You could see his distinct and unshakeable smile from space and recognise that softly-spoken voice anywhere. September’s Manc of the Month is none of other than Oldham’s very own Brian Cox.
The world-renowned physicist is the proud holder of an MBE and an acclaimed member of the Royal Society Fellowship whose fascinating but accessible work in science and particle physics, specifically, has seen him become a beloved TV personality and pop-culture icon.
Brian Cox: the physicist and celebrity astronomer
He’s been a familiar face on our TV screens for over a decade now. From Wonders of the Universe and Wonders of Life to Forces of Nature, Stargazing Live and more, Brian Cox has helped bring the world of science to millions watching at home.
His TV appearances aren’t just limited to documentaries though. He’s been on everything from late-night talk shows and Dr Who to becoming one of the very few Brits to appear on the controversial Joe Rogan’s podcast. He truly is the Carl Sagan of the 21st century.
The 54-year-old might share his name with another familiar TV face, but there’s no mistaking his quiet yet captivating ruminations for anyone else. Have you ever ever heard him explain time?
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Speaking of podcasts, his award-winning show, The Infinite Monkey Cage Podcast – co-hosted by comedian Robin Ince – is now into its 24th series and has become one of the most successful audio series not just in the UK but on podcast platforms across the globe.
The informative but entertaining concept has become a live show and has featured special guests such as astronomy colleague Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sarah Pascoe, Eric Idle and many, many more.
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The former musician
Though many people will have seen his face on the box or heard him on the radio in the past decade or so, there are plenty that are still unaware he has been on the airwaves long before he was the science guy.
Yes, that’s right, before he was Britain’s favourite brainbox, Mr Brian Cox was a rather successful musician in not one but two bands throughout the mid to late 80s and well into the 90s.
First came Dare, a rock band formed in his native town of Oldham by former Thin Lizzy keyboardist, Darren Wharton; they went on to record two albums during his time in the band. Look out for the guy in the back.
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Beginning his studies shortly after, he then took another run at music fame by joining pop-rock and dance outfit D:Ream in 1993. Having contributed on two albums, the group eventually disbanded in 1997 playing with them until 1997 and he began his journey to becoming an instantly recognisable pop physicist.
Cox had already secured a first in physics from his alma mater back in 1995 and in 1998, not long after leaving the music biz, he got his PhD in High Energy Particle Physics for his work at the Hadron Elektron Ring Anlage (HERA) in Hamburg.
An academic through and through
All that being said, his various entertainment exploits have never stopped him from making a direct impact on the world of academia, as he remains a Professor of Particle Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester, running courses every year.
During the pandemic, specifically, he also did his part to keep students, kids and those stuck at home in general engaged with his Lockdown Learning and Lecture series. Very cool and very digestible; we might be back to walking free and learning normally but they’re still well worth giving a watch.
Just a year before he was made a lecturer at UoM in 2005, Brian even had the privilege of working on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland (you know, the Big Bang machine), acting as a senior physicist and co-spokesperson for a key research and development project between 2004 and 2009.
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He played an important role in the ATLAS experiment which is still running and investigating everything from the Higgs Boson particle discovered in 2012, to dark matter and even alternate dimensions. In case it wasn’t abundantly clear at this point, the bloke is very smart.
In fact, Cox’s influence on the UK’s intellectual reputation across the globe and efforts to improve interest in subjects like physics is so strong that in 2016, he was recognised by the Royal Society and named the Professor for Public Engagement in Science.
Still making moves in Manchester
It’s not an exaggeration when we say Brian has already done a lot for both UK and global science, especially in helping bring it further into the public eye. But more importantly for us Mancunians, he’s continued to be an active and important presence in the 0161 area.
As well as continuing to lecture hundreds of domestic students at the university that helped launch his career, his international and celebrity appeal draws thousands of applicants from all over the world to the Russell Group institution every year.
Moreover, his ‘Brian Cox: Horizons’ World Tour – which expands on his intellectual, highly entertaining and often comedic lecture format with an immersive audio-visual experience – came to Manchester earlier this week, much to the delight of his fans.
Taking the stage in front of thousands of people at massive arenas like the AO, he and podcast partner Ince dive deeper into astronomy and cosmology in a way that brings you closer to some of the most mind-boggling concepts in the universe.
Better still, even amidst a world tour, he somehow managed to find the time to speak to global news outlets on the biggest news in science, such as the stunning new images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Annie at Palace Theatre Manchester – a charming interpretation of an old classic | Review
Clementine Hall
For a musical built on nostalgia, this Annie that’s just arrived at the Palace Theatre in Manchester feels surprisingly lively – here’s our full review…
Annie is a show tied up with countless childhood memories. Whether you performed it in the school choir, watched the film starring Carol Burnett, or saw it on stage, we’ve all got our own memories of Annie since it first opened in 1977.
So to bring it to a modern theatre audience who no doubt feel some connection to the characters and score is no mean feat.
If you’ve seen any of the posters plastered around the city, you’ll see British drag queen ‘La Voix’ take centre stage as the slippery and gin-fuelled Miss Hannigan.
Images: Press shots (supplied)
This is obviously a strategic move to get bums on seats, and although La Voix is of course a ferocious and standout performer, the production is so much more than that.
They say never to work with children in showbiz, so leading a group of 10-year-old orphans in a snappy and perfectly choreographed rendition of‘It’s a Hard Knock Life’ is really a huge achievement in itself.
