It’s been a mainstay of the Manchester scene for the last two decades, but it looks as though now is finally the end of an era for Dawsons Music & Sound.
After being forced to temporarily close doors due to “staffing shortages” last month, the huge two-storey, glass-fronted Manchester branch of the iconic musical instrument and consumer audio retail chain – which opened on Portland Street in the heart of the city centre in 2003 – can now be seen empty inside.
The Manchester store was described as the go-to place for musical instruments in the city, and a “mecca to 1000s of customers over the last 17 years” – but recent customers reported “little stock”.
And now, all stock appears to have been removed.
All that seems to be left inside the building are discarded storage units and rubbish, with a sign in the window that reads the parting words “thank you for the music”.
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The Manchester store was described as the go-to place for musical instruments in the city, and a “mecca to 1000s of customers over the last 17 years” / Credit: Reddit (SwissJAmes)
Although no formal statement has been issued by Dawsons regarding closure, members of staff on social media have confirmed that the Manchester branch has now closed down for good, and Google also lists the store as ‘permanently closed’.
A recent post on Reddit sharing a picture of the sign in the window queried how long the Manchester shop had been closed for, with a former staff member revealing that they worked there until this past Monday.
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“Can confirm it’s definitely gone, we’re all devastated,” Reddit user redwards1138 said.
They added that is was “really nice to be part of a shop with such history and connection to Manchester” and said they would do their best to answers any questions that people had about the place.
The former staff member also revealed that a closure seemed imminent as “supplies dried up and [we were] turning people away because we couldn’t fulfil orders, and when other [music shops] seemed on the up, we just weren’t.”
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Despite enjoying online / e-commerce growth during lockdowns, the former staff member believes the closure ultimately boiled down to the fact Dawsons Manchester “weren’t as on it as our competitors.”
Credit: The Manc GroupCredit: The Manc Group
Dawsons Music & Sound was founded in Warrington all the way back in 1898 by John Dawson – a piano tuner, who opened the shop to cater for growing demand from people wanting to buy new instruments.
In March 2019, Dawsons announced it would close its Warrington store, ending its 121-year retail presence in the town, as well as its branches in Altrincham and Huddersfield.
On 20 April 2020, the board of Dawsons Music filed a Notice Of Intent to appoint Administrators (NOI), and KPMG was later appointed financial control of the business as it entered administration, but it was announced a month later that a new buyer for the business – Manchester entrepreneurs Andrew M Oliver and his wife Karen Oliver – had been found, and the company would begin trading under the name Dawson Music & Sound Ltd.
The remaining Dawsons Music & Sound branches are expected to continue trading.
Featured Image – Dawsons Music & Sound
News
The Boots recycling scheme where you can get £5 off every shop
Thomas Melia
UK high street retailer and healthcare shop Boots has launched an innovative recycling scheme that entitles customers to £5 off their future shopping trips.
If you’re still struggling to come up with a New Year’s resolution, why not try a spot of recycling and earn some money off your next cosmetics shop while you’re at it?
Started in 2020, the Boots Recycling Scheme allows Advantage Card holders the opportunity to get money while also being more conscious about how we recycle our used health and beauty products.
Their third-party app, Recycle at Boots, uses a ‘Scan2Recycle‘ system where users can upload items from various beauty brands by taking a picture of the empty packaging before identifying its form.
This scheme takes items that can’t usually be recycled at home, such as lotion pumps, toothpaste tubes, lipstick, mascaras, travel minis, make-up palettes and more.
Once you have five items approved, head over to your nearest participating Boots store, drop off your empties and scan the QR code on the deposit box.
After you’ve followed all these steps, a voucher will appear entitling you to 500 Advantage Points when you spend £10 in-store at your nearest location, and not only do you have £5 worth of points with your name on it, you’re also an eco-warrior.
There’s even a dedicated section of the app to recycling empty medicine and vitamin blister packs, which gives customers 100 Advantage Points when they spend £5 in-store.
Brilliant.
Credit: Publicity pictures (supplied)
Items dropped into these deposit boxes are taken to MyGroup, a recycling and waste management service which works around the clock to help divert waste from landfill.
These empties will be washed and traditionally recycled into a material called MyBoard, a construction board material most similar to plywood, with lots of different uses.
Nearest Boots locations in Manchester running the Recycle at Boots scheme:
Manchester Market Street – 32 Market Street, M1 1PL
Salford Regent Park – Regents Park, M5 3TP
Manchester Didsbury – 736-740 Wilmslow Road, M20 2DW
The Trafford Centre – 10 Peel Avenue, M17 8BD
Trafford Retail Park – Neary Way, M41 7FN
If you’re up for getting money off your next Boots splurge while also helping recycle cosmetics containers and more, you can download the Recycle at Boots app and find your nearest HERE.
Manchester United issue statement after Bruno Fernandes’ social media is hacked
Danny Jones
Manchester United were forced to issue an official statement following Bruno Fernandes’ social media being hacked.
The Man United star’s digital profile was hijacked in the wake of the defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion this weekend, which saw the Red Devils knocked out of the FA Cup and, it’s fair to say, quite the flurry of activity online.
As if to add insult to injury, with United‘s exit from the competition, a user then commandeered the club captain’s presence to share several fake posts.
With the official Bruno Fernandes X account being targeted following the game, the club had no choice but to respond after several controversial and/or inappropriate posts, not to mention multiple instances of general anti-ownership sentiment.
In case you didn’t see any of the since-deleted posts, besides one understandably troublesome comment which read, “let’s get rid of INEOS“, others were even more provocative/inflammatory.
The comments ranged from everything between messages @ing darts player and United fan Luke Littler to influencers like KSI and Jake Paul.
Offensive language was also present in many of them.
As for the Portuguese midfielder, he also quickly clarified that he obviously had no involvement in the activity; meanwhile, despite plenty of players coming out to apologise for the defeat on Sunday night, the skipper is yet to address the disappointment directly.
The loss to Brighton confirmed that Manchester United will be playing just 40 games for the rest of the campaign – the fewest since the 1914/15 season (i.e. at the outset of the First World War) – which serves as yet another unwanted record for the club of late.
You can see the highlights for the game down below.
It is also likely to have been caretaker manager Darren Fletcher’s final game in charge of the Reds, with an interim replacement set to be appointed imminently following Ruben Amorim’s shock sacking earlier this month.
His predecessor, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, also looked like the frontrunner at one point – and could still be involved in a backroom setup – but The Athletic now has it that Carrick could be is odds-on favourite to be announced before the Manchester derby.
Nevertheless, plenty of supporters still feel the problems remain deeply rooted throughout the club and that a change of personnel among the coaching staff still may not be enough…
Emily Sergeant -
3rd September 2021 
