The man behind the murals: We spent the day with Akse P19
A Smiths fan, a doctor, a chemist, a vinyl collector, a Breaking Bad enthusiast, a family man, and a humble intellectual. We spend a day with Akse P19 and discover what shaped one of the greatest modern artists in Manchester.
“The Jack Nicholson one is just back there,” our driver tells us, jerking a thumb behind his shoulder.
The sphinxlike Manchester street artist, Akse P19, is whizzing us through a rain-whipped Northern Quarter in his car; spray cans rattling at our feet whilst his iconic mask rests on the backseat alongside me.
He’s generously offered to transport us through the monsoon-like weather to see his latest painting, answering questions about his urban graffiti whenever a mural flashes into view beyond the blurry windows.
It’s only a five-minute journey, but we still manage to pass three of his paintings en route; proof that Akse is ubiquitous in Manchester. He has spent decades colouring the city’s red brick walls with dazzling, lifelike murals of musicians, athletes, poets, actors, fictional characters and Mancunian heroes. It’s the kind of art that strikes a chord and makes your chest puff with civic pride.
His decades’ of work – coupled with the explosion of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter – has seen Akse earned rightful recognition as one of the most important creative figures in the region.
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However, until now, his backstory has remained something of a mystery. This is the man behind the mask.
“Paint gets on everything…”
With such a hybrid background, Akse could have settled almost anywhere in the world. So, we should be grateful he chose Manchester as his canvas.
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Despite his Vietnamese heritage, a syrupy French accent and a Basque-speaking family, Akse has built a connection with Mancunia that runs deep – as his murals help to shape the atmosphere of the city.
The artist arrives at Teacup Kitchen for our interview in his familiar specs and paint-splashed trousers… but also a jet-black hoodie sporting a giant gold bee.
“I thought, for The Manc, this would be a great choice,” he chuckles.
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The only thing that’s missing is his mask; which he eagerly straps to his face before our photographer starts snapping away later in the day.
Akse is eager to keep his personality separate from his work. Preserving his image – cap, glasses and mask – is important to him. He wants the images to speak for themselves and retain the enigmatic aura that has helped him gain so much attention in the first instance.
As we talk, Akse catches me eyeing the crispy outer shell that’s wrapped around his phone.
“Masking tape,” he clarifies.
“To protect it from the paint. You see, here…”
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He flips the device over and runs his index finger over an invasive purple smear on the casing.
“Paint gets on everything.”
Mess is par for the course in this occupation. But it’s only when we quiz Akse on his working hours that some of the additional challenges of artwork become clear.
“There’s no 9-5. You can’t really have a routine in this job,” he explains, a thin smirk spreading across his lips.
“Sometimes, I’m able to go to the shop and get things to eat, but often there are no breaks.
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“I should bring my own lunch, really. But I’m just not organised enough to do that.
“You can’t always choose your hours, either. If I’m doing a personal mural and it starts pissing down, I can just go home and come back again another time. One day doesn’t really make a difference.
“But if it’s commissioned, I have to finish it by a certain date. You have a deadline.
“With the Harry Maguire one, for example, it rained all day and I was completely soaked through. When it gets wet, the spray paint dries out quickly, too. So working in the bad weather can be very difficult.
“But it is worth it. This is me.”
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“30 years later, Akse is what I’m known as…“
Akse’s amazing artwork invites all kinds of questions. But there’s one burning query we have to resolve before going any further into the aesthetics.
Where did that name come from?
“Golden Axe,” the artist explains, taking a long sip of his latte.
“It was a video game in the eighties.
“At the time, my English was not very good, but I liked the way it sounded. I just switched the ‘x’ for the ‘ks’.
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“I never thought people would actually call me by that name. It was just for flow and style of the tag at the time.
“But now, 30 years later, this is what I’m known as.”
But what about the P19 bit?
“That’s the crew I am part of,” he explains.
“A graffiti artist called PEST formed it back in the Paris suburbs – which is where I grew up.
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“There are about ten to fifteen members of the collective. Most of them still work in Paris today.
“In the late eighties/early nineties I got into hip-hop – which introduced me to the graffiti scene in France.
