poundland facing ‘significant store closures’ after being sold for just £1
Danny Jones
Long-standing British bargain brand Poundland could be set to close a number of locations across the UK after being sold for just £1.
The franchise famed for selling things for just a quid has been a mainstay on the high streets for what feels like it’s been around for as long as most of us can remember, but has been struggling to compete in the discount market.
Opened in 1990, Poundland was eventually bought by Polish variety store chain Pepco Group back in 2016, but has now been auctioned off after struggling sales over the past few years.
As per a press release from the company, Pepco decided to sell the business to American investment firm Gordon Brothers for what reports cited as a “nominal fee” – a figure now revealed to be £1.
Credit: The Manc Group
Poundland’s former boss, Barry Williams, left the brand in 2023 but was reinstated in at the start of this year to help the business and the Group’s European counterparts (Pepco and Dealz).
Sharing an official update with The Manc, the returning MD and CEO said, “Poundland is a UK and Ireland retailer of real significance, serving 20 million customers each year with a much-loved brand.
“Although recent trading has been challenging, we have built a turnaround plan with a simplified and more focused Poundland at its heart, as we aim to deliver the amazing value our customers expect.
“In due course, we’ll share more details of the proposed restructuring and turnaround. I’d like to thank Pepco for its stewardship of the business. We welcome Gordon Brothers and look forward to working with them as we implement our turnaround plan.”
As for Gordon Bros themselves, the American group with outposts all over the globe, says it is “delighted” to be providing the bargain brand with “the financing to support the substantial turnaround of this iconic retailer.”
Even with their own hardships, Poundland stores have still been providing a much-needed cut-price place to shop for those looking to save wherever they can amid the cost of living crisis, not to mention taking over previous Wilko stores and helping bail out others in need.
Before Poundland were sold, they also helped prop-up those hit by the Wilkos falling into administration.
According to Retail Gazette, an approximate £80 million cash injection has been pledged to help support their 800 stores and roughly 16,000 staff across the UK and Ireland.
Nevertheless, BBC sources understand that the even with the new backing, the proposed restructuring of the company which will be put before the High Court here in England could still “involve a significant number of store closures.”
Meanwhile, an official statement from Pepco’s Stephan Borchert reads: “The agreed sale of Poundland marks an important milestone in our strategic plan to move away from FMCG and focus predominantly on Pepco, our higher margin clothing and general merchandise business…
“Poundland remains a key player in UK discount retail, with millions of customers annually and a well-loved brand and proposition. We want to sincerely thank Poundland for their ongoing commitment and contribution to the Group and wish Barry Williams and his team all the best for the future.”
The Manc -
7th July 2021 
