Inspiring Manchester women are all around us. They are our mothers, our sisters, our friends.
International Women’s Day helps remind us of this, as well as encouraging us to think more broadly about those who’ve made a big impact on our city, our country, and the wider world.
Of course, Manchester is no stranger to inspirational women. Our history is built on them – as is our present.
From famous campaigners like Lydia Becker, Marie Stopes and Emmeline Pankhurst, to writers like Elizabeth Gaskell and Carol Anne Duffy, whether they were born here or drawn here for centuries women have been shaping the course of history for those to come long before we had the vote.
But today, we’ve taken a little time to focus on those making the city what is today – shouting out ten inspiring Manchester women from all walks of life.
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From actors and musicians to athletes, businesswomen, chefs and even local politicians, Manchester women continue to be at the forefront of history in 2022 – and we’re damn proud of them.
Figen Murray
Image: Supplied
2022 started in a big way for Figen. The inspirational campaigner and educator was named on the New Year’s Honours list and appointed OBE, recognised for her services to counter terrorism.
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The mother of Martyn Hett, who was tragically killed in the Manchester Arena at just 29 years old, Figen has chosen to honour his memory by embracing and championing peace.
Since 2017, she had been fighting tirelessly to make venues safer with her Martyn’s Law campaign whilst also completing a Master’s degree in Counter Terrorism from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
Her efforts have since led to the rapid progression of the Protect Duty, a new piece of legislation that would see certain public places required to be prepared for, and protected against, terrorist attacks.
Mancunian-based marathon runner and personal trainer Amy Hughes made history in 2014 as the first woman to run 53 marathons in as many days – beating not just the women’s record, but the men’s record too.
Not content with bursting into the record books just once, the Shropshire-born athlete did it again in 2020 – raising £12,400 for NHS Charities Together by running for 26 hours straight on a treadmill. She has since founded Sculpt In Haus pilates studio, based on Lloyd street.
Karina Jadhav
Image: Karina Jadhav
The North West’s youngest independent female restaurant operator and owner, Karina Jadhav founded her current concept Menagerie in August 2016 after moving away from venues Neighbourhood, Victors Hale and Southern Eleven.
Hugely successful, over the years her venue Menagerie has become a hotspot for the city’s glitterati crowd and is a great place to visit if you’re in the mood for some celeb spotting.
DJ Paulette
Image: DJ Paulette
As the first female resident to take on the decks at The Hacienda, DJ Paulette is an icon of the city’s dance music scene.
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A familiar face around Manchester’s restaurants and bars and a key fixture at cult queer club night Homoelectric, she also has her own radio show and is currently in the process of writing a book about her experience in the music industry – due to be released next year.
A powerhouse of Manchester’s music and events scene, for years now Sophie Bee has been behind the programming at Bavarian party palace Albert’s Schloss – putting together the house band and live entertainment that has made it such a go-to-spot for anyone and everyone on a night out.
A Creative Producer for the multi-concept operator Mission Mars, she also works on events like La Discotheque, Audio Farm and Homoelectric, oversees similar programming at Escape To Freight Island and has organised stages at Glastonbury in the past.
Mary Ellen McTague
Image: Mary-Ellen McTague
As the chef-owner and The Creameries in Chorlton and co-founder of restaurant-backed charity Eat Well Manchester, Mary-Ellen is a hospitality force to be reckoned with.
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From cheffing in Michelin-starred kitchens to writing columns for The Guardian and, most recently, battling food inequality in Greater Manchester, she’s not just a great chef but a community-minded philanthropist too.
Mobilising quickly at the start of the pandemic to use restaurant food headed for the bin, alongside her partners through Eat Well MCR she’s provided over 50,000 meals to people in need since March 2020.
Julie Hesmondhalgh as Hayley Cropper in her famous red anorak, with on-screen husband David Neilson. / Image: ITV
The Corrie queen who gives back in spades, actor Julie Hesmondhalgh is known for her 15 years on-screen as Hayley Cropper – but her off-screen work makes her even more of a notable figure.
As well as making history with her groundbreaking role as the first transgender character on a British soap, she is the patron of a number of UK charities including Trans Media Watch, which is dedicated to improving media coverage of trans and intersex issues.
As the first new Manchester Council leader in for 25 years, and the first openly-gay woman to hold the position ever, Bev Craig is definitely an inspiration to many.
And whilst she hopes, in time, that these two facts will become the “the least interesting thing” about her, we still think it’s a feat that deserves celebrating.
This year, she will be launching a commission around tackling misogyny and violence against women and girls in Manchester – asking people to input their views and their feelings on the matter in light of an increase in incidents since the start of the pandemic.
An actress and narrator, today Maxine Peake is at the forefront of British acting – putting Manchester on the map with appearances in a host of mainstream TV shows and films such as The Real Anne Williams, Black Mirror, Dinner Ladies and Peterloo.
