The incredible 30-year transformation of Manchester captured on camera
Len Grant has amassed the largest and most significant collection of images of Manchester’s amazing transformation. For the first time ever, we have a bigger picture of the regeneration story.
1997: The Shambles is demolished around the Old Wellington and Sinclairs pubs before they are dismantled and moved.
Most adults dread turning 30-years-old. But Len Grant will always look back on entering his third decade rather fondly.
It was at this age he decided to quit his uninspiring sales job and swap it for something he loved: Photography.
It was a bold move, especially given how there was very little to shoot.
Manchester in 1990 was a dry patch for a budding photographer. Snappers on the Hacienda beat had their hands full, but other lensmen were hard pushed to find picturesque scenes in the city worthy of publication.
New Islington and Ancoats May 2005
Springtime of that year saw photographers flock to capture prisoners rebelling on the roof during The Strangeways Riots, but the day-to-day surroundings offered little else in terms of inspiration.
Manchester looked tired; and not even the kindest camera could cheer up its forgotten inner-city neighbourhoods.
Castlefield was barren. Ancoats was a ghost town. New Islington was little more than a cluster of houses known as the Cardroom Estate. Hulme even had stray dogs scampering through its dilapidated Crescents tower block.
2002: The Cardroom Estate before its demolition to make way for New Islington.1994: The indoor arena next to Victoria Station takes shape.
Change was coming, citizens were assured. But it would be some time before Manchester was remoulded.
Until then, Len decided he would photograph the people planning these changes. Architects, entrepreneurs, town hall officers, developers, landowners, city councillors. Everyone and anyone set to play a role in Manchester’s forthcoming transformation.
His resulting exhibition, City Shapers, was displayed at the Arndale. It was his first big break. But it also created crucial contacts – meaning Len was given a front row seat whenever a new curtain was raised anywhere in the city. And he’d always take his camera with him.
Three decades on, Len has amassed the largest and most significant collection of images of Manchester’s amazing transformation. No other anthology contains as many photos across such a scope. For the first time ever, we have a bigger picture of the regeneration story.
The Fallowfield photographer is now publishing an upcoming book – in which he plans to showcase these incredible photographs to the world.
He’s got a big target to hit, but the demand is clearly there. £6,000 has already flooded in since the kickstarter was launched – and Len’s still campaigning fiercely to ensure the pictures go to print.
“I’ve been very lucky at being in the right place at the right time,” the humble photographer tells The Manc.
“There was very little in Manchester before the nineties.
“If people came to visit me around that time, I’d take them to Liverpool for a day out. There were things to do there.
“But in the early 90s, things were starting to happen. Manchester was starting to look to find a way out of its post-industrial past.”
1994: The Nynex Arena under construction.1998: The interior of Maxwell house was ripped out leaving just the facade, behind which The Printworks was built.
After getting up close and personal with many of the heavy hitters calling the shots on Manchester’s future, Len saw the blueprints unravelling right before his lens – and he was there to capture the changes when they came.
According to Len, it was the hard-headed approach of Manchester City Council that set off the regeneration domino effect.
“Manchester City Council were quite pragmatic about who they worked with,” he explains.
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“For instance, in the eighties in Liverpool, the council were militant and against the Tory government.
“But in Manchester, it was much more pragmatic. There was an organisation called the Central Manchester Development Corporation which was a government quango, and MCC worked with them to do the best for the city rather than to score political points – so that was quite significant.
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At the turn of the decade, Manchester was packed out with car parks and brownfield sites – which meant there was ample space for planning opportunities.
“Slowly but surely, there were pots of money to be able to do things,” Len explains.
“The CMDC put money into building Bridgewater Hall and the surrounding area of Castlefield – which was very run down back then; nobody went there.”
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Bridgewater Hall under construction, 19941997: The Shambles is demolished around the Old Wellington and Sinclairs pubs before they are dismantled and moved.1998: The Quays Theatre under construction at The Lowry. No Imperial War Museum North or MediaCity yet.1998: Stell framework of The Printworks following the demolition of Maxwell House.