“I moved to the UK in 1997 to study chemistry – which actually comes in useful, working with paints! I went to MMU and did an MSc and PhD before I found a job in science. I worked for 15 years as a project manager after that – but I kept painting all that time.
“When I arrived in Manchester, I was on my own and didn’t know much about the graffiti scene.
“But soon I got involved with Eurocultured, a festival organised by Spearfish taking place by Oxford Road Station that invited artists from all around Europe.
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“That’s how I ended up doing more street art.”
It was back in 2012 that Akse met the curators of The Out House – an organisation that provides space for artists around the Northern Quarter.
This encounter, combined with the rise of social media, saw the Akse name spread further and wider than he ever could have hoped for…
“As a chemist, I really enjoy Breaking Bad, so doing Heisenberg was quite special.”
The Out House is an organisation that guarantees there’s always a space for artists to flex their creative muscles.
“You don’t choose who will be painting with you,” Akse’s explains.
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“The scene isn’t that big, so you know all the other artists, more or less. You meet many of them at events. If they are local, you’re likely to work with them at some point.”
Akse also does his own personal artwork in the city, obtaining permission from the owner of the building, the landlord and/or property management companies before he shakes up his spray can.
He specialises in photorealistic portraiture, but out of the hundreds of pieces he’s composed over the years, is there one he’s particularly proud of?
“The Heisenberg piece was really popular. As a chemist, I really enjoy Breaking Bad, so doing that one was quite special for me.
We ask if there are any murals he’d like to make in the future, and Akse doesn’t have to think long about his answer.
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“I have a list of a few subjects I’ve been wanting to paint for a long time,” he confirms.
“One of them was Marvin Gaye – which I have just finished.
“I did it as commission for Soul Coffee which is opening in Ancoats.”
He asks us if we’d like to see it.
A few minutes following a resounding ‘yes’, we find ourselves climbing out of Akse’s car and stepping into a cafe under construction.
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On the left wall is an incredible monochrome painting of Marvin Gaye – wearing his trademark hat and gazing up at the ceiling.
“This is a great place to be a part of”
Before posing beside the sketched singer, Aske retrieves a huge stack of Marvin Gaye vinyls from his car and starts flicking through them, thinking carefully about which one he should choose.
He picks one, raises it slowly, puts it back, plucks another record from the pile, and then returns to his original choice.
“This one, I think, will be better,” he mutters.
He wants the picture to be perfect. Like Walter White, Akse doesn’t do half-measures.
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Since touching down in Manchester many years ago, Akse moved around the outskirts of the city whilst finding his feet, juggling his painting with a career in project management.
Today, he’s settled with a young family and pursuing his artwork full-time.
“Manchester is a good size, it’s convenient to get around. I’m a fan of the music scene here. I always used to like The Smiths – and that was before I even came here!
“The city has everything I need, really. Except the weather.
“The last twenty years it has kind of boomed, bringing in a lot of new businesses and creatives.
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“There’s a lot here now. It’s a great place to be a part of.”
25 of the very best Sunday roasts in and around Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
From the moment we start to feel the weekend rolling in, we can’t help but turn our thoughts to Sunday roasts, steaming jugs of gravy and big glasses sploshing over with red wine – it’s just the best feeling, and there’s plenty of it to be found here in Greater Manchester.
We’re used to it being wet and miserable most of the year, so while we do love Sunday lunch on a sun-soaked afternoon in the beer garden when we get the chance, nothing warms the cockles more on those darker days than a giant plate piled high with roasted meats, vegetables and gravy.
Genuinely one of the simplest pleasures in life, there’s not much more comforting than this classic English staple. We’re big fans of Manchester’s Sunday roast scene, and we can confidently say this city serves some of the best.
So, without further ado, this is The Manc Eats‘ list of deep reading to discover our top picks for the best Sunday roast dinners in Manchester and beyond. Dig in.
The best Sunday roasts in Manchester city centre
Let’s start with the best in town. Our tummies are rumbling just think about it…
1. Banyan – Corn Exchange and Spinningields
First up is one that’s never disappointed us: Banyan Bar & Kitchen, which boasts two busy restaurants in the city centre and has not-so-quietly been serving up some of the most solid and consistently good Sunday roasts in Manchester for a while now.
