Photos of Manchester’s legendary gay clubnight Flesh and Clause 28 protests have gone on display at The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.
Documenting and celebrating the city’s LGBTQIA+ community, the new exhibition appears as part of the venue’s longstanding partnership with arts institution the British Culture Archive (BCA).
Named ‘Together As One – A Celebration Of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’, the exhibit launched on Thursday 28 July and will be in situ throughout the summer.
Photographs on display capture two pivotal moments in the city’s queer history.
Image: Peter J Walsh
Photography by Peter J Walsh documents the anti-Clause 28 protest, which was held in Manchester and saw over 20,000 people take to the streets to protest Clause 28 – an attempt to suppress the gay community at a time when it was already struggling to deal with the HIV & AIDS epidemic and the backlash towards the community driven by media.
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Walsh, who is more well known for documenting the city’s nightlife during the ‘Madchester’ years is one of the few who documented this important protest that would help change the face of LGBTQIA+ rights in the UK.
Speaking on the Clause 28 Demo, Manchester, 1988 imagery, photographer Peter J Walsh said: “The Anti-Clause 28 demo was one of the largest demonstrations I had covered in Manchester during that period.
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Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
“The starting point was on Oxford Road, by the Poly and the participants seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. Manchester City Council reckoned there were 20,000 people on the demo. It was loud, happy and vibrant.
“The country had been under Thatcher’s rule since 1979 and people were determined to fight back against this law.
“The left-wing council of Manchester welcomed the marchers and stood with them in solidarity against the divisive Tory Government. The LGBQTQIA+ communities civil liberties were under attack by Thatcher and we were prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with them and say enough is enough.”
Elsewhere, photographs by Jon Shard capture The Haçienda’s hallowed dancefloor club night, Flesh, first launched in October 1991.
Flesh was the flamboyant mid-week night at The Haçienda, which welcomed everyone, black, white, gay, straight and was also the home of the clubs’ first female resident DJs, Paulette and Kath McDermott.
Image: Jon Shard
Flesh arrived during a turbulent time during the club’s and city’s history., the comedown from the Halycon years of 1988-1990 was in full flow and regular ‘Hac’ nights were losing their appeal due to a number of heavy gang-related incidents and laddish clientele putting off the punters.
The Haçienda and nights such as Flesh fit into a tradition of creativity and cultural innovation in Manchester, which can be seen throughout the city today.
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Speaking on the Flesh at The Haçienda imagery, photographer Jon Shard said: “My friends and people around me, would be talking about it all month.
Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
“People came from all over, you had people from Europe coming over for it – it was always packed and full of energy. It was one of the most important nights there – probably the biggest gay night in Europe.
“It was always special. I was there for every single one, it was the best night to shoot because of the carnival atmosphere. It was really colourful, everyone would spend two or three days working out what they were going to wear for it.”
The new exhibit ‘Together As One – A Celebration of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’ follows on from the success of ‘A Woman’s Work’, the first instalment by the BCA in the hotel,
Throughout the summer, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and The Refuge Bar and Restaurant will be hosting a series of summer activities in celebration of all things Pride.
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Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
From Sparkle Weekend celebrations, a new exhibition celebrating Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ community in partnership with British Culture Archive, and of course the iconic Come As You Are Weekender – there’s something for everyone.
To find out more about the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel x British Culture Archive ‘Together As One – A Celebration Of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’, visit the hotel’s website here:
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Don’t worry if you didn’t get Oasis tickets, one of the UK’s best tribute bands is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Didn’t get tickets for Oasis? How about we all just go see one of the best tribute acts in Manchester instead? Sounds like a plan, let’s do it.
Yes, unfortunately, one of the biggest downsides to one of the greatest bands of all time returning for a worldwide reunion tour is that, rather ironically, pretty much everyone on the entire planet wants a ticket.
The reality is that many of us Mancs and Oasis fans all over the country and the globe will sadly be missing out on the comeback gigs this summer. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean we have to miss out on listening to the same iconic tunes as everyone else in a room full of other Britpop lovers.
After all, as we all know, seeing bands live is great and all that – but half the fun is jumping up and down like a loon with hundreds of other people, and these lads can certainly sort that.