Len has cited the construction of the Bridgewater Hall in 1995 as being one of the most pivotal moments in the regeneration of the city.
Not only was it Manchester’s first civic building since the 1930s, it was also a sign that things could – and were – starting to happen.
“I had a conversation with the council leader at the time, Graham Stringer, and he told me there were only two surviving photos of the town hall being built,” Len remembers.
“He was quite aware that Manchester was on the cusp of new change and wanted it to be documented sufficiently.”
Len was the man to photograph this transformation in all its glory, seizing the opportunity to get involved whenever new finance came flooding in for local projects.
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Change from that point on was steady but scattered – with some development even being driven by disaster.
Len recalls that Hulme won a much-needed pot of City Challenge money to redevelop the area after the inner city riots of the eighties, and finance was also made available for the city centre after the 1996 IRA bomb.
“Crucially, the city council and the private sector actually took this opportunity to work closely together – something Manchester is very good at – to bring about key renovation of the city centre at a difficult time,” he explains.
“Later, towards the turn of the millennium, there was money available from the National Lottery too, through the Millennium Commission.
“Projects like The Lowry in Salford Quays were only made possible by the dogged determination of people at Salford City Council to make that money come in.”
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2002: New Islington. Residents of the old Cardoom estate discuss plans for what will become New Islington.2004: The demolition of Maine Road football ground.
From 2000 onwards, East Manchester enjoyed tremendous change. It was sorely needed after being neglected for so long, despite the area’s influential history.
An industrial powerhouse during the 18th century, Ancoats was also the place that gave birth to Manchester’s first social housing development – with the construction of Victoria Square in 1894-97.
But when the block was completed, the rents were too expensive for the people it was originally intended for, and the area plunged into economic decline during the 1930s.
Following the war, East Manchester was essentially abandoned by everyone but its residents.
“Ancoats, Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw – you’d have never needed to go into those areas in the early nineties,” says Len.
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“There was nothing there for you to go and see. It wasn’t on the way to anywhere, either.
“When I first started photographing in Ancoats in 2002/03, the streets were dead and if you ever came across anybody you’d kind of worry you’d have your camera taken off you.
“Not many people crossed Great Ancoats Street into Ancoats from the Northern Quarter in those days.
“I’ve really enjoyed how Ancoats has changed. It’s just phenomenal looking at it now. It’s only when you see photos with the mills in them that you’re able to determine it’s the same place.”
2006: St Peters Church before Cutting Room Square is built and before The Smiths Arms is demolished.2006: The New islington canal arm and the creation of Cotton Fields.2009: Royals Mills, Ancoats during its refurbishment
Whilst sketching in Cutting Room Square one afternoon, Len got talking with a man who’d lived in the area for many years.
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He expected the resident to be sentimental for the past – as so many of us often are – but he was besotted with Ancoats 2.0. Nostalgia was no competitor for the shiny new space – which he recognised had given the area a whole new lease of life.
Len started his career by photographing people – and he has maintained that focus to this day. His interest in human subjects, and how their lives have been affected by the ever-changing skyline, has remained a key part of his work.
“I think those stories can be lost sometimes,” Len tells us.
“Which is what my book will help to cover.”
He has seen both the good and bad sides of regeneration, and whilst most of the changes have been positive, Len is hoping that further development does not come at the cost of loosened community connections.
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“We might be continuing to build, but how much effort are we putting into communities?” he asks.
“I hope that’s being considered. After all, it’s the people who make Manchester so great.
“During adversity, the strength of Manchester comes to the surface. We see that again and again. It’s even happening right now – with people in inner-city communities helping one another during coronavirus and supporting the most vulnerable.
“Many people who come to Manchester call themselves ‘adopted Mancunians’. I love how people give themselves that tag.
“I wonder how many other places around the country you’d call yourself adopted?”
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You can learn more about Len’s incredible Regeneration Manchester project online.
It will be money well spent, indeed. Stories about Manchester don’t come much better than this.