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After living in London for years, she moved up to Salford in 2009 to give herself freedom to choose more risky roles and take lower-paying jobs in theatre.
In recent years, she’s also become somewhat of an activist – using her fame to speak out at the Peterloo Memorial Peterloo Memorial march and the anti-Tory protest and calling for a coup in the Guardian.
Angela Rayner
Image: Commons Wikimedia
Stockport -born politician Angela Rayner is the current MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, Droylsden and Failsworth and deputy leader of the Labour party. A former care worker, throughout the pandemic she was outspoken when it cam to championing the efforts of key workers.
As a key player in the Shadow Cabinet, she recently said on the record that she is “doing the groundwork now: to make sure that the party’s next leader is a woman.
She recently told Times Radio: “I think the Labour party is ready and I’m doing the groundwork now to make sure it’s ready by supporting other women and saying you can achieve whatever you want to achieve.
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Feature
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | May 2025
Danny Jones
Oh, hey, didn’t see you there. Come looking for more top Manc tunage, have we? You’re in luck, because Greater Manchester just keeps pumping out top bands and artists all the time, hence why we do this.
If you’re new around these parts, first of all, welcome and secondly, the whole thing is very simple: every month, we round up some of the best talents coming out of 0161 and talk about why we like them. I know, groundbreaking stuff, right?
They don’t have to be born and bred in Manchester, but they do need to have made this their music home – the first the correct career decision they made, the second being working their way into our ears.
So, now all the housekeeping is done and dusted, let’s dive into some delightful new Manchester music, shall we?
Five Manc bands and artists we’ve been listening to recently
1. IST IST
This month we’re starting off with one of those Manchester bands that may not be new but still crop up for us at regular intervals to remind us of two things: first of all, that they’re brilliant and secondly, that they should have featured on our regular round-up of artists a long time ago.
We’re talking about IST IST, who returned with another live, multiple LP-spanning compilation (plus some extras) this past March, which we’ve had on plenty over the past month. It goes without saying that they sound brilliant live, and we feel bad for only just remembering how good and prolific they’ve been.
You always get plenty of New Order, but also White Lies and Editors; Future Islands, The National and lots of other baritone-driven bands that bring that element of melodrama to layer over the instruments themselves. ‘You’re Mine’ might be their biggest track, but ‘The Kiss’ and ‘Exist’ are also favourites.
2. Robbie Cavanagh
Now, we all know that country music is having a real moment right now and we, for one, couldn’t be happier about it, to be completely frank. Though arguably simplistic at times, it’s soulful, often impressively pared-back, and when something does impress you lyrically or technically, it sticks.
With that in mind, we recently realised that award-winning songwriter Robbie Cavanagh has been on somewhat of a comeback since 2023, and we hadn’t noticed until painfully recently. Returning after a six-year hiatus – bar some little ditties during lockdown – his latest project has some of his best work yet.
Fully tilting from folk into country and folk, the stunning vocalist belatedly blew us away with the bluesy single ‘Helpless’ and a gorgeous new collaboration with solo artist, Abby Gundersen (equally talented sister of Noah), but please still start with his 2016 Mahogany Session, where it arguably all began.
Named after Manchester city centre’s famously eclectic indie emporium, Afflecks Palace have never quite blown up in the way they way we thought they would when we first came across them years ago, but there’s still plenty of time and we’ll be damn it if they don’t deserve more regular listeners.
You’ll also be glad to know that, despite the name, they aren’t one of those trite, overly performative bands who wear a stereotypical Manc-ness on their sleeve that we sometimes come across; they’re just good and deserve a lot more recognition for their contribution to the neo-pysch genre.
As for where to start, we’ll admit we prefer their first album; ‘Forever Young’ is noodley and catchy, ‘Everything Is an Attempt to Be Human’ has those shoegazey guitars, but it just doesn’t get better than the incomparable ‘Pink Skies’, which still makes us feel some type of way – we just can’t quite describe.
We just love it. ‘Nu-Madchester’, or whatever you want to call it, its distinct sunniness never fails to tickle a part of our brains.
4. Findlay
Next up is Stockport singer-songwriter Findlay, who released more new music this past February, and has been making indie pop that ropes in plenty of other influences for more than a decade now.
That being said, she’s always experimenting with her sound, as her collabs with Blossoms, Miles Kane, Bill Ryder-Jones, Joris Delacroix have shown, and this latest iteration seems to have her tapping into everything from almost 50s and 60s female soul singers to slow electronic and more.
We love the smooth sexiness and sheer ambition of her latest single, ‘Stay Kinky’ and ‘Waste My Time’ always feels like a late-night chiller fit for music video set in a dingey bar, however, we still have a soft spot for her debut, ‘Your Sister’, with the riff that’s almost reminiscent of ‘Blockbuster’ by Sweet.
