There were tearful scenes on stage at The Lottery Winners’ album launch party after lead singer Thom Rylance spotted his old school teacher in the audience.
The frontman of the Wigan band started crying while talking about his struggles at school.
Thom explained that only one person ‘had ever believed in him’, pointing out his old teacher, a Mr Asbury, in the audience.
And while he walked to the back of the stage to wipe away his tears, the entire venue got to its feet to applaud the ‘life-changing’ teacher.
A visibly emotional Thom was comforted by fellow bandmate Katie Lloyd… who then also burst into tears.
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The star addressed the audience at St George’s Church in Tyldesley, where they hosted an intimate album launch party for their fifth studio release, Anxiety Replacement Therapy.
He said: “I didn’t do very well in the school environment. Didn’t really fit into that. ADHD Tommy Rylance.
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The standing ovation for Mr Asbury. Credit: Twitter, Lottery WinnersAn emotional Thom. Credit: Twitter, Lottery Winners
“They didn’t know what to do with me right. And I say that apart from one person actually, and he’s right there… Oh man I’m gonna cry.
“The only person that ever believed in me is sat right there.”
At this point, while Thom takes a moment to recoup with his bandmates, a standing ovation begins for the teacher in the crowd.
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“Mr Asbury, my music teacher,” he continued. “Never gave up on me, and he gave me a bass guitar, and I didn’t know what the f*** it was, and he was like ‘You’re in the big band son, got and get it.’
When you spot the person that is responsible for you being a musician at your album launch gig to maybe get a number 1 album, it all gets a bit emotional.
Rick, Mr. Asbury, Sir. Thank you for believing in me when nobody else did. You showed me my purpose in life.
“And I’ve never looked back, and it changed my life. So thank you, sir. Thank you so much.
“Now I’m crying again! In church!”
Since sharing the beautiful video on their social media channels, some seriously heartwarming messages have been flooding in.
One person wrote: “And this is why we love you. The honesty, and the inspiration for all of the other #ADHD kids who are and have been failed by the education system.”
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Another said: “Ah man, dusty in here isn’t it! Beautiful moment. You never forget a good teacher and they may never know the impact they can have. Mr. Asbury, well done.”
On Instagram, someone commented: “So wholesome. This is why the arts are so important in school. Some of us just don’t mesh well with maths, and that. Our paths to what we see as success in life can look so different to most, especially when neurodivergent. We need more like Mr Asbury.”
The Lottery Winners released three albums in quick succession during lockdown, with their latest release, Anxiety Replacement Therapy, racing towards the number one spot.
The Leigh-formed indie group are currently leading the charge to the top of the UK Albums Chart, ahead of heavyweights like Jessie Ware and The National.
They’re also performing a huge gig at the O2 Apollo in Manchester on 1 December, with tickets on sale now.
Featured image: The Lottery Winners
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A beloved Manc gig venue is hosting a special afterparty following Manichester tribute festival
Danny Jones
A much-loved live music institution in Manchester is set to host a dedicated afterparty for the inaugural ‘Manichester’: the live tribute festival in memory of Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield.
Seeing the grassroots music scene gathering together in moments like this is the kind of stuff that would make the man himself SO proud.
With Manichester 2026 announced this past March and set to take place later this month in honour of the legendary Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist, tickets for the main event sold out very quickly.
This came as no surprise, of course, but now other Manc venues are joining in toasting the life and career of Mani for one very special evening.
Shared by Madchester.com, who are helping organise the Manichester ’26 along with surviving members of the Mounfield family, as well as Mani’s friends and peers such as his brother Greg and Damon Minchella of Ocean Colour Scene, gig space Gorilla are hosting it.
The small-cap live music room, bar and restaurant has hosted many a special night over the past decade or so – hosting multiple War Child charity shows in the past few years, for instance – and even when they’re not hosting a set themselves, they’re always more than happy to join in the celebrations.
With that in mind, there always likely to pay their respects to the late, great and iconic local musician in some way, but now they’re teaming up with Madchester directly.
Positioned as the official ‘aftershow’ following the mini tribute festival, as you can see, there will be just 600 tickets available, with general admission for the main event already gone as mentioned.
At one point, it looked like the kind-spirited and well-meaning idea might be scrapped altogether after some confusion between the organising partners.
Thankfully, that all looks to have been put to bed, and all those involved can focus on what’s important: honouring Mani in the best way possible – with a load of live tunes and a good time.
In terms of those who will be playing on the night ahead of the aftershow, the likes of the equally legendary Peter Hook, Rowetta, The Kowloons, Jon McClure from Reverend and the Makers, plus many more, have been announced as part of the lineup.
There is also still a ‘AAA’ headliner still yet to be confirmed, so watch this space.
As for the Manichester afterparty at Gorilla, keep an eye out on socials for the ticket link to drop and, hopefully, we’ll see you there for a night to remember.
Rochdale AFC go viral with song choice during promotion party celebrations
Danny Jones
Rochdale AFC are going viral on their return to the Football League, not just because of the remarkable end to their already spectacular season, but over their song choice during the promotion party in the dressing room.
We promise you: even if you haven’t seen it already, you will absolutely love this clip.
For those who haven’t been following their journey over the 25/26 campaign, Rochdale AFC were promoted back to League Two and the EFL proper, after more than a century in the top four divisions came to an end back in 2023.
Thankfully for the Greater Manchester side, who have always served as an important grassroots side throughout the decades, their hiatus wasn’t too long, and scenes inside the Wembley dressing room have been circulating all over social media – especially thanks to the track selection.
— National League on DAZN (@DAZN_NationalLg) May 10, 2026
If Olivia Dean is the artist of the moment, then Rochdale simply have to be one of the teams of the year.
Lifting the National League playoff trophy in the aftermath of a tense 2-2 draw, where the Vallians came back from a two-goal deficit to bring the tie level – thanks to goals from substitute Tyler Smith and Emmanuel Dieseruvwe in the 78th and 96th minute, respectively – you could say they were men in need.
Managing to then survive extra time and make it to penalties, another pair of crucial saves in the shoot-out from starring keeper Oliver Whatmuff, and a decisive miss from Boreham Wood’s Cameron Cox sealed the dramatic win for The Dale.
Breathless stuff.
All that being said, you’d expect some of the usual football-adjacent big win bangers to be heard in the aftermath of a playoff win: ‘Freed From Desire’, chants of ‘We are going up’, ‘Sweet Caroline’ these days, and so on.
But not these lot: they decided to stick on ‘Man I Need’, singing their hearts out and jumping up and down in unison like they were in one of her two recent Manc crowds themselves.
In case you missed it, her Co-op live shows were unsurprisingly incredible, but we’ll admit that seeing a bunch of blokes scream and cheer as they throw drinks in the air and sip suds straight from the shiny cup has definitely added another dimension to our love for this song and the Olivia ‘Deannaissance’.
Not only has the soulful singer-songwriter written one of the best radio hits in recent memory, for our money, but she’s even getting now former non-league footballers choosing her as the soundtrack to their main character moments.
You just love to see it (watch the full highlights HERE).
With Jimmy McNulty’s side having only just narrowly missed out on automatic promotion and the National League crown in that crazy title-decider against fellow entertainers York City, it can’t be denied that they’ve been the other truly box office outfit this term; another late comeback proved it once again.
No side with over 100 points and 90 goals scored should be denied going up and a piece of silverware, which is why, although they’ve been a great advert from the fifth tier, so many are still calling for ‘3UP’. We want more moments like this, please…
Daisy Jackson -
2nd May 2023 