🐝 Missed out on Heaton Park tickets? We've got you covered! (quite literally, this one's indoors 🌧)
That’s right, hailed as the UK’s ‘best and most authentic Oasis tribute band’, Oasi-is will be coming to the legendary Manchester Academy complex to give us locals the next best thing.
Not only that but the highly celebrated impersonators and soundalikes will be playing the 950-cap venue on Friday, 11 July, i.e. the same night as Oasis‘ first of five hometown Manchester shows at Heaton Park.
To make things even more interesting and appealing to the die-hards who can’t be there for the real deal this summer, Oasi-is are the only tribute act to the 90s rock and roll stars that can boast using official Oasis equipment in their sets.
Gig-goers will also be treated to authentic visuals and footage projected on the big screens behind them, and dedicated tour DJs to drum up an unrivalled recreation of their heroes, as well as shades and ‘Wellend’ haircuts so convincing you’ll soon forget it’s not the actual Gallagher brothers.
Aiming to mirror the ‘Live ’25’ tour shows as best as possible, you can expect all the classics and even a few curveballs from Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants and Dig Out Your Soul. Who knows? All we can guarantee is that we’d rather be here than just sit enviously watching clips of it at home come July.
We’re not forcing that familiar ‘no-Glasto fever’ on ourselves, we’re just going to make the best of it, thanks to Oas-is.
As if it wasn’t already a pretty great value-for-money gig, with general admission priced at just £20 (plus booking fees), you’ll also get to see an equally brilliant tribute band as well as a local legend for the support slots.
Warming up the crowd will be the world’s premier Arctic Monkeys tribute act, Arctic Numpties, along with Manc DJ legend, Dave Sweetmore. That’ll do just fine.
Tickets are already on sale and it won’t surprise you to learn that, the genuine article or not, it’s selling really well because let’s be honest: we just want to spend the night singing our hearts out whilst jumping up and down to the hits with all our mates.
You can grab your tickets for the Oas-is’ ‘Same Hits. Same Night. Same City’ tribute show at Manchester Academy 2 HERE and, in the meantime, you might want to check out these fellow Oasis obsessives over in Japan too…
Volbeat set to play massive arena gig in Manchester later this year
Thomas Melia
Veteran Danish rockers Volbeat are crossing the English Channel to play their first Manchester gig in over five years.
Volbeat formed in 2001 and have seen worldwide acclaim, especially in Europe with hits like ‘Still Counting’, ‘Die To Live’ and ‘Last Day Under the Sun’.
The band last stopped off in Manchester in 2019 performing to a rapturous crowd at O2 Apollo capping at 3,500, and no matter the years that have gone by, their fan base hasn’t gone anywhere.
Now, they’re hoping to impress AO Arena’s mighty 20,000 crowd which is sure to be filled with avid metal heads this winter.
This should come as no surprise to anybody as this upcoming announcement will mark the second time the Danish lads have played at this phenomenal indoor music venue, last visiting in 2016.
Volbeat’s music can’t be boxed into any category as it fluctuates and flows between different musical styles, however, they do tend to mix lots of heavy metal elements with contemporary rock, pop, jazz and even electronics into their work.
They’ve often been described as ‘psychobilly’ or groove metal act – all we know is they’re class and since they’ve been back in the studio of late, we can’t wait to hear what they come up with next.
Denmark may be ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world but Volbeat’s song titles seem to tell a different story with examples such as ‘The Devil’s Bleeding Crown’ and ‘Black Rose’.
As for the gig itself, they won’t be visiting one of Manchester’s biggest arenas alone either, bringing along not one but two support acts.
As you can see London-formed rock band, Bush, are the first to join forces with the Danish natives and they’ve got an equally large list of potential setlist staples to warm up the crowd.
But before that, American hardcore outfit, Gel, are also set to support Volbeat; these New Jersey punks may only be a decade or so into their career, but they have a number of EPs and albums that have seen them grow a cult following – the only dilemma will be condensing everything into an opening slot.
Volbeat are set to play AO Arena in Manchester on 8 November with two staggered pre-sales on 12 and 13 March. Meanwhile, general sale will start from 10am on Friday, 14 March.
This is going to be a belter.
You can find out more information and you can get ready to grab your tickets HERE and roll on that new album…
Georgina Pellant -
29th July 2022 