Last but not least, it’s the second time we’re featuring a returning artist and it comes in the form of young Alex Spencer, whose journey from busking around the streets of Greater Manchester to sold-out headlines shows and featuring on the likes EA Sports FC 25 (yes, FIFA) is a truly remarkable one.
The charming and still fresh-faced local lad from Droylsden is nothing short of proof that hard work and determination can pay off, and those ‘Bucket List’ dreams really are within reach. Obvious talent aside, this teenager has grafted his arse off and we couldn’t be more proudof how far he’s come already.
He last featured in this round-up back in April 2024 but even in the time between then, he’s released plenty and developed even further as musician, so much so that we’re not going to suggest which songs to try; instead, you can watch our most recent interview with him and relive his last year or so with us.
I’m Alex Spencer and This is my journey so far!
8 years of my music journey summed up in 1 minute 55😅 Thankyou to everyone who’s followed my journey so far, to anyone new or to anyone who doesn’t know my story, I made this video to show where it all started and how I got here❤️ pic.twitter.com/Hi3W7MHMxX
So, the next time you hear someone foolishly complaining that the Greater Manchester music scene ‘isn’t what it once was’, you can go right ahead of show them these bands and artists.
In fact, you could just point them in the direction of this very page and Audio North, in general, as we do this round-up every month and plenty more every week, meaning you’re headphones never dry up.
For instance, you can check out which Manchester bands and artists we were listening to back in April, both new, current and old, down below. We’ll see you again very soon.
Bruce Springsteen’s unforgettable final night at Co-op Live in Manchester – just wow…
Danny Jones
It’s rare you get to see legends in real life, especially this up close and personal, but there’s still just one key word that keeps coming to mind when we think of seeing Bruce Springsteen in Manchester at the Co-op Live last night: surreal.
We still can’t quite believe that he was here in Manchester, in the flesh, for three separate nights, but we do intend to replay it in our heads over and over again until it fully sinks in.
Springsteen, ‘The Boss’, Brucey, whatever you want to call him, there really is something to be said for someone who’s been going this long and still exerts so much energy at 75.
That goes for his desperately loyal and dedicated crowds, too. The legions that marched down ‘Thunder Road’ and back down the CityLink walking route and the Ashton canal in supreme spirits after all was said and done gave as good as they got.
We can only assume Springsteen was as incredible on the first night at Co-op Live as he was on the last. (Credit: Audio North)
From singing back every chorus to the chants of “Bruuuuuuuce!” between every single song, it was more apparent than ever that being a Springsteen fan is quite literally a way of life for these people; they know every line, every call and response, every micro-dance move and regular on-stage ritual.
Each show is roughly three hours long, by the way – he does have an absolute treasure trove of discography to work through, in fairness.
Put simply, there’s no messing about, just non-stop rock and roll of the highest order. Well, there are some brief pauses, but for good reason…
As a passionate political and philanthropic person throughout a career which spans more than six decades, he took the time to talk about America and the turbulent times they are once again facing.
He spoke about the craven billionaire class, poverty, uniting through art and, just as he did on night one in Manchester, Springsteen railed against a particular tyrant who happens to have found himself in the seat of power yet again back over in the States. He made sure to do this every single night.
‘Born in the U.S.A.’ (which he did decide to play, along with a plethora of the other biggest hits) now feels more like a protest song than ever. The war may no longer be in Vietnam, but there is one raging back home, and he’s even more wary of it than before.
He thanked those in the pit and the stands for indulging him, as well as the “wonderful space” of the Co-op and its “beautiful sound” for hosting him, but we have a feeling the New Jersey poet could have said just about anything and he’d still have 23,500+ in the palm of his hands.
All that being said, it wasn’t like this was a pseudo-rally or anything like that, nor was anything of this being foisted upon the audience, but there was a real sense of a congregation gathering in the church of Bruce to take in his sermon.
His followers have often been referred to in this way, and despite only previously considering ourselves a very casual Springsteen enthusiast, having now been to a sell-out arena gig with one of the biggest Boss fans we know, we can understand why millions of people around the world idolise this absolute icon.
It goes without saying that a huge amount of applause must go to The E Street Band themselves, who are just as much a part of what makes Springsteen sets so special as he is.
From the ever-charismatic Steven Van Zandt (still hard not to see him as ‘Sil’ from The Sopranos) to Jake Clemons on sax – who has been part of the group since 2012 and shared a touching embrace with Bruce as tributes to his predecessor and uncle, Clarence, played behind them – these lot are a family.
Our only minor gripe is that we sorely missed hearing ‘Atlantic City’, but what the concert did confirm is that much like the effect the recent Bob Dylan biopic had on us, we’re now more committed than ever to working through the Springsteen back catalogue from start to finish and seeing how obsessed we get.
To end on one final thought and echo the words of the man himself: “peace, love and freedom.”
The Manc -
8th March 2022 
