Bugzy Malone is a rap sensation, an actor, a clothing designer, and – in his words – a man who is ‘capable of anything’.
On the brink of his biggest UK tour to date, which includes a massive homecoming gig at Manchester’s AO Arena, Bugzy’s rise to the big leagues didn’t come easy.
He had to break into an industry that was stubbornly focused on London, escape a life of ‘struggle’, and put in serious graft.
He’s at the highest point of his career so far – and yet, this will be his final tour.
In an exclusive interview with The Manc, we hear about Bugzy’s retirement from the touring circuit, his memories of finding fame in Manchester, and how he got into ‘the shape of his life’.
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‘People call me the king of the north’
Growing up in Crumpsall, Bugzy Malone is a born-and-bred, loud and proud Mancunian.
He’s been dubbed ‘King of the North’ – also the name of his chart-topping EP – which is a title he takes seriously.
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“I see it as my duty to give a good account of myself for the north so people can come after me and be taken seriously,” he tells us.
“I was the first Manchester artist to get taken seriously in what was a London-centric industry, in my genre of music anyway – obviously there was Oasis and things like that.
Bugzy Malone
“We’ve laid a foundation here for other rappers from the north of England to go into the industry and make a serious impact.”
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He name-checks a couple of rising stars from our region – Moston-born Aitch and ‘very talented’ rapper Meekz Manny.
“All I would really say to them guys is ‘Keep going’,” he says.
“The talent’s there in Manchester but the belief system’s not.
“I’m hoping this tour will demonstrate that it can happen – it’s been six years and here I am performing at the arena in my hometown.”
‘Who better to headline the Manchester Arena than me?’
Bugzy Malone will be the first solo grime artist to headline Manchester’s enormous AO Arena.
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It’s a big undertaking to perform in front of a crowd of 21,000 but he’s match-ready.
“For the first rapper from my genre to headline the Manchester Arena, who better than me to do it?” he asks.
2.7M VIEWS IN 5 DAYS & TRENDING #1 😅 All i’m saying is if WARMODE hits 3 Million views by Thursday night, FUCK IT i’m bringing my Lambo out on stage the night of the Manchester arena tour show on Dec 4th!!! 💪🏾😤#RunItUppic.twitter.com/9NYiXlEIxV
“As you know, Manchester’s a unit. To stand there with my audience, who are a real loyal bunch of individuals.
“They’re my people – the people I was getting on the bus with, the people I was sat on the tram with, the people I was walking in the Arndale with. That’s a real deep connection.
“You can’t beat the atmosphere at a Manchester show.”
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He promises that there are ‘serious surprises’ in store on the Resurrection tour, adding: “There are people coming out on stage to perform with me that’s going to blow people’s minds that they’re coming out on tour with me.”
‘Parklife was a big moment’
The AO Arena gig is a big deal, but it’s not the first time the star has been faced with a huge hometown crowd.
He was one of the headliners of Parklife festival back in 2018, a performance that stands out for him.
“I went there nervous,” he admits. “You do wonder if anyone will care when you rock up on stage.
Bugzy Malone on stage at Parklife in 2018. Credit: Andy Hughes
“But I remember I couldn’t see to the back of the audience, it was just thousands of people out on the field.
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“The reaction was insane. When I rolled up on stage it was just a complete shutdown.
“That for me stands out as a big moment and a moment when I knew that my hometown was behind me and I’d built to a big place.”
‘You’re not supposed to go shopping when your face is in the window’
Bugzy’s fame has grown exponentially since his days of freestyling on YouTube (he’s now amassed more than 320m views), and the journey has come full circle.
He says he remembers window-shopping at JD (though he was always ‘nervous’ browsing in Selfridges, which is ‘a bit posh’) with his mates as a teenager.
Then the first time he was recognised and asked for a photograph was also in a JD.
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And now, his face is in the windows.
He says: “There are things that I miss from when I wasn’t famous – Manchester is a real community-based place and I was a kid who was just everywhere all the time.
In 2019, with the B. Malone trainers he designed. Credit: Twitter @thebugzymalone
“You start becoming a little bit famous and that becomes harder to navigate.
“For the first year I’d be looking at my friends like ‘This is mad isn’t it?’ but eventually you start to understand the connection with you and your fans.
“And then flipping heck, eventually we had the clothing [his range B.Malone] in JD.