Feature
The best Manchester-based anime-style memes we’ve seen online as Ghibli craze takes over
Danny Jones
Now, the internet can be used for a lot of silly and pointless things – you might argue us sharing our favourite memes every morning is a prime example of that – but we have to admit, the second we saw a Manchester-inspired Studio Ghibli image on social media, we were hooked.
If you have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about, there is a current craze that has taken over the internet, which has seen recognisable memes and images recreated in the style of the iconic Ghibli anime films, created by legendary animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.
Once you’ve found one, you tend to start spotting them more and more frequently, and in the case of the chronically online like us, we’ve been inundated with them for weeks now.
People are using AIto create them in various different contexts, but it won’t surprise you to learn that our favourite Ghibli/anime memes are those based around Manchester. For example:
Bloody hell, the internet really is brilliant sometimes, isn't it? 😂 https://t.co/virpFx60u7
As it happens, this was the first and perhaps still the best we’ve seen to date, but it didn’t stop us from falling down an animated rabbit hole looking for others.
To be honest, we didn’t actually have to do much searching ourselves as they’re absolutely all over the algorithm at the minute, and have been for a good month or so.
‘Ghibli memes’ may be an overgeneralisation of what is a rather specific and famed art style, but this ongoing flood of anime-style cartooons is being created by users giving prompts to ChatGPT, the increasingly popular large language model (LLM) and AI tool.
Designed with OpenAI software, the artificial intelligence chatbot can do everything from write extensive study notes and flash cards to fixing blurry images, writing computer code, entire essays and quite literally countless other things.
In this instance, people are just reimagining moments from the zeitgeist and famous memes in this style by feeding the image to ChatGPT, along with an ‘in the style of Studio Ghibli’ prompt.
One for the Blues…And the Reds.All of these images have been designed using ChatGPT. (Credit: Eleventh Minute/centredevils via X)
Pretty cool, right?
You’ll find that footballer Twitter (sorry, X*), in particular, is absolutely full of fan accounts recreating iconic club scenes in the Miyazaki art style, giving their favourite players big ‘Chibi’ eyes (another unique aspect of anime) and so on.
It’s all just a bit of a laugh, after all; even we here at The Manc put ChatGPT to the test back in June 2023 and asked it to design ‘the perfect day out in Manchester’ – to varying degrees of success, we might add.
As ever with machine-learning, the more information you feed it, the better the result and although we know these are original pictures being reimagined, it still goes to show just how impressive and varied AI is becoming.
We’ve also enjoyed some that aren’t necessarily Manc but are quintessential British humour or simply more universal memes.
Exhibits E and F…
Even after all these years, we feel like we still see this in some context at least once a week – and it still makes us laugh.‘What a sad little life, Jane…’Credit: brandsynario (via Instagram)/No Context Brits (via X)
Despite these memes riding a real wave right now, the Ghibli portrait fad is just that; there are plenty of other aesthetics being toyed with, too.
Actually, it already has, as we’ve now started coming across people making action figure versions of themselves and/or famous people, full decked out with accessories inside blister packs and everything.
On the other hand, many people are understandably concerned about what this means for artists and although there is no substitute for genuine human expression, whatever form that may come in, lots of people are railing against it as the possibility of AI-based pop music has been posited.
With that in mind, maybe the best twist we’ve seen is our very own Stanley Chow subverting the trend and doing Ghibli stuff in his equally iconic style. We’ll take these geometric gems over computer-generated imitations any day.
For now, it’s just a bit of fun and we confess we’ve got some light entertainment out of it, but the increasing possibilities being thrown up by AI in terms of art do pose a lot more complex questions.
We’ll finish with one final example because let’s be honest, there’s only really one thing on our minds at the minute – at least until the summer finally rolls around…
Let us know if you’ve seen any other fun examples and what you make of the whole Ghibli meme trend down in the comments.
LF System on headlining Amber’s for ‘The Drop’, dancefloor anthems and more
Thomas Melia
Scottish DJ duo LF System are playing an intimate set in Manchester as part of ‘The Drop’, a special monthly event series for a very important cause.