Offering a choice of beef, chicken or a veggie roast dinner, you can even go bottomless for two whole hours – and not just with booze: even with your Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes AND gravy, because you can never have too much of the highlights, right?
With red or white wine by the glass and the experience priced at £41.95 with all the trimmings, booking is highly recommended, but you can still chance a walk-in. You reserve your table HERE.
You can even substitute a pie for your choice of meat. ‘Keep going…’Credit: The Manc Eats
2. The Wharf – Castlefield
In at number two is the waterside gem that is The Wharf over in Castlefield, which is both one of the most picturesque and up there with the places for a Sunday roast in Manchester, in our humble opinion.
This family-friendly country-style pub sits pretty on the Bridgewater Canal and serves up great seasonal food and drink all year-round, but we find ourselves going back on this particular day of the week at least once a month for the good stuff.
Our top tip if there’s just two of you: order one of The Wharf‘s Sunday sharing platters and then get the mixed roast and just split the whole lot down the middle. You can thank us later.
Not only has this roast been named among the best in the entire UK in recent years, but it also happens to boast a dedicated cauliflower cheese menu. Need we say more?
The ‘Sunday with Sides‘ roast includes options like dry-aged local shorthorn beef sirloin, rosemary roasted leg of lamb and roast turkey breast with stuffing and a pig-in-blanket, as well as a regularly changing vegan roast served with all the trimmings and a vegan Yorkshire pudding.
All plated roasts are served with ‘proper’ roast potatoes, a giant Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables and gravy, with more sides available such as Tuscan pork stuffing, maple-roasted parsnips, honey-roasted rainbow heirloom carrots, lemon and garlic tenderstem broccoli gratin, and macaroni cheese.
Quite literally drooling at the thought of all this. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
4. Pip – Central
Next up is one of the relative newcomers to the world of Greater Manchester roasts, but make no mistake, there is plenty of wealth of experience behind these stunning Sunday dinners – and they just so happen to be found within The Treehouse Hotel on Blackfriar Street.
We’re talking about Pip, whose Sunday menu is produced and perfected by local chef Mary-Ellen McTague, bringing her pedigree as chef-patron of the late, great Aumbry in Prestwich, Creameries in Chorlton and her time with Heston Blumenthal’s at the legendary Fat Duck to the shiny new Manc hotel.
Admittedly, we had such an indulgent time when we visited that we kind of forgot to take pictures (we were busy marvelling at the oysters and smoked mackerel starters), so you’ll just have to take our word for the time being. Suppose we’ll just have to go back and try that hot pot everyone is talking about.
Not a reference to Charlotte Brontë, but rather to the owners’ mum, neighbourhood kitchen and cocktail bar The Jane Eyre on Cutting Room Square is a must for any self-respecting cocktail lover. It also serves a cracking Sunday roast; we can only assume the same is true for their Chorlton location.
Start with ham hock and manchego croquettes or a salad of fennel, chilli and crab, before moving onto roast sirloin (£18), nut roast (£14) or the selected ‘roast of the day’ (£18), all served with duck fat potatoes, honey roasted carrots, greens, carrot & swede mash, pork stuffing, Yorkshire puds and gravy.
We’d recommend springing for sides, too. An extra £4.50 will get you a skillet of house cauliflower cheese or truffled potato puree. As for dessert, think tarte tatin (£7) or chocolate biscuit cake (£5), both served with ice cream on the side.
Look at the char on that.When the light hits just right.Credit: The Jane Eyre (via Instagram)/The Manc
6. Trof – Northern Quarter
Entries like this are why we’re glad we don’t do these things in order, because it’s simply too difficult to rank things when you remember you’ve got to squeeze top scran like they serve at Trof somewhere in the mix, especially when it comes to Sunday dinner.
Put simply, this is one of our all-time favourites, and when anyone asks us where to go for the best roast in Manchester, this place pretty much always pops into our heads almost immediately. They also hit the sweet spot when it comes to portion size and value for money, if you ask us.
Housed in a former Victorian Courthouse on Deansgate, Hawksmoor manages to be chic, glamorous and entirely unpretentious all at once. Designed to share, roasts here can be split between two or three people – with starters, mains, sides and puddings all included and priced from just £50.