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“I was still in the habit of running in there for a pair of trainers but one time I was shopping and there was a big picture of me.
“It started to not look right and not feel right. The perception is that you’re not supposed to be in there buying a pair of Nikes when your face is in the window.”
‘Touring is too big of an obligation’
While he’s promised to keep making music, and working the festival circuit, there won’t be a tour of this scale again.
He’s just not got the time with his fingers in so many pies, and refuses to do anything half-heartedly.
“I’ve just got to a stage now where my time’s just really taken up with the bigger picture of where I’m going and where I’m expanding to, so instead of half-heartedly doing anything, I thought I’ll go and do some festivals and connect with people there, but in terms of a tour, it’s a little bit too big of an obligation.
“People will get 100% of me, but next year, the year after, if I’ve got three or four films lined up and big business ventures flowing, I can’t promise that.
“And that’s what’s important for me. As long as I put 100% in, I’m happy.”
Bugzy appeared in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen alongside Hugh Grant and Matthew McConaughey, and has recently been filming alongside Jason Statham in Doha, again on a Guy Ritchie project, due to for release in January.
Acting is time-consuming, he’s discovering, saying: “It all involves a lot of commitment to rehearsals and a lot of commitment to training.
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“I’m a secret agent now,” he jokes, “I had to look cool, you know?
“I’m in the film with Jason Statham and as you know, he’s in crazy shape, so I had to put myself through my paces to get into the shape of my life.
“I turned up in the Middle East for that film and I was in solid shape, I won’t lie to you, and it’ll be the same process for the tour.
“It makes you a sharper individual.
“I’ve got myself to a level of fitness now where I’m capable of anything.”
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‘It takes hard work and dedication to transcend the position you start in’
Bugzy Malone in The Gentlemen. Credit: Twitter @thebugzymalone
Bugzy repeatedly circles back to the message of inspiring future generations.
“I have an investment in people that come from a similar situation to me, which was basically struggle,” he says.
“It takes hard work and dedication to transcend the position you start in.
“You’ve got to figure out who you want to be and build yourself up.
“Any ventures that I’ve got going on, it’s a new opportunity to speak to my audience and teach lessons.
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“Everything I do is about the narrative of get up out of bed and create yourself some freedom – financially and psychologically.”
Bugzy Malone will play at the AO Arena on Saturday, December 4. Final tickets are now on sale through Gigs and Tours.
Featured image: Publicity picture
Feature
In celebration of Momo Shop: a Chorlton favourite that has flourished since its rebrand
Danny Jones
It’s not often we go out of our way to hammer home just how staggering we found a restaurant, but after now losing track of the number of times that a member of our team has eaten at Momo Shop in Chorlton and come back near speechless, it deserves more than a review.
We regularly hold ourselves back and resist the urge to talk in superlatives wherever possible, especially because we worry we might be falling into the recency bias trap, but in this instance, we’re going to go out on a limb and fall on our hospitality sword. Well, this particular writer is…
It’s official: Momo Shop Nepali Street Food – for our money, anyway – is up there with one of THE best restaurants in Manchester right now.
And there are plenty of reasons why, not least of all because of the years of practice they have feeding increasingly discerning Manc diners under a different moniker.
Simple but charming – all the focus is on the foodAnd the food speaks for itselfSome of the most flavourful fillings you’ll find in ManchesterBusy any given night of the weekNo review (Credit: The Manc Eats/Momo Shop via Instagram)
If you don’t live in/frequent Chorlton, you’ll be forgiven for thinking that this gaff was a somewhat new addition to Chorlton, but in actual fact it’s been gradually growing a loyal and passionate following for more than seven years.
This is because before the miniamlist rebrand that saw the walls stripped back, the exterior painted blue and cutesy little bits of artwork hung amidst that familiar and atmospheric festoon lighting, Momo Shop was once The Little Yeti.
Its former iteration boasted hundreds of glowing reviews in its own right, which already plated up plenty of stunning Nepalese food, but since switching primarily towards serving a menu primarily made up of momos (Tibetan-style fried dumplings hand-folded into various shapes) they’ve well and truly shone.
Now approaching a full 12 months under the new name, the Nepali street food spot isn’t just one of a relatviely small handful considering how much great South Asian food there is across Greater Manchester, we’d wager it could be the very best representing that Alpine-Himalayan belt in our region.
