Pep Guardiola is a man with influence and has been somewhat of a style icon since joining Manchester City and the Premier League back in 2016 – and his latest fashion choice has fans everywhere in football talking.
His recent touchline uniform has come in the form of a jumper which dons a melted Manchester City badge, but while millions assume that the obscure badge is simply a printing error, there is actually a lot of history behind it.
The jumper, which comes in black as well as grey, is part of a deal between Manchester City, Puma and JD, but is spearheaded by legendary fashion brand founders Anthony and Christopher Donnelly.
The Manchester-born Donnelly brothers recently released their MDCR clothing collection, which celebrates the generation-defining indie-dance scene that put Manchester on the map and took the world by storm – something that the Donnelly brothers were an instrumental part of. MDCR is an abbreviation of Donnelly brothers brand madchester.com.
Pep Guardiola and Ederson sporting the MDCR collection
In Anthony Donnelly’s own words, the melted crest on the jumper is based on a t-shirt from the acid house period “when nightclubs such as Stuffed Olives and the Hacienda had no air conditioning” and “being p*ss wet through, melting on the dance floor, smiling like Cheshire cats” was the norm.
The design was created by Anthony’s brother, Christopher, along with designers from Puma HQ in Germany. Christopher is also responsible for the many iconic designs behind Gio-Goi – his and Anthony’s iconic British fashion brand that originated here in Manchester.
Anthony and Christopher are the proud sons of scrap metal merchant Arthur Donnelly and hard-working straight-laced mum June Donnelly. They were raised in the south of Manchester in Benchill with sister Tracey and quickly made a name for themselves in both the British fashion industry with Gio-Goi and the thriving rave scene here in Manchester and London.
A typical early days Gio-Goi brand shootFrom left to right, Paul Davis of the Happy Mondays, Christopher and Anthony Donnelly, Andy Barker of 808 state and Andy Rourke of The smiths
It is worth noting that Pep Guardiola has been wearing the MDCR collection out of personal choice, which has driven droves of Manchester City fans to go out and purchase a piece of authentic Manchester music history – it is believed that this is the first time ever in the history of the Football Association that a club has allowed outside parties to dramatically change a club’s badge design.
But this is the exact kind of disruption and influence that drove the Donnelly brothers to create Madchester, along with a small group of others, in the late 1980s – a movement and collective that fought the government for your right to party with Sweat It Out, Manchester’s first illegal rave.
The brothers have an unmatched reputation for effective marketing campaigns, which includes the time they got themselves on the front page of Vogue magazine with Gio-Goi and Dior, photographed by legendary portrait photographer Mario Testino, so it was no surprise to find that Anthony and Christopher were behind the MCFC x PUMA collaboration.
Chris Donnelly building an illegal rave stage in the late 1980sPast and present: Bernard Sumner of New Order, left and Tom Grennan, right, both sporting Gio-Goi
The Madchester music scene gave birth to the illegal rave and its protests against the authorities are what made an acid house rave so alluring for young (and old) partygoers back in the day. The Donnelly’s were instrumental during this time and quickly rose to prominence.
On what Madchester means to the Donnelly’s, Anthony says: “Madchester to myself and Christopher brings back memories that are mad and brilliant at the same time – never to be repeated I would imagine.
“However, Madchester is often hijacked by brands everywhere who were not even there. Most recently, a famous deodorant used the brand without permission – which was one of the reasons behind creating Madchester as a brand so that we can ensure the intellectual property is protected.
The Donnelly brothers in the early days of Benchill
“It can be annoying in some cases, for example, how our councils are using the history of Madchester as something they are proud of in order to sell the city. I suppose this is understandable given what we created, however, those same councils were actually instrumental in trying to crush Madchester, the Hacienda, and our illegal Sweat It Out raves.”
To date, the Donnelly brothers and Madchester exist predominantly as a live events brand that leans more towards tourism and there is a lot planned on the horizon that Anthony and Christopher believe will bring much-needed revenue to Manchester’s Night Time Economy.
A spokesperson for the Madchester brand says: “Madchester is to Manchester what the Beatles are to Liverpool, or Nirvana is to Seattle. People flock here in their thousands and we are expected to give them a good time.”
Proper Mancunians Chris Donnelly, left, Anthony Donnelly, right, back in the day
Anthony and Chris are deep in their plans to bring Madchester to the masses with an event at Depot Mayfield next April, alongside the founders of The Warehouse Project. There is also a second MDCR clothing collection dropping in November, which is part of the same collaboration with MCFC, JD and PUMA, and is more of a fashion-led line inspired by the era which will include staple items such as bucket hats and parka jackets.
With the Donnelly’s, one thing is for sure, you’ll be seeing a lot of them in the coming months and in 2022 – and while Manchester as a city grows and grows, the Donnelly’s will be working hard to keep its historic roots intact.
Watch the story of Joy, the first outdoor rave up North, organised by Anthony and Christopher Donnelly, below.