Main choices include perfectly pink cuts of bone-in prime rib, chateaubriand and sirloin, as well as Dartmouth lobster with garlic butter, whilst sides span the likes of creamed spinach, macaroni cheese, grilled bone marrow, carrots, roasties, cabbage and, of course, giant Yorkshire puddings.
We’re talking Yorkshire puddings bigger than your face, crispy beef fat roasties, unlimited jugs of bone marrow gravy, and an oozing skillet of cauliflower cheese made with a four-cheese blend of Ogleshield, mozzarella, Stichelton and ‘good cheddar’.
The next shout-out goes to Maray over on Lincoln Square, which has earned itself quite an impressive reputation in Manchester since arriving here from Liverpool’s Bold Street, especially when it comes to their Sunday dinner.
You won’t find a roast quite like it anywhere else in town, with a unique za’atar and lemon twist on chicken with saffron, roast beef picanha and those unbelievable fenugreek potatoes. They’re also known for some of the best veggie/vegan food in Manchester, including their spiced chickpea nut roast.
We’re just hoping they bring back that freebie offer again sometime soon.
9. The Refuge – Oxford Road
With the option to share a roast platter between two or order individual plates, The Refuge at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is not messing about with its roast dinners.
On The Refuge’s famous sharing platter, think grass-fed rump of Lancashire beef and half a roast Cumbrian chicken plus trimmings, with the option to add on a lamb shawarma shepherd’s pie for an extra £9. Go on then.
Platters are served with thyme and salt roast potatoes, glazed veggies mixed amongst other seasonal greens, Yorkshire puddings, cauliflower cheese and proper pan gravy; meanwhile, individual roasts come with roast potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire pudding and a selection of vegetables. The vegan one is great too.
Another relative newbie is The Trading Route over in St John’s: that cool new neighbourhood steadily fighting for popularity with the neighbouring district of Spinningields.
Well-known for their already famous ‘Roast-tisserie’ chicken, naturally, serves up a brilliant Sunday dinner and wider menu come the end of the weekend.
We’d also argue it’s maybe one of the best places to go if you want a roast and the biggest servings of fresh suds at the same time – you can even make it bottomless. Try it for yourselves.
If you’re a person who cares about where your food is sourced from, Elnecot is the place to come. Owner Michael Clay has excellent connections to local suppliers and celebrates quality British produce in every dish.
Starting from 1:30pm until they run out, roast choices at this Ancoats favourite include dry-aged Welsh wagyu beef, lemon and thyme corn-fed Goosnargh chicken, crispy Yorkshire pork belly, slow-cooked shoulder of Yorkshire lamb and a vegetarian or vegan nut roast.
All served with roasties, fluffy Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, roasted carrots and parsnips, sauteed greens, cauliflower cheese and a rich gravy, prices start from £14.50 for nut roast and £16 for pork.
Located just off Oxford Road at The Quadrangle, Zouk is one of our very favourite curry houses in town, but they also serve an incredible Sunday roast sharing platter with generous helpings of spicy gravy.
Featuring a whole roast poussin, plus slices of roast lamb, topside of beef, and heaps of seasonal veg alongside crispy roasties and loads of Yorkshire puddings, you can also opt for extras like mashed potatoes, cauliflower cheese and tenderstem broccoli with red chilli and garlic.
We’ve somehow managed to demolish Zouk‘s whole sharing plate multiple times, and here’s the video evidence to prove it. Don’t judge us; this will be you soon.
One for the vegans, the veggies, the flexitarians, and anyone who likes big flavours and doesn’t mind not eating meat, Wholesome Junkies puts an ethical twist on the British Sunday favourite by using mock meat in what was a Manchester first and remains a pioneering part of our culinary legacy.
For the summer, they’ve pressed pause on the traditional roast and introduced a range of roast burgers instead. Think minted ‘lamb’ burgers, ‘pork’ sausage with apple sauce, smashed roasties and fried onions, and a cauliflower cheeseburger. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds.
On Sundays between 12-6pm, Argentinian steakhouse Gaucho serves up its bottomless roast dinner. Specifically designed for overindulging, choose from three different joints of meat to enjoy with unlimited quantities of seasonal vegetables and Yorkshire puddings.