Our latest visit was genuinely just as good as our first, second, third and so on – take your pick.
From the simply incredible deep fried pork dumplings and the deeply moorish butter sauce that goes with literally any momo filling, to the super traditional buffalo ones that are not only authentic but, come on, where else can you find such a unique meat in these parts? It’s some of the best food we’ve eaten.
And we don’t just mean of late; Momo Shop might genuinely among of the nicest scran we’ve had in ages and it’s no exagerration to say that the first taste we enjoyed from many of these flavours have formed some of the strongest culinary memories we’ve created in quite a while.
It’s also worth nothing that it isn’t just one main snack-sized dish. The chow mein, keema noodles and cheesy chops are showstoppers themselves, and we’ve already booked in again for a 30th birthday celebration purely so we can try those lambs ribs and their take on a shashlick.
Nevertheless, we love the idea of the numerous configurations and concotions by pairing different dumplings and owner Niti Karki gave us some pro-tips of the best duos and even let us in on the trade secret of her go-to combo when she’s hungover. Legend.
Once again, at the risk of sounding too hyperbolic, odd moments have felt like core foodie memories on a par with our favourite all-time meals.
Personally, I’m glad to report that this isn’t just a review: consider this a declaration that Momo Shop has quickly become my favourite restaurant not just in Chorlton but in all of central Manchester, something I haven’t had since the heartbreaking closure of Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun in 2023.
Plenty of varietyDamn straightNiti = absolute iconWe’ll keep your condiment secret forever, Niti…
There might be an element of the almost HakkaPo-esque style drawings, the colour palette and the carefully curated pop-punk, old school emo and post-hardcore playlist that’s over half a decade in the making that makes particualrly partial to this place
But before we wrap up this glorified love letter parading as a ‘review’, we also want to give a special nod to the charming staff and Niti’s mum, specficially, who was too modest to even let us share her picture, but whose wealth of wisdom, influence and experience has clearly inspired Momo Shop’s success.
Don’t be shy, Sue – the only thing more stylish than the food was you, girl. Pop off.
Put simply, we’ll be going back here as regularly as possible until we try every different momo + sauce variation there is, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.
If you are in the mood for more dumpling excellence, by the way, you might want to check out the unassuming Northern Quarter gem that is Chef Diao.
Lady Gaga is a tour-de-force of talent at the Co-op Live Manchester
Clementine Hall
Lady Gaga proves she’s a truly world-class act after two sold-out nights at the Co-op Live Manchester, as if we needed any reminding.
The city of Manchester has been flooded with harness-wearing, mesh-sporting little monsters over the past two days.
And that’s because the absolute icon that is Lady Gaga brought her ‘Mayhem Ball’ to the Co-op Live for two nights.
I don’t think you’ll find anyone who doesn’t know who this fabulous woman is. Over the past decade, she’s won an Oscar, headlined the Super Bowl, performed in blockbusters alongside Al Pacino, no less, and her songs are literally ingrained into our minds.
It’s been a whole 11 years (yes, really) since she performed in Manchester, and it’s safe to say she was back with a bang.
The performance was split up into five distinct acts, and each one was as exhausting and exhilarating as the next.
She begins the show by bopping out of a comically huge red dress, but this staging was only the start of what madness was about to ensue.
Luckily, we’d been prepared by the other half of the Audio North team, who had the equal privilege of seeing her on night one and were left similarly speechless.
Throughout the 30-song epic, we had crutches, sand pits, cages, skeletons, enough wigs to produce an amateur production of Annie, and we didn’t question any of it. Why would we? It’s Lady Gaga.
Kicking things off with ‘Bloody Mary’, the two and a half hour marathon didn’t leave any stones unturned.
We had all the bangers, from ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Paparazzi’ to ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Applause’, it had us wondering why any other superstar even bothers putting a song out these days.
Pop is in a good place at the moment with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish and so on, but you can make a strong case for Gaga having helped pave the way for every lady in the business ever since.
Gaga truly had us in the palm of her hands (or claws at one point), even more so when she left the stage to de-robe and show her more vulnerable side for the last two songs – beanie firmly on.
It wasn’t just a concert: this was a fully-fledged tour de force of talent that Manchester won’t forget any time soon.
Sometimes there’s no point in intellectualising why someone has that ‘X-factor’; sometimes you just have to take a step back and say WOW.