Area manager

The 1975 and Charli XCX drop collab teaser in Manchester city centre

Danny Jones

Manchester, we might have a collaboration between two of the biggest British acts around right now as local lads The 1975 and pop sensation Charli XCX look to have just teased something big right here in the city centre.

It’s fair to say that if 2023 was the biggest year of The 1975‘s career to date then 2024 has very much been Charli XCX’s. In fact, we’d say it’s been a pretty great 12 months or so for pop music in general, which it feels like we don’t get to say that often.

That being said, despite the Cambridge-born singer having only just released her smash-hit BRAT back in June, is already ramping up for more new music to be dropped.

A massive new poster has appeared near Piccadilly and not only is it the bright lime green and plain black font now synonymous with her album but the words also read “the 1975” backwards.

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It looks like this could finally be The 1975 x Charli XCX collab so many fans have been waiting for and there’s plenty of reason to believe it could be coming very soon.

For starters, rumours of the two working together have been running ever since the 32-year-old became partners with the band’s drummer, producer and co-songwriter, George Daniel, who has regularly appeared with her on stage at the likes of Boiler Room, not to mention sharing mixes of her songs.

She also came out as a surprise guest during their second-to-last visit to Manchester and the AO Arena back in January 2023 – much to the delight of the crowd.

Furthermore, Charli recently announced her next project rather straightforwardly called Brat and it’s completely different but still also brat.

And yes, that is genuinely the real title…

Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat – Out oct 11. https://t.co/vWz35Wccrl pic.twitter.com/jDVEqjmYZS

— Charli (@charli_xcx) September 12, 2024

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While there are no other discernible clues to take from the rather large billboard, the title alone, George Daniel’s involvement and her own penchant for DJing of late quickly led people to piece together that she is planning to release a reworked version of her sixth studio album.

Moreover, Charli (real name Charlotte Emma Aitchison) has already revealed a number of feature artists on the remixed version of BRAT, including Addison Rae, Robyn, Billie Eilish and Yung Lean, as well as Troye Sivan and Lorde, who both joined her on stage recently for the ‘Sweat Tour’.

As already confirmed, whatever this new project ends up sounding like, it’s coming out next Friday, 11 October and if the collabs we already know about are anything to go by, then it’s a pretty safe bet that The 1975 will be also a appear on a tune or two. Who knows, maybe it could be something even bigger?

‘Bratty Healy’ is born, whether you like it or not.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Press Image (supplied)

The Clink – The top-rated northern restaurant where your meals are prepared by prison inmates

Daisy Jackson

The Clink is a very extraordinary restaurant in its own right, serving impeccable dishes in a beautiful setting.

But what makes it even more extraordinary is that it stands in the grounds of HMP Styal – an active women’s prison in Cheshire – and is staffed by inmates.

Everything you eat is cooked and served by these students in training, helping them to get a foot in the door of the hospitality industry when their sentence ends.

By the time they finish their shifts at The Clink, they’ll have worked towards their City & Guilds NVQs in Food and Beverage Service, Professional Cookery and Food Hygiene.

It is, as the charity says, ‘their first steps towards a new life’.

So this spot definitely does good for the women here at HMP Styal – but it is also an absolute treat for members of the public too, regardless of its wholesome roots.

The Clink is based inside a converted chapel in a beautiful and leafy corner of Cheshire, with the National Trust’s Quarry Bank just on the doorstep.

Inside, beneath a towering wooden ceiling and colourful stained glass windows, the restaurant itself boasts a simple, historic grandeur.

There are parquet floors underfoot and you can even still see the remains of the chapel’s organ, now standing proudly above the doorway into the kitchen.

The leather upholstery and boardroom tables inside have all been made by prisoners at HMP Frankland.

During the day the menu breaks down into all-day brunch dishes, small plates and hearty larger ones.

For brunches that includes a delightfully spicy shakshuka served with a flatbread, and one of the hand-on-heart best French toasts I’ve found, laced with a smattering of cinnamon and a warming winter berry compote.

Small plates come in the form of pork belly on a bed of red chilli jam and Asian slaw; and a highly-technical plate of beetroot served roasted, in gel form, and pickled, alongside little towers of goats cheese mousse and candied walnuts.

There are special evening sittings at The Clink too, where you can feast on four exceptional courses for just £40.

That menu currently includes a slow-cooked beef that falls apart as soon as it so-much as looks at a knife and fork, and a fillet of roast cod perched atop spinach puree and roasted leeks, topped with a bacon crumb.

And then come desserts that wouldn’t look out of place in a Michelin-level restaurant – all the flavours of the beloved Manchester tart, this time reassembled and elevated with raspberry gel, chocolate crumb, a coconut tuile, and coconut ice cream.

There’s another British classic in Eton Mess, which has barely an inkling of ‘mess’ to it, a prettily-presented plate of meringue, fresh fruit and macerated berries.

The Clink consistently sits towards the top of the best restaurants in Cheshire. On TripAdvisor, it currently ranks first in Wilmslow and fourth in all of Cheshire overall.

After one brief lunchtime visit, it’s easy to see why.

And that pudding really does taste better knowing how much good work is going on behind the scenes.

To find out more, make a donation, or book your table at The Clink, head here.

They’re also hosting a charity night with Sacha Lord soon, who’ll be talking all about his life working in Manchester’s nightlife industry while guests tuck into a three-course dinner.

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Featured image: The Manc Group