All Gaucho’s meat originates from Argentina and comes from premium Black Angus cattle, bred at hand-selected farms in the southern province of La Pampa, South America. Every cut is cooked in its own drippings and then presented on steak boards alongside all the usual trimmings.
Priced at £32.50 per person, you can enjoy 90 minutes of non-stop feasting on prime steak here (and make sure you really get your money’s worth).
With its own dedicated margarita and wild spirits bar, The Firehouse on Swan St is one of Manchester’s coolest venues. Attached to popular Detroit pizza place, Ramona, it’s housed inside an old MOT garage and offers (as the name suggests) a selection of wood-fired meats alongside fluffy pittas and sides.
Come Sundays, though, the team also offers a roast with roast Cheshire beef rump, garlic and thyme chicken, slow-cooked lamb shoulder or vegan oyster mushroom wellington, with sides including Yorkshire puddings, crisp roast potatoes and flamed chipolatas
Elsewhere, think buttered greens, melting pots of cauliflower cheese, honey-roasted carrots and parsnips, and lashings of house gravy. This place might straddle the border of both Ancoats and NQ, two of this city’s coolest districts, but it firmly plants itself amongst the best Sunday roasts in Manchester.
Credit: The Firehouse/The Manc
16. The Bay Horse Tavern – NQ
Want another fantastic roast that also happens to be in one of our favourite city centre bars and late-night spots? If you’ve ever eaten at The Bay Horse Tavern before, you’ll know that they don’t mess about when it comes to their munch.
Also, this might surprise you, but aside from their delicious chicken supreme (which really does live up to the name) and those brilliant garlic and rosemary roasties, we’re going to recommend the miso-glazed and roasted cauliflower above all else. Even the roast beef butties are great if you’re just feeling peckish.
Specialising not only in hearty dishes perfect for the colder months but also delivering big portions at good prices, TBHT is much more than a pub if you order the right thing
Another Manc Sunday roast gem is The Counter House over on Cutting Room Square, which also happens to boast one of the prettiest rooms you’ll probably ever sit down for a serving of meat, spuds, veg and gravy.
Known for great portion sizes, opting for carrot and swede mash instead of the usual and some of the very finest (and largest) homemade Yorkies you’ll find anywhere in 0161, we’ve grown very fond of this place come Sunday afternoons.
The lemon, thyme and garlic half-roast chicken (£19.50) is to die for, the beef (£21) is always so tender, and we’ve heard good things about their vegan option too. It’s also one of the few places we’ve decided to have starters before the main event, and it’s never disappointed.
With a dozen plates done and dusted, we feel like it’s time to move beyond the city centre now — ready for another serving?
The best Sunday roasts around Greater Manchester
If you’re based outside of town or simply want to find the best Sunday roasts around Greater Manchester, look no further.
We’ll confess that when a friend from Tameside told us that one of the best Sunday dinners in all of Greater Manchester was attached to a barbers, we raised our collective eyebrows and did plenty of head-scratching. What’s worse is that they were absolutely right.
If you haven’t heard of this place before, Gladstone’s Barber and Bistro is one of the crown jewels in Stalybridge’s increasingly decorated foodie crown; it isn’t too far from another place making waves in Cafe Continental, either.
With a Middle-Eastern-inspired ‘small plate’ menu (they’re not that little, to be honest) throughout the work and one of the most charming settings we’ve enjoyed a roast in some time, you really should give it a try if you haven’t already.
19. Folk – West Didsbury
Credit: The Manc Eats
A longstanding neighbourhood favourite amongst the West Dids set, independent bar and restaurant Folk is owned by four mates with a love for fresh seasonal produce, great coffee, beers, cocktails, as well as plenty of wine, and it’s an absolute Burton Road institution.
The roast here is cracking, with options including roast beef and chicken, a pan-roasted sea bass and a vegan wellington made up of mushroom, cranberry and pistachio. Each is served up with seasonal veg, roast potatoes, proper gravy, and a Yorkshire pudding big enough to cover your plate.
You also have the option to add on seasonal small plates, including cider and honey-glazed pigs in blankets and Tunworth cauliflower cheese.
