From football star Marcus Rashford to Corrie queen Julie Hesmondhalgh, there were some Mancs who inspired us more than any others in 2021.
It really was a year to be proud of our home city and its people, whether they were born here or drawn here.
We wanted to honour and celebrate the individuals who make such a big impact and help to build Manchester into the best city in the world.
So we launched our Manc of the Month series back in the summer, and rounded up some seriously impressive figures.
Here are all the Mancunians we’ve celebrated in 2021.
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Marcus Rashford
Credit: BBC / Paul Cooper
What a year it’s been for Marcus Rashford – both on and off the pitch.
The Wythenshawe-born Manchester United and England star has dedicated his own time and money, tirelessly and consistently, to various causes.
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His most significant project has been his mission to #EndChildFoodPoverty, which has seen him take on MPs, partner with FareShare UK, and team up with chef Tom Kerridge for a series of affordable recipe ideas.
Towards the end of 2020, Rashford also launched his own book club, with 50,000 books donated to schools.
Julie Hesmondhalgh is a Coronation Street icon – but it’s her work away from the cobbles that really makes her such an inspiration.
Most recently, Julie was spotted volunteering at a vaccine centre in Tameside.
The actress is also a patron of charities Trans Media Watch, Maundy Relief, Marple Drama, WAST, Manchester People’s Assembly, Reuben’s Retreat, The Alex Williams Believe and Achieve Trust, and The Sophie Lancaster Foundation – seriously, a busy woman.
Her tireless work to end austerity, protect the NHS, and look after Manchester’s vital cultural scene makes her a worthy addition to our Mancs of the Year list.
The Wanted star Tom Parker received the devastating news that he had a terminal inoperable brain tumour, known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), back in October 2020.
Ever since, he’s worked to raise awareness for brain tumours, saying there are ‘massive improvements’ to be made in both treatment and research.
In an emotion post on social media earlier this year, Tom confirmed that his tumour is stable.
It’s allowed him to rejoin his bandmates for a new album – Most Wanted: Greatest Hits – and to take to the stage one more time.
Mary-Ellen is one of the most inspiring Mancs of 2021.
When s*** hit the fan back in March 2020, a lot of us locked ourselves away with Tiger King and Zoom quizzes.
But not Mary-Ellen. Faced with a restaurant full of good produce, she rallied with other business owners to get tasty, homemade meals out to the most vulnerable people in Greater Manchester.
It was a remarkable effort launched at break-neck speed, but it didn’t stop there.
Eat Well MCR is still, almost two years later, providing meals to those affected by food inequality – you can donate via their Give Support page.
Manchester just wouldn’t be Manchester without art.
Right at the forefront of our modern cultural scene is Akse-P19, an artist who creates photo-realistic murals right across the region.
They’re not just stunning works of art though – they’re symbols of hope, unity, and peace.
This inspiring Manc has created significant works including a giant portrait of Marcus Rashford, a multi-storey mural of late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis for World Mental Health Day in 2020, and a tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Bev Craig has recently taken up the mantel as leader of Manchester City Council after Sir Richard Leese stepped down after more than 25 years in the role.
She is both the first woman and the first openly-gay councillor to lead our local council, something she says is the ‘honour of her life’.
She’s dedicated to creating a fairer, cleaner, safer, greener and more supportive city.
How a cult classic game helped create the sound of Blossoms’ new album
Danny Jones
More specifically, their soundtracks, as in a recent chat with the Blossoms boys, we found out that their upcoming album was at least partly influenced by a beloved PlayStation 2 classic from 2006.
This is just more proof that you really can find inspiration in just about anything.
Yes, even if only in part, an old video game that many of you may have played back in the day is somehow connected to the latest and technically still yet to be announced release.
We’ve heard of groups such as The 1975 trying to make an album that sounds “as if John Hughes had directed a movie about our lives”, and Red Rum Club leaning further into the growing Western aesthetic with almost every outing, but we never thought we’d hear of a record born out of a love for Bully…
The lads actually touched on that whole ‘still TBC’ when we spoke to them at their studio in Stockport, joking not just about divorce but how they’re baffled by the whole ‘are they working on new music?’ speculation in the media. “Well, yeah, we’re a band – that’s what we do for a living”, as they put it.
But back to the point at hand: lead guitarist Dewhurt’s affection for Bully, a cult favourite PS2 title released by Rockstar Games – the same people behind Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Red Dead Redemption – and the score behind it, essentially served as a seed for the feel of their newest work.
As he explained above, before being expanded on by frontman and primary lyricist Tom Odgen, they were fortunate enough to be in possession of the details for one half of a duo they both admire: Young Gun Silver Fox, a.k.a. British artist Andy Platts and US multi-talented instrumentalist, Shawn Lee.
Lee also just so happens to be the composer of the original Bully video game soundtrack.
Ultimately, this all came about because Josh contacted him over email simply to praise the game’s music (sure, when he was a teenager, we promise), and only took them until the last year or so to put two and two together. Small world, eh?
Oh, the nostalgia.
It has since occurred to us that we’ve come across him before, too.
