Beloved student stomping ground and long-standing pub The Footage has suddenly closed its doors as university regulars and city centre locals have been left in shock.
The Oxford Road institution, which served as one of the busiest and most affordable student pubs for more than three decades and was rejuvenated back in 2014, looks to have sadly posted a closure notice over the May bank holiday weekend.
Formerly The Grosvenor Picture Palace, hence its modern-day name, the ex-cinema turned public house was also a great spot for student deals on no-nonsense pub grub and a go-to spot for watching live sport, having only recently shared a post welcoming England fans ahead of the Euros.
Unfortunately, it all looks to have been premature as The Footage is now listed as “permanently closed” online and the team has now shared a statement on their website.
The brief statement simply reads: “We will no longer be trading after Saturday, 25 May. It has been a pleasure serving the community and we shall miss you!”
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The Footage was previously a branch of the Riley’s Snooker Club and pool hall chain before first opening as a pub, first called Flea and Firkin, back in 1990. The pub was then renamed to The Footage and Firkin prior to the takeover which saw the suffix ultimately dropped.
People reacting online have been left gutted by the news, with one user on Reddit commenting, “The last hold out of Scream Pubs from circa 2004. A sad day” and another going on to say, “Can’t believe it’s gone! I always go there for the football and it’s always busy?!”
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Social media is full of people mourning the pub and reminiscing years of watching live sports inside the Grade-II listed building and spending uni socials there. A third Redditor wrote: “One of my favourite bars in the mid-90s. So many nights spent with the bouncers asking us to stop dancing on the tables.”
Operated by Crafted Social as part of the wider Stonegate Pub Group, The Footage was one of several Manchester boozers said to be under threat earlier this year.
They operate 4,400 pub and bars around the UK in total, including dozens across Greater Manchester. We approached Footage and their owners for a comment on the abrupt closure but are yet to receive a response.
Rest in peace to a truly great pub that we ourselves spent many an evening in, you will be sorely missed.
Featured Images — The Manc Group/The Footage (via Facebook)
Food & Drink
Mongrel – New taproom and pizzeria set to move into the former Street Urchin site
Daisy Jackson
A brand new taproom, coffee shop and pizzeria concept has announced plans to move into Ancoats.
Mongrel will come from the same team behind Crust, a much-raved-about pizza joint that operated off a Stockport industrial estate until earlier this year.
They’ve now confirmed they have their sights set on the city centre, specially the magnificent corner unit that was previously home to the beloved Street Urchin.
Street Urchin suddenly closed earlier this year after co-founder and head chef Kevin suffered a heart attack, leaving them ‘unable to continue as a business’.
Rachel Choudhary, Kevin’s partner and co-founder of the neighbourhood restaurant, wrote at the time that they were ‘heartbroken’ to close the business.
Street Urchin was quietly one of the top restaurants in Ancoats and operated in a market diner fashion, creatively cooking the best catch of the day for an ever-changing menu that honoured each season.
Thankfully, this key corner unit won’t be quiet for much longer, with another local operator now lined up to move in.
Inside Street Urchin before its closure – the site will now become a pizzeria called Mongrel. Credit: The Manc Group
Mongrel has so far shared that it’s set to be a ‘coffee shop, pizza place and taproom, all under one roof’.
Upon closing Crust in Stockport they confirmed this will be ‘a huge step up from the Crüst you know and love’.
They posted on Instagram: “Thanks to everyone who’s popped down over the last year. We’re eternally grateful for the support from our fantastic customers, and will look back on this period with huge gratitude.
“It’s with great sadness that we announce our departure from Stockport. We know this will come as a disappointment to our Crüst family – we haven’t made this decision lightly.
“We have been looking for a new premesis in Stockport for a while, however after multiple applications going nowhere, we have finally found a new home in Manchester City Center!
“Our new home will be a huge step up from the Crüst you know and love… We can’t to reveal what’s to come!
Mongrel is set to open its taproom and pizzeria on Great Ancoats Street, in the former Street Urchin site, in November.
Wet Leg announce huge outdoor gig in Manchester as part of landmark live dates
Clementine Hall
Isle of Wight five-piece Wet Leg have announced their biggest headline shows to date, announcing a trio of huge outdoor gigs, including one right here in Manchester at Castlefield Bowl.
The multi-award-winning indie and alt outfit rose to fame back in 2022 with iconic tracks like Chaise Longue and Wet Dream, packing out stages at Glastonbury not long after releasing their critically acclaimed debut album.
Becoming their second consecutive number one in just as many attempts, moisturizer, is equally as fun and fabulous as the first – we cannot wait to hear it live in these.
Comprised of two lead singers in Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, Ellis Durand on bass, drummer Henry Holmes and guitarist Joshua Mobaraki, this lot can make plenty of noise.
And as you can see, to make things even better, they’ll be joined by Leeds’ very own English Teacher as the main support act at each one of the landmarks shows.
As for their down south show, they’ll also be playing Alexandra Palace Park down in the capital to round out this run of live dates next summer.
It goes without saying that we’re obviously buzzing to see them become the latest name on the lineup for the 2026 Sounds of the City series, with a hometown hero also joining the ranks as of this month:
Wet Leg are in good company when they rock up to Castlefield Bowl.
Set to play the Bowl on Wednesday, 8 July, before heading to Leeds and then London for consecutive nights, we’re sure you’ll see them playing tonnes more big stages throughout festival season.
Tickets for all three of Wet Leg’s confirmed dates for 2026 go on sale this Friday, 31 October from 9:30am, and you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
We reckon this one will be a real ticket scramble, so we wouldn’t mess about if you want to bag yourself a ticket; in fact, given that all of their live shows this year sold out, we know it will…
Danny Jones -
28th May 2024 
