She’s as much of a landmark in Manchester as the Central Library, or Beetham Tower, or the Royal Exchange Theatre – but now Tram Taylor’s days are numbered. Thankfully, we’ve got our hands on her, and she could soon be yours.
The cardboard cut-out of Taylor Swift has been watching over commuters in Castlefield for years, bringing a little bit of joy (and bemusement) to tram journeys around the city.
Now it’s time for her owners to pack up and move out of Manchester for a new chapter in Sheffield, leaving Tram Taylor behind – and she’s come to live with us lot here at The Manc for a bit.
We’re going to be auctioning this legendary figure off for charity, raising money in aid of Mermaids, a phenomenal charity that supports transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children, young people, and their families.
It’s a cause we’re proud to throw our full weight behind, while finding a deserving new home for Tram Taylor in the process, and 100% of the money raised through the auction with Adam Partridge Auctioneers will go to Mermaids.
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Tram Taylor’s big day out with The Manc before she’s auctioned in aid of Mermaids. Credit: The Manc Group
And anyone who’s worried about how this will change their daily trip to work, you can relax – comedian Red Redmond, who has owned the cut-out since 2017, has already replaced her with a look-a-like.
Red told us: “It’s not every day you find out you have a piece of cultural heritage in your window. In 2017 she was just a leftover cardboard cutout at a club night I worked at. Now in 2023 Tram Taylor is a citywide icon.
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“I’m very sad to part ways with something that means so much to so many people. Hopefully her replacement will be accepted by her fans.
“We are so grateful for the love and support we have received on social media. It felt only fair that we would continue the good will by auctioning off the original Tram Taylor to a worthy cause.
Tram Taylor in the pub with The Manc. Credit: The Manc GroupTram Taylor in her temporary home at The Manc. Credit: The Manc Group
“Mermaids is an amazing charity who do fantastic work for trans children and their families. Following the recent tragic murder of Brianna Ghey, I think it’s more important than ever to support the transgender community and show that love is always stronger than hate.”
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A spokesperson for Mermaids said: “Mermaids is extremely thankful for Red Redmond’s decision to choose us as the recipient of the proceeds of the Trams Taylor auction. As a youth organisation specialising in providing invaluable support to trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse young people and their families, in what is a particularly toxic time for our community, the funds will go towards expanding our services and reach, to ensure we are there for everyone who needs us.
“We’re glad Red Redmond and Adam Partridge Auctioneers share our passion to protect trans kids’ futures, and we hope Tram Taylor finds a wonderful home!”
The Tram Taylor auction is now live with Adam Partridge, with 100% of proceeds being donated to Mermaids. Stay tuned for updates and how to bid for this piece of modern history.
Olivia Dean proves she deserves all her flowers with a captivating performance for BRITs Week 26 for War Child
Clementine Hall
BRITs Week 26 for War Child continued in Manchester last night, with Olivia Dean taking over a beautiful candle-lit Albert Hall… and it was a night we won’t forget.
I don’t need to tell you how utterly brilliant Olivia Dean is.
It’s something I’ve known for years (humble brag), but luckily it seems the entire world has caught on over the past few months.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Olivia five times now, and from watching her joyfully shake here banana-shaped maraca on a small stage at Glastonbury in 2023, to swishing her olive green satin gown at one of the country’s best venues last night – her indisputable talent remains.
Images: The Manc
The Art of Loving, her sophomore album, came out in September last year and features global hits ‘Man I Need’ and ‘Nice to Each Other’.
The record is a perfect analysis of love in all forms. Her heartfelt yet humoured lyricism explores its constant ups and downs, but perhaps the most prominent theme of love throughout is self-love.
And this is so clear as we watch Olivia beam from ear to ear as she makes her way through a setlist that is a celebration of her entire discography.
Of course, we heard all the fan favourites from the new album including ‘Lady Lady’ and ‘So Easy (To Fall In Love)’, but we were also treated to some of her older songs like ‘Echo’ and ‘UFO’ that initially brought her into the limelight.
A highlight for me was Ladies Bathroom which saw the gigantic disco ball hanging above us kick into gear, which as you can imagine at the gorgeous Albert Hall was a real sight to behold.
The entire evening underlined why smaller, grassroots venues are so bloody brilliant and deserving of our support now more than ever.
Image: Supplied
No pushing, no overcrowding, we were all there to revel in Olivia’s greatness and we all knew how lucky we were.
This was no doubt a very special show, a complete one-off in aid of BRITs Week 2026 to raise money for War Child, which Olivia joyfully announced that we had raised £270,000 for that night.
It’s no surprise that Olivia Dean is one of the most exciting artists in the world right now, oozing class, charm and impeccable talent.
We’ll be watching with our fingers crossed as she attends the BRIT Awards on Saturday evening with an impressive (and very well deserved) five nominations.
If you’re lucky enough to have tickets to her upcoming tour then just know how much fun you’ll have, but you’ll never have as much fun as Olivia does on that stage.
You can find out more about the remaining War Child performances here.
Featured image – The Manc Group
Manchester
A new ’boutique’ chicken spot has opened in Manchester’s Northern Quarter
Danny Jones
A brand-new chicken spot called ‘Le Coq Boutique’ has just opened in Manchester city centre, serving out of a popular Northern Quarter bar.
Is this the best name we’ve ever heard in our time writing about food and drink? It just might be…
Opening from inside The Social NQ on Thomas Street (formerly known as Smithfield Social), their new resident and poultry-centric kitchen is a bit of a pun on the classic French sportswear label, but having now been versed in the word about the bird for ourselves, we can confirm it’s much more than that.
For starters, the only thing more decadent than the roasted meats are the sides and cocktail menu, which features everything from chunky hash browns and some of the richest sauces you could ask for.
As you can see, the most chicken is well and truly the star of the show here, but what they have done is find unique ways of innovating and experimenting with it.
For instance, if you’ve never had a cocktail with chicken fat in it, here’s a place you can try one.
Honestly, this isn’t our first rodeo with this very particular kind of drink – but for those of you that haven’t, we promise, it really is quite good.
Aside from surprisingly saline kicks beside the salty marg rims we’ve become more accustomed to over the years, there are some very nice drinks on the menu.
But we’ll be honest, if you’re a sucker for the famous ‘chicken wine’ – a.k.a. La Vieille Ferme, if you want to be all formal – we imagine you’ll be sticking to plenty of this.
Having already spent many a weekend, be that afternoon or night, at the old Smithfield over the years, now that it has this fine new in-house food offering tacked on, we suspect we’ll be going back a lot more.
Whether you want lots of crispy chicken skin or prefer it smothered in gravy and various other kinds of savoury jus, if you’re an unadulterated mothercluckin’ chicken lover, then you’ll have a great time here.
As the team has joked in the comments under their first few social media posts, while it isn’t technically mandatory to wear the vintage 80s brand upon visiting, it is “expected”, with “bonus marks and shots” and promised for your efforts.
It’s also worth noting that they have an exclusive launch offer for those who sort a booking early, so we wouldn’t wait around if we were you.
Let us know what you think if you visit anytime soon.
Daisy Jackson -
1st April 2023 