‘The Drop’, sees the hitmakers joining two more greats, DJ Paulette and Turno, as headliners for this remarkable event all about raising awareness and funds for mental health in the music industry.
The mastermind partnership of Headstock and Skiddle, each event champions a charity which benefits including Music Minds Matter (Turno) and Nordoff & Robbins (DJ Paulette and LF System).
The first monthly set comes from the DJ duo behind one of the biggest UK club staples, ‘Afraid To Feel’, as LF System take over Manchester’s newest clubbing venue, Amber’s – who typically keep their lineups private – for an exclusive ‘Coffee Table Session’.
LF System, Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan, outside their New York session venue.Credit: Supplied
LF System Interview
This event is in aid of Nordoff & Robbins: how important is this cause to you?
We feel like music should be enjoyed by. Anyone, no matter what. Nordoff & Robbins make that possible.
They help everyone, all ages through music therapy. It’s important to us that [this event] supports them. Everybody deserves a chance to have a go at music, it’s a great cause that allows people to have great opportunities.
You’re going to be playing Amber’s, which is one of Manchester’s newest clubbing venues, how are you feeling?
I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, so I just really want to get in there and experience it for ourselves.
It’s weird coming to Manchester at this time of year as well; we’re always here in winter, usually freezing and raining, so it’ll be quite nice to come down this April.
Amber’s nightclub has some very important rules, including a no-phone policy in order to bring clubbing back to its roots – how do you feel about this?
Oh, we’re all for that!
I think there’s been a bit of a problem recently, so anything that can be done to make clubbing all about the music and as immersive as possible the better. It’s about living in the moment. I think that’s a good thing.
I don’t think we’ve ever actually done anything with a no-phone policy before; somehow, they’ve always snuck them in. Exciting.
LF System’s Conor at a recent event in New York.The Scottish duo LF System, playing an intimate set in New York.Credit: Supplied
What can fans expect from your special set for the monthly music series ‘The Drop’?
It may be a bit different to what we usually do as it’s a coffee table session set-up, but there’ll definitely be good vibes and good music all night.
There’ll be a lot of unreleased stuff that we’ve been making recently, mostly from our new EP that’s coming, and it gives us a chance to play our new songs and see people’s reactions. So far, they’ve been good every time we’ve included them.
How come you’ve opted for a ‘Coffee table session’ rather than a huge rave vibe, especially considering how much your music gets crowds up on their feet?
We’ve never actually done a coffee table session in a club before, so that’ll be our first for us. It’s going to be electric and fresh.
You just get to showcase a lot more music than when what you do when you’re playing a club set, different BPMs.
[Coffee table sessions] still get people up and dancing, but it’s just a different type of night. It’s relaxed, happy dance music, you know what I mean? You don’t have, don’t have to go mad ‘fer it, just a nice chilled one.
As well-respectedDJs, it’s only fair we consult you on Manchester’s clubbing scene, so how would you rate the club culture and atmosphere in our city?
We always have a good time in Manchester and there’s always good crowds. It [Manchester] is just like that.
There’s a good culture to do in this city, so I think it’s a good place to bring this session too, and we’re looking forward to it.
It’s got a really rich history and you can always feel that when you’re there, it’s always a good time in any of [Manchester’s] different venues. Everyone always seems right up for it.
House music is known to improve people’s moods, and ‘The Drop’ is all about music and mental health, so to finish off, what’s your all-time favourite top three mood boosting house tracks?
Sean
‘Music Sounds Better With You’ by Stardust
‘Beautiful People’ by Barbara Tucker
‘In Love With You’ by The Paradise
Conor
‘Why Not?’ by Skate Bård
‘I Think I’ll Do Some Skipping On My Own’ by Sandy B (Opolopo Rework)
‘Night Walkin” by Mermaid S
LF System are bringing their bangers to ‘The Drop’ in Manchester.Spinning the decks just like they will at Amber’s in Manchester later this month at ‘The Drop’.