Over in South Manchester, local bar and restaurant, The Chorlton Green, is serving up a banging Sunday roast – and they’ll even do a special portion for your dogs.
Perfect for when you want to head out with your furry friends for a gravy-soaked dinner, this cosy neighbourhood spot has you (and your pets) covered for all your Sunday lunch needs.
With a choice of chicken, beef or nut roast served alongside carrot and swede mash, perfectly crisp roast potatoes, stuffing, seasonal vegetables and a giant Yorkshire pudding, this Chorlton favourite dishes up a seriously good roast if we’ve ever seen one.
Heading just beyond the edge of the city centre now and that lovely little reach around Greengate, the lovingly restored Black Friar on the eponymous Salford street has become one of the cosiest traditional pubs in the borough once again, and the food is now of a gourmet standard.
Known for proper homemade pies and hearty pub grub no matter the day or time of year, it’s no surprise that their thick, flavourful gravy goes perfectly with fresh seasonal veg from local suppliers, cooked to the highest quality, making for some bloody unreal roast dinners.
The gravy at Station South in Levenshulme is SO good that some customers famously drink it straight from the glass. The ‘cycle cafe for everyone’ has become something of a neighbourhood favourite since opening its doors this summer, and now we’ve got another reason to go. Roasts.
With giant, fluffy Yorkshire puddings, heaps of potatoes and greens, the plates here are very generous – but you will have to spring an extra £1.50 for a jug of additional gravy. We reckon it works out fair enough, though, thanks to the huge portion sizes.
We could happily die here – that is all. Moving on.
23. Hispi – Didsbury Village
Credit: Hispi
From Gary Usher’s Elite Bistro team, this charming neighbourhood bistro in Didsbury Village is, without a doubt, one of the best places to grab a roast south of the city centre.
Still priced very well even amidst the growing cost of living crisis and multiple sister site closures of their own, mains include roast beef, pork belly, sirloin (for two) and chicken, each served with their own dedicated list of perfectly paired sides.
Elsewhere, you’ll find confit chicken terrine, beer-battered salt pickles, pan-fired sea bass in a langoustine bisque and a chestnut mushroom and goats’ curd linguine. A must-visit this, trust us, and if the egg tart is on, simply order it and don’t look back. You’re welcome.
For proper country feels, head to The White Hart at Lydgate for a bang-up Sunday feast. Priced at £29 for 2 courses or 3 for £35, those after a traditional roast can tuck into grass-fed Hereford rump of beef, Easingwold pork belly or roasted Yorkshire chicken.
Roasts are served from 12-8pm with Yorkshire puddings, roasted potatoes, cauliflower cheese, honey-glazed carrots, savoy cabbage, crispy stuffing, apple and red wine sauce. Alternatively, swing for the coronation cauliflower, crispy haddock and chips or pan-fried stone bass if you fancy something a little different.
A real ‘hidden gem’ before chronic overuse resulted in the phrase losing all meaning.
25. The Pack Horse – Hayfield
Credit: The Pack Horse
Credit: The Manc Eats
This multi-award-winning country gastropub has had some impressive accolades of late, not least an ebullient new inclusion in the Michelin Guide.
All roasts here come served with crispy potatoes, carrot and swede mash, braised vegetables, buttered cabbage, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Choose from Derbyshire beef sirloin, High Peak lamb shoulder slow-roasted overnight, or a ‘chicken of the woods’ mushroom and truffled Baron Bigod tart with seaweed gravy.
A regular haunt of some of Glossop’s most esteemed foodies, technically it’s not in Manchester but we’re not letting that get in the way of a great scran — and neither should you.
It goes without saying that there are obviously plenty of other brilliant places serving some of the best Sunday roasts in Greater Manchester, and we simply couldn’t include them all — why do you think we couldn’t just stick with 10?
Honestly, if you don’t spot your favourite on this list, we’re sure it pains us just as much, but at least you can feel at peace with the knowledge that this city doesn’t disappoint when it comes to Sunday dinner.
That’s all from us for now, anyway, we’re off to drown in a sea of gravy. After all, that’s the best part of Sunday lunch, right?
