As tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II spring up around the city, one bar in Manchester has paid its own respects with a heartfelt message emblazoned above its door for everyone to see.
Impossible Bar on Peter Street is known for its tongue-in-cheek comments about current affairs, typically using its prominently-placed sign to comment on the latest Love Island or Kanye West scandal.
But in light of the Queen’s sudden passing, bosses have instead used it to share an ardent message about the late Monarch, writing “The best to ever do it. HRH Elizabeth II.”
Sharing the tribute on its social media channels, the bar described Queen Elizabeth II as “a leader, a lady, elegant and true… A role model for us all, our queen through and through… Queen Elizabeth ll 1926-2022.”
It follows the appearance of a number of tributes across the city, as locals and businesses begin to come together to mourn the death of Her Majesty.
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Manchester City Council has already announced St Ann’s Square as the dedicated space for anyone wishing to lay flowers in tribute, whilst the flag at Manchester Central Library has been lowered to half-mast and will remain so until 8am on the day following the State Funeral.
The Queen’s Books of Condolence has also opened at the library this morning, with locals invited to visit between 9am and 6pm from now until the day after the funeral.
Elsewhere, billboards across the city have been changed to show tributes to the Queen with numerous pictures of her now on display.
A number of voices from the wider nightlife industry have also joined in sharing tributes and condolences, with the Night Time Industries Association writing: “Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. The Queen has been an amazing ambassador and servant for this country over the last 70 years. Thank you for your service x”
Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. The Queen has been an amazing ambassador and servant for this country over the last 70 years. Thank you for your service x pic.twitter.com/SrckAGE9Yn
— Night Time Industries Association (@ntiaofficial) September 8, 2022
Manchester’s Night Time Economy Advisor Sacha Lord also shared his condolences, tweeting “A terribly sad day. My condolences are with the Queen’s family and with all who knew and loved her.”
Local brewery Joseph Holt has tweeted: “Joseph Holt Brewery and all of our Pubs share the sorrow of the nation following the announcement on the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. Thank you for 70 Years of service and dedication. Rest in Peace Your Majesty.”
And J W Lees has added its condolences, writing: “We are deeply saddened by the news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Everyone at JW Lees extends their sincere condolences to His Majesty the King and the entire Royal Family.”
The crown now passes to King Charles III, who will now rule as Monarch with his wife Camilla becoming Queen Consort.
Feature image – Impossible
Manchester
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.
John Cooper Clarke announces latest UK headline tour along with new book
Danny Jones
The ‘Bard of Salford’ himself, Dr John Cooper Clarke, is back with another UK headline tour in 2026, plus a brand-new book to boot.
Now 76 and still as fiery as ever, ‘The Godfather of Punk Poetry’s career spans more than half a century, and as a Greater Manchester native and cultural icon, he’s still just as worth celebrating as ever with each passing year.
Becoming the first poet to ever headline a UK arena with his landmark Co-op Live back in March, it’s been another milestone 12 months for local legend, and he clearly has absolutely no intentions of slowing down next year either.
Revealing a raft of new tour dates on Monday, 1 December, John Cooper Clarke will be bringing his spoken word stylings and latest collection – satsifyingly titled Have It – to crowds all over the country.
Confirming a total of 20 new live shows, JCC will be kicking off his next tour in October 2026 in time for the launch of his latest title.
Following on from last year’s release, ‘WHAT‘, which became an instant Sunday Times bestseller, and his memoir (published back in 2020), this will be his fifth book to date.
2025 also saw him receive the prestigious Northern Music Award (NMAs) in recognition of his phenomenal influence in the music world and art as a whole.
As for us here at Audio North, we recently also had the incredible privilege of sitting down to chat with Cooper Clarke ourselves ahead of the announcement.
You can see John Cooper Clarke’s list of live shows in full down below.
JCC UK headline tour dates 2026
We’ve kindly italicised all the Northern dates for you as well.
Tickets for Dr John Cooper Clarke in October 2026 will be available from this Friday, 5 December at 10am via Gigs and Tours as well as his official website.
The Manc -
9th September 2022 
