It’s not every day you stumble upon pubs that hold a Guinness World Record, so it’s pretty weird that in Stalybridge you can see two of them at once.
And these two record-breaking pubs have earned their place in the history books for two completely different reasons.
Standing almost side-by-side, you’ll find The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn, and The Q.
In case you hadn’t yet guessed it, one holds the record for the longest pub name, while the other has the shortest.
The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn – or, as it’s more commonly known locally, The Rifleman was added to the Guinness World Record books in 1995.
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It was also given a blue plaque the same year.
It’s a name so long, it takes up the entire length of the building, and doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue after you’ve had a few pints inside.
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The pub reopened in 2019 with new owners, who decided to keep the incredibly long name (even though they were charged by the letter for the new sign outside).
There are two record-breaking pubs next door to each other in Stalybridge – The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn has the longest pub name
The Rifleman is also a pretty affordable watering hole, with cask ales starting from just £2.80.
And its remarkable name is made all the more remarkable by its neighbour, The Q, which has the shortest pub name in Great Britain.
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The Q Inn has been a Stalybridge staple for decades, and also made it into the Guinness Book of Records in 1995.
The cosy pub sprawls across two levels and has an enormous beer garden out the back.
It’s also home a pack of beautiful resident beagles, who’ll dutifully potter up to welcome every guest who enters the pub.
Hazlett at Manchester Academy 3 – some of the best ‘sad and depressing songs’ you could ever ask for
Danny Jones
On Thursday evening, we finally got to see Hazlett in a small, tightly-packed room here in Manchester and have maybe never heard so many people sing so expertly quietly so as not to even remotely dullen the stunning voice of this rising solo artist.
For anyone who isn’t aware of Hazlett, he’s an Australian singer-songwriter who has been gradually growing in popularity over the last couple of years, but his journey to where he is dates back much further than that.
Noticing a few familiar faces in the crowd from his last visit to the city for a performance at The Deaf Institute just over a year ago – one we sadly missed and have been kicking ourselves ever since – he acknowledged that many may already know his story, but it’s nevertheless worth sharing with the class.
After self-deprecating (how oh-so British) about gigging in pubs when he was younger, and being told to stick to covers rather than try any of his own material, he moved to Sweden in 2019 and fell in love with not only a much more seasonal European but winter, specifically. No wonder he looked at home here.
Here’s our review of Hazlett at Manchester Academy 3, 4/12/2025. (Credit: Audio North)
Kicking off with one of his best-known tracks, ‘Please Don’t Be’, it immediately struck us how full and mournful it all felt in the flesh – arguably even more so than the studio version we’ve been playing in our headphones since 2023.
The atmospheric but not over-produced engineering is an aspect we’ve always admired about Hazlett‘s discography, and we were so relieved it came across on the night, with the Brisbane-born ex-pat crediting his talented live band with helping bring that same sound to life on stage.
It’s a regular trapping, we’ve found, when it comes to acoustic-led music; that instinct, perhaps, for an artist and/or a producer to use seemingly as many of the tools at their disposal as possible just because they’re available to them.
Sadly, this easy pitfall often ends up taking away from what makes those tunes so beautiful to begin with – but not in this case.
The rising solo star seemed to have an expert command not only of his vocals, but the second mic that added those subtle and yet stirring layers, and built those moving, almost ethereal effects on top of the words themselves.
Honestly, we were literally in awe of him just whistling…
Admittedly, it’s hard to put a finger on what exactly made this such a special show, but we think it is THAT same appreciation and embrace of colder months and how it’s inspired his music.
Just bear with us for a minute, it’ll make sense soon.
He actually said it was one of the things he loves the most about people in this country, and this specific part of the world, as well as other parts of Europe, such as his now beloved Sweden, where he says he found his creative spark.
It’s that feeling of the weather and the mood it brings so intensely that he says it helped him write ‘Bones Shake’, which was fittingly chilling as he played it to the spellbound, would-be choir, and could hear the soft sibilance of people gently repeating those S-sounds back to him.
There’s a genuine sense of being able to chart the slight sorrow in the passing of time through the seasons, and while some may not be afforded that same feeling from the sun-soaked shores of his homeland, it’s a concept he’s really run with – especially on his most recent LP.
Simply titled, last night you said you missed me, it’s almost something he kind of tried to resist, confessing that he wrote and finished the album in the space of about a month, fearing that it couldn’t be good enough/ready purely because it came together so quickly.
Given that two specific tracks from this record made a lady standing with us well up and eventually shed several tears (you know who you are), we’d say he absolutely nailed it.
Our only minor gripe was not getting to hear ‘Tell Me What You Dream About’. (Credit: The Manc)
He did joke that his set is filled with nothing but “a bunch of sad and depressing songs” and had a laugh at the idea of people being “dragged along” without any real idea of who he is or the kind of stuff he makes, but having now witnessed him play live, we can assure you it’s much more than that.
Bloom Mountain was an emotional, magical debut that found us in a particular place and time in our lives that we’ll always appreciate, but hearing him knit it together with his newest material confirmed to us that his music has to be more than listened to – it has to be felt.
Like the changing of the seasons. Like the winter. Like the cold.
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We unfortunately didn’t manage to make it in time to watch the support act, Hans Williams, but judging by the reaction from the audience who did get in there early enough, the authentic but inventive stylings of the Americana, folk and soul-infused indie-pop artist, he definitely won over plenty of new fans.
As Mitchell Hazlett Lewis, to use his full name, he’s had our hearts since the very start and will continue to do so for however long he keeps bringing his relatable lyricism, delicate but impressive guitar-picking and gentle charm to Manchester.