Manchester
Bob Vylan dropped from Manchester music festival following Glastonbury controversy
Danny Jones
English punk rap duo Bob Vylan have been dropped from an upcoming music festival in Manchester following the recent controversy surrounding their set at Glastonbury 2025.
The media storm surrounding their much-talked-about and heavily televised Glasto appearance has seen them reportedly dropped by their agency and their US Visas cancelled, along with multiple concerts – one of those being right here in Greater Manchester.
Bob Vylan were scheduled to play RADAR Fest at Victoria Warehouse in Stretford this weekend, but now the organisers have informed gig-goers that the artists will not be performing in their planned slot on Saturday.
The alternative music event did provide any additional details, posting nothing but this image:
For anyone unaware, Vylan were heavily criticised for the pro-Palestine chants, which Glastonbury itself has deemed as having “crossed a line”, labelling the chants against the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) as antisemitic.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also commented on the situation.
In addition to RADAR, Vylan were also due to appear at Kave Fest in France the following Sunday, 6 July, but the music event has also decided not to host them.
The BBC also opted not to broadcast Northern Irish band Kneecap as part of their coverage this year, as the Belfast rap trio have also been outspoken on the issue, among many other musicians of late.
Responding to the decision on social media not long after the news broke, the act simply shared the post on their Instagram story along with the caption: “Silence is not an option. We will be fine, the people of Palestine are hurting. Manchester, we will be back.”
Five free places to watch Wimbledon on the big screen in Manchester this summer
Danny Jones
It’s grass court season, folks, and as a truly music and tournament-filled summer kicks into fifth gear, we’re making a civilised foray into the all sporting action with Wimbledon, which got underway at the end of June– and we’ve got the perfect places to watch every second here in Manchester.
Us Mancs love sports of pretty much any discipline, it practically makes up the fabric of our city, and in this case, that just so happens to be breathable white cotton or perhaps poly-blend suitable for running around and swinging a racket in.
On a serious note, everyone loves watching tennis for at least this one fortnight during this time of year, and with a record number of British players competing in the tournament right now, there’s all the more reason for you to tune in.
So, all that being said, here a five free, largely family-friendly places to watch Wimbledon 2025 on the big screen here in Manchester city centre.
Where to watch Wimbledon 2025 in Manchester for free
1. Tony Wilson Place – First Street
First up, rather fittingly, we’re returning to one of our go-tos whenever Wimbledon rolls around these days: the big temporary lawn laid out over on the big square at Tony Wilson Place. A sun-trap with deck chairs and plenty of places for food and drink around you – what more could you ask for?
The ever-thriving First Street complex has been paving the way for free social listening/watch parties here in Manchester, especially when it comes to utilising public open-air spaces, and it’s sure to be backed once again for this year’s Women’s Euros too. Trendsetters, they are.
Heading over towards Castlefield direction and the emerging area known as New Jackson, next on the list of free places to watch Wimbledon in central Manchester is Deansgate Square, where property developers Renaker have set up a special dedicated section for a jam-packed summer of sport.
Simply called ‘Screen on the Square’, the viewing zone not only sits in the shade of the city’s now skyline-defining towers but also catches plenty of rays throughout certain periods of the day. This space will also be doubling up (if you’ll pardon the pun) as a free outdoor cinema throughout the season.
Entertainment of all forms over at The Residences.
3. Courts Club – St John’s
From the outskirts of Deansgate to the area’s newest addition, the thriving St John’s district has the perfect home for all things court-based, with a free outdoor screen whilst the sun is out and another big project inside the venue, where you’ll also find plenty of food and drink options.
Courts Club has genuinely started realising its potential as a genuinely popular social hangout as well as being a bar, pub quiz destination, food spot and places to enjoy a rally or shoot a few hoops. Not unlike First St, the faux beach and lawn layout is ideal for a laid-back Wimbledon watchalong.
Heading out of the city centre for a spell – though only a tram ride away – the waterside viewing zone at the similarly titled ‘Screen on the Docks’ over at Media City is back for summer 2025 with a wide range of live sport, including cricket, F1 and, yes, Wimbledon.
Situated on the steps right next to the old harbour area, turned home of Greater Manchester mainstay, Box on the Docks, there are all kinds of entertainment to catch for free. Make sure you check their socials for the regular schedule even after the tournament is over.
5. The Lawn Club
Finally, the last one on this list isn’t necessarily a free viewing area; however, we’ll confess to having wandered in here and taken in the big screen without getting so much as a water before. Also part of the Shiko Group, like Courts, The Lawn Club is exactly as on brand as it sounds.
Located in Spinningfields just a short walk from St John’s around the corner, the bottomless brunch favourite once again has a big screen out on the artificial garden terrace out back. That being said, you might as well give them your custom and grab a Pimm’s while you’re at it.
Best of luck to all our UK stars taking part in Wimbledon this year, and we hope these Manchester venues and their big screens serve as an ace place to watch the games with Hawk-Eyes…