For us, it was when playing the first Tales From The Borderlands (a spin-off of the popular action role-playing looter-shooter series that has since been turned into a Hollywood movie), which features his song ‘Kiss The Sky’ and ALSO enjoyed in our late teens.
It still continues to baffle us how things can come full circle like this.
As it turns out, his music appears in various pieces of pop culture, and with Tom professing his love for the funky, bass-forward 80s vibes of Lee and his partner Platts’ stuff, he was then roped in as part of the production team on the hypotheticalBlossoms LP number six. Not that we know anything about that…
What has now come out of all this is the previously alluded to lead single entitled ‘Joke About Divorce’, the music video for which dropped last month.
‘Joke About Divorce’ our new single is out now! We love this record, we recorded it live to tape at Tilehouse Studios with Shawn Lee producing. The second we got the mix back it felt like an instant Blossoms classic (if we do say so ourselves)!
We’re still not sure whether or not this is just the first finished song from the project, the opener or indeed even a title track; all we know is it’s another catchy creation from the Stopfordians.
But yeah, in a roundabout way, somehow that ‘problematic’ game that our parents and teachers complained about when we were kids, either by sheer chance, serendipity or perhaps the divine will of the audio gods, appears to have served as a kind of sonic sapling for a fresh era of the local outfit.
Sadly, we have very little else to offer you in terms of information regarding the ‘as yet confirmed’ next studio release from the Blossoms, but we can tell you we’re very much looking forward to hearing what comes next – especially live.
In case you missed it, they’re headlining this year’s edition of NBHD Weekender music festival at the end of the month; you can see the rest of the lineup down below.
Featured Images — Rockstar Games/Audio North/Press shot (via Go! Entertainment)
Feature
Inside Tyga, as a Manchester favourite changes its stripes for a new era
Danny Jones
We recently had the pleasure of visiting Tyga, Manchester city centre’s latest Indian restaurant, which has taken the place of former local favourite, Asha’s.
The Peter Street spot had always been a great place for a curry and progressive takes on the nation’s staples, often pulling inspiration from the Rajasthan region, but now the unit is the start of a new chapter.
In truth, the food was always pretty damn good here – often truly great, even – as we found out the last time we reviewed it; however, it’s clear that there’s been a greater honing of the concept.
Put simply, Tyga is trying to elevate what the team already did so well, whilst adding an extra layer of fine-dining refinement.
@the.manc Peter Streets Indian spot Tyga, has had a serious glow-up, bringing a more refined, fine-dining take on Indian cuisine while keeping all the bold flavours at the heart of it. The 24-hour slow-simmered lamb shank is an absolute must, as is the butter chicken which just melts in your mouth. 😍 It’s not just about the food here though, with an extensive cocktail list that brings theatre to the table, they’re the perfect accompaniment to your table full of scran. It’s the perfect spot for date night, celebrations, or when you just want to seriously impress someone over dinner. 🍸 Get it booked. 📍 47 Peter Street, M2 3NG #themanc#tygamanchester#manchesterfoodie#manchestercurry#wheretoeatinmanchester♬ original sound – The Manc
You hear sentences like a ‘contemporary twist on cuisine’ and ‘modern approaches to classics’ recycled quite a lot, and we get it: it can be a great way to get across that you’re trying to push culinary tradition(s) forward, but it often feels a bit of a throwaway term that’s used far too much.
That being said, while there’s definitely a feeling of familiarity to this recently refreshed foodie lineup, this is one of the times and places where it actually seems like that phrase means something.
While the building and stunning venue itself might have stayed largely the same, bar some knick-knacks being swapped for a few different tiger-based decorations, the authentic clay-pot lamb, ‘Tyga’ prawns, salmon tikka, and Vepudu spiced stir fry show some real innovation.
A lot of these might be rooted in a kind of food we know very well here in Britain, but these latest iterations in recipes and experimentation with their components result in some very cool creations.
The ember wings were smoky and moorish in a way that we’ve not had in a restaurant like this before, and the lamb chops alone were worth ordering by the wheelbarrow full.
Small plates have also been thrown into the mix more seamlessly this time around, too, as have some of the Indo-Chinese options that feel less like a footnote now and, instead, like a continuation of the tweaking and trying out new things seen throughout the rest of the offerings.
Even the vegetarian/vegan section of the menu has been lifted in certain aspects, too, with previously popular dishes being brought back better and more beautifully presented than ever.
Before we forget, a special shout-out goes to those beetroot dill patties.
Speaking of presentation, although they might have simplified some stuff (such as the okra fries that simply need to be dumped on the table and be devoured in seconds by gannets like us), as mentioned, plenty of other bits have been levelled up.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that they’ve just been voted alongside some fellow standout spots by the Asian Catering Federation.
They’ve never shied away from a bit of pageantry, and nothing has changed in that respect.
Everything from the plating to even giving you a rotating water jug that revolves on a single point and never spills has a bit of flair, without being too much or straying into gimmicky territory.
Most importantly of all, whether you want a classy room for your next date night, somewhere intimate the next time you go out for tea with your partner, or still fancy a more banquet-style feast for you and your mates in the form of the updated ‘Maharaja’s Grand Platter’, Tyga can turn its paw to any occasion.
Daisy Jackson -
31st December 2021 