Please check out his tour dates and see him the next time he’s in town. You can guarantee you’ll find
Please enjoy the song from his latest album that he says his mum likes best.
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to | November 2025
Danny Jones
Well, well, well – it’s nearly the end of the year, and we’re on to our second-to-last round of local music artists based in and around Greater Manchester that are getting us excited for this year.
2025 has been ‘the year’ of many bands, some of whom are still well and truly riding the wave of popularity from the previous calendar, to be honest. But it’s also been unreal for new releases and ones to watch.
Never more so than here in our region, as we Mancunians – whether through birth, relocation or eventual adoption (if you love this place, it’ll love you back) – remain the most prolific musical hub in the UK, perhaps on the planet.
Squirm at our sincerity/perceived hyperbole all you want; we mean it, and we have five more artist suggestions for you to prove it. Let’s get stuck in.
Greater Manchester music you need to check out
1. TTSSFU
We’re kicking things off in Wigan this month: the first of our monthly artist picks is the curiously named TTSSFU, which is the stage name of 21-year-old native, Tasmin Stephens. The guitarist for fellow local band, Duvet, this new project has quickly caught our attention for all the right reasons.
It’s been labelled as DIY shoegaze, and while we don’t disagree with the description one bit – even the fairly melancholic, introspective, longing, ‘tragic youth’ content of the lyrics sort of fit that mould – but it doesn’t quite do the heavily textured sonics and techniques justice.
While singles like ‘Forever’ feel more like a familiar indie-girl alt-pop track (it actually made us think of Hazel English meets Soccer Mommy, specifically), that’s one note in the wide wall of sound she builds in her recent release, Blown. We’d suggest ‘Call U Back’ and ‘Being Young’ as stops two and three.
Now, if it’s more of those shoegazey influences that you want, Pins have been going at it since 2011 and arguably feel a little less abstract/more subtle in their approach, but they still deserve way more credit for the nevertheless impressive and experimental work they’ve been doing in the genre for over a decade.
Hot Slick, which dropped during the pandemic, was their most electronic and quite literally digital outing to date, and while admittedly not our favourite, it did show they had plenty of room and keenness to push in different directions, and it looks like it could be paying off at the start of this next chapter.
They returned this past September with their newest single, ‘I’ll Be Yours’, and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed diving back into their world and seeing what else they have in their locker. That mini-marching drum on its own has gotten stuck in our heads, but we still love listening to ‘LUVU4LYF’ and their tune with the one and only Iggy Pop. Yes, really…
There’s always something fascinating about musicians who’ve actually been around for donkey’s years but have never made little more than a relatively small catalogue, especially when they’re this good. Proud Mary should tell you everything you need to know from their name alone, but it comes in spades.
A Manchester-born blues and folk rock band formed in 1998, we’ll confess we never stray too far from their self-titled debut – which is now approaching its 25th anniversary and is delightful from start to finish – but there is still a very rich albeit short discography to be enjoyed here.
If you’re just looking for the most well-known tracks, you can’t go wrong with ‘Very Best Friend’, but we also like a couple from their last album, Songs From Catalina, like ‘Space and Places’, and ‘Hats Off’ could trick anyone into thinking it was classic bluegrass straight from Kentucky – only it’s Manc.
Never gets old this one.
4. pyncher
Our penultimate pick for November’s artists of the month is the promising alternative quartet, pyncher. We’d heard smatterings of them throughout this year, but having finally now sat with their debut album, Every Town Needs A Stranger, we’ve fallen headlong into a full-on love affair.
Starting out as another underground post-punk outfit looking to make their mark in an increasingly saturated sect of the current British alt-rock scene, it’s their punchy, straightforward but satisfyingly jangly, irreverent style that not only puts us in mind of contemporaries like Seb Lowe, but has totally won us over.
The swagger feels VERY rock and roll, the vocal delivery almost feels like it takes the piss out of polished singing, and as for recommendations, ‘Back to the Country’ is the perfect introduction to their sound; ‘Dirty Feet’ almost starts like an alternative guitar-driven skat and feels very post-modern, and ‘Steely Dan’ might be our most replayed song of the last few weeks full stop.
5. Still Blank
Lastly, we’re pleased to report that the Spotify algorithm properly did its job this time by suggesting not only related groups/similar-sounding acts on the artist’s radio, but actually giving us one that we became so quickly enamoured with that we dove right down deep into the rabbit hole.
We’re talking about Still Blank, whose unique blend of laid-back yet soulful vocals, layered guitars and pedals, with drowny ambience, nods to everything from The Durutti Column and Radiohead – ‘Arpeggi’, specifically – to early New Order and more, it’s a dreamy, synth-soaked mix we can’t get enough of.
Set up by multi-talented Jordy from Hawaii and guitarist Ben, who’s from right here in 0161, we could genuinely and wholeheartedly recommend every song on their debut record for a different reason. The more we listen to it, the more we struggle to land on any real semblance of our favourites; it’s nigh on impossible because.
Along with pyncher, this might be one of the most perfect debuts we’ve had the good fortune of coming across in god knows how long. For once, we’ll save you the lengthy, verbose descriptions – just listen to it and prepare to have little else in your ears for the foreseeable.
We hope you enjoyed this latest round-up of Greater Manchester music, both new and old, and you can rest assured we’ll be back again for one final edition for 2025 at the same time next month.
And, as always, please do give us your own suggestions in the comments, as we’re always on the lookout for exciting talents worthy of making the monthly Audio North list.
You can see who we picked out last month down below.
Daisy Jackson -
27th May 2024 