Self Esteem at Manchester Academy – a night of pure energy and immaculate music
Kristen MacGregor-Houlston
A Complicated Woman – the name of Self Esteem’s album, she is currently touring around the UK and Europe. While she may be complicated, there is nothing complicated about how absolutely sensational a performer is.
I only ‘got into’ Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor) this year. I kept hearing others talk about her and her music, but I’d never really given her a listen until we saw her on the line-up for Glastonbury. A Complicated Woman had just come out, so that was my intro, and I immediately became a massive fan.
I was lucky enough to watch her set at Glastonbury, which brought tears to my eyes for being both an incredible performance and thematically. When the opportunity then came to see her again, but at home in Manchester, I practically bit the promoter’s hand off.
The energy is palpable at Manchester Academy; everyone is just buzzing with a joyful energy that’s incredibly infectious.
Unfortunately Moonchild Sanelly, the collaborator on ‘In Plain Sight’ and Self Esteem’s support act on this tour, was unwell, so the delightful Tom Rasmussen stepped in at the last minute.
Fresh from a family christening and pulling in some last-minute pals, he delivers a delightfully camp and moving show, getting everyone pumped up.
The lights went down at 9pm, and the audience was met with a wall of handmaids, and then Rebecca walked out on stage to a huge eruption from the crowd. Her fans (myself included) clearly love her. She opens with ‘I Do And I Don’t Care’ which brings a tear to my eye once again.
This is more than just a ‘gig’. It is a full, theatrical experience with dancing and storytelling the whole way through.
Whilst Taylor is very clearly the focus, her team of performers are an essential element of the whole show: they’re so much more than just simple backing singers/dancers. They’re so in sync with each other, and there is so much joy on stage as they shine together – a very clear bond ripples through with such love.
The show flows almost as different ‘Acts’, with the running order not following the album order itself, with a mix of songs from her current album and the 2021 album, Prioritise Pleasure. ‘Mother’ gets the crowd grinding away as she moves onto ‘Lies’ and ‘69’ – which always gets a chuckle from the crowd.
We are fixated on her. She just draws you in and holds you there throughout the whole gig. Nobody is shifting around to go to the loo or get a beer; everyone is just glued to their spot and basking in her sensational energy. Despite some of the themes during the gig, everyone was abuzz with energy.
When ‘Fucking Wizadry’ comes on, every single person sings (or screams) along, and Taylor and her onstage posse absolutely lap it up.
With Moonchild Sanelly being unwell during our gig, when ‘In Plain Sight’ is performed, Self Esteem still moves to the side of the stage when the recording of Moonchild is played, giving space to where she would have been. Hopefully, she is feeling better for her further dates, because her presence would have been a powerful addition to the song, and I’m gutted to have not experienced it.
When ‘Cheers To Me’ came on, the party really began; the audience went utterly MAD for it when the inflatable men (like the ones you see at car garages) appeared. It is honestly so hard to describe the feeling of euphoric joy that is just blasting through the crowd – it is a sight and sensation to behold.
Now you may or may not know, but Self Esteem is personal friends with Julie Hesmondhalgh – yes, as Hayley Cropper from CORRIE! – in who appeared on stage on night two of her three-night gig in Manchester.
She admits to us that on night one, she forgot that Julie was only doing night two and had shouted to introduce her during ‘If Not Now, It’s Soon’, which had apparently caused a bit of a stir with some of the night one’s audience.
Making light of it, she asked if the crowd wanted her to shout Julie Hesmondhalgh again, so we all felt equal – of course, we did.
The show goes from strength to strength, “finishing” with ‘The Deep Blue Okay’ which perfectly encapsulates the raw emotion and talent of Self Esteem. The crowd is beside itself with cheer as they erupt in applause, deafening just about everyone around them as the stage empties and the lights dim.
Self Esteem returns to the stage alone initially, and chats to us about two important charities she is raising money for, the Schools Consent Project, which goes into schools and teaches kids about consent, and the other is X – helping relocate people displaced as a result of conflicts around the globe.
She then moves into ‘I Do This All The Time’, joined by her troupe again on stage, and finally finishing on ‘Focus Is Power’. Emotions are incredibly high. There isn’t a single person who hasn’t been moved and hyped by the whole show.
Gareth Lloyd -
8th December 2019 