All the kids are wonderful, but Victoria Alsina, who plays the titular role, deserves particular credit. It’s a huge role for any actor, never mind a child, and she handles it with confidence, charm, and just the right amount of grit.
As expected, La Voix gets some of the biggest laughs of the night. Her Miss Hannigan leans heavily into the character’s chaos and bitterness, but never feels one-note. It’s a performance packed with quick-fire comedy, and the vocals are tight.
Images: Supplied
That said, Annie would be in trouble if it relied solely on stunt casting. Thankfully, it doesn’t.
The wider cast is consistently strong, the ensemble numbers are full of energy, and the costumes are nothing short of fabulous. The real challenge with Annie is making a story that’s approaching its 50th birthday feel fresh. This production doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it doesn’t need to.
Instead, it focuses on delivering the songs people came for, giving the cast room to shine, and reminding audiences why the show has stuck around for so long.
La Voix might get people through the doors, but it’s the strength of the production as a whole that sends them home happy.
Review | Some of the most fun you can have at a theatre – Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra
Danny Jones
On Wednesday night, we did something we hadn’t done in a long time: we went to a concert almost completely blind and walked in without having heard a single second – because how many times in life are you going to get the chance to say you’ve seen Jeff Goldblum music live in Manchester?
We can comfortably say it wasn’t just one of our favourite shows of the year so far, but it might be one of the best decisions we’ve made, maybe ever…
Honestly, there’s not even a whiff of exaggeration in that statement; within minutes of the headline date starting, a long, hard day suddenly melted away in the smooth, sultry, stylish and unapologetically silly atmosphere created by Jeff Goldblum and the truly wonderful Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
For starters, we were pleasantly surprised to see ‘Bonnie Scotland’s very own Liverpool-based singer-songwriter, Brooke Combe, opening up for the man himself, whose soulful, 1960s, 70s and Motown influences made for a perfect fit to warm up the crowd.
With the North West favourite – who we recently caught once again at NBHD Weekender late last month – even getting a perhaps initially hesitant and very possibly more Theatre-leaning audience inside the Palace to relax with some fun vocal exercises and Scottish banter, we were off to the races.
But in truth, this show turned out to be so much more than we were expecting – and by that we don’t mean when Brooke joined him on stage for a spell and had him try his first Irn-Bru…
In our heads, we were kind of expecting to see Goldblum, 73, playing his beloved piano as other members of the jazz band got to enjoy a few moments centre-stage as those who sat watching admired their sheer technical ability.
Where we actually landed was somewhere between a live and just the right amount of chaotic stream-of-consciousness stand-up show, interlaced with a series of effortlessly charming and loose bits of crowdwork as if he were compèring, and, of course, the incredibly cool musical arrangements.
It may not have been entirely free-form (it’s clear that a lot of time, effort and tireless rehearsal go into this shindig), but it did have the feeling that things were unfolding organically as the night went on, the perfect example being specifically for Manchester, with each local reference getting a rousing reception.
His latest LP is going down a treat with the critics in the early reviews, too, and having now heard a few samples, we’re not surprised.
As Jeff said at the top of the show, the best bit about this music is watching these marvellous musicians effectively jamming and playing call and response, not only with each other but you down below – not to mention with the man himself vamping over the top and enjoying plenty of solos on the keys.
Aside from crowd-pleasing arrangements of contemporary and well-known tracks like ‘Lover’ by Taylor Swift and even his own bittersweet and oh-so-gentle take on ‘Over The Rainbow’, it felt not just like an intro to some cult favourites from within the genre, but a serviceable broad-strokes education at times.
Personally, we’ve always liked to think of ourselves as open to anything, sonically, albeit fairly limited when it comes to jazz, but we left feeling like we knew more about the mechanics and flow of a jazz gig than ever; we’re now eager to learn more and dive deeper into the syllabus curated by this superfan.
One very special mention also has to go to session singer Khailah Johnson, who recently shone in the & Juliet production on Broadway and is now currently on tour with Jeff on his Night Blooms run.
Believe us, she’s not merely performing ‘beside’ anyone; when you have a voice and presence that’s so big and has such range that you generate enough star-power for people to genuinely forget that a Hollywood actor is there right next to you, you KNOW you’re beyond talented. Simply spellbinding.
The whole crew had a lovely, laid-back quality that was just infectious. (Credit: Lucy Elson-Whittaker)
And then we have the A-lister himself, who clearly doesn’t only have the gift of the jab and a natural penchant for pageantry, but looks so at home up there that we would happily trade ever seeing him in a film again if it meant we could have the next few decades watching him be the live showman that he is.
For anyone who feared Jeff Goldblum’s music career might just be a famous bloke indulging himself in a side project and cashing in on fandom simply because he can, fret not: this man has as much passion, love and aptitude for jazz and this particular side of showbiz as any role we’ve seen him play, if not more.
Whether it be playing movie trivia games with those in the stalls, thanking fans he bumped into at his hotel, or inviting people there for a special occasion backstage, he ticked almost every box you could have asked for, from the cabaret vibes and Jurassic Park puns to simply playing his socks off.
The new album that gives its name to this current slate of live shows is much more than a play on words. Be it the soft and warm hues of the coloured spotlights, the off-the-cuff comedy interludes, or even the pure giggle-fits in the audience, the Palace Theatre was bursting with joy, life and vibrancy.
We sincerely hope Jeff Goldblum has grown as fond of the city as he claims, and that we get to watch him play a Manchester venue every year.
Danny Jones -
23rd September 2022 
