Gone from the main bar are the plain white walls and chunky wooden tables with mismatched chairs, a fixture there for more than a decade.
Instead, velvety green chairs, dark walls, and exposed filament bulbs overhead give the revamped space a sort of New York speakeasy vibe that more than fits with plans to host late-night music acts here for ‘after show’ parties, some running as late as 2.30am throughout the week.
Image: The Manc Group Image: Jody Hartley
Little nooks carved out in corners make for intimate date spots at night (or a good hidey-hole to work away in during the daytime), and right at the back the original bar has been replaced by a stage draped in theatrical red velvet curtains – perfectly setting the scene of a late-night jazz bar.
In the day, they’ll be serving Patel’s Pies and other snacks here, with a new bar menu full of bespoke cocktails, cask beers from Hebden Bridge brewery Vocation, low-intervention wines from Kwas, and a solid no and low section with different wines, beers and spirit offerings.
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By night, it’s all pints in hands and party atmosphere as the venue’s live music programme gets rolling again after months of reconfiguration, postponements and delays.
Image: Jody Hartley
Some shows taking place this month are part of tours the Band On The Wall team had organised in 2019 or 2020, showing just how long it has taken for things to get back to normal after the pandemic. At last, nature is healing.
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The main bar and stage area has been expanded, the stage pushed back from the stage door and lifted high above the crowd to ensure even those in the back now have a decent view (as long as they’re not stuck behind one of the supporting pillars).
The balcony area is still there, as is the main stage bar – with most of the work here going into tweaking and upgrading the already-excellent PA system and installing a brand new lighting rig.
Image: Jody Hartley
We’re told the capacity has now grown in here to at least 500, but the team is anticipating being able to sell even more tickets once they’ve worked out a few kinks. It’s cost a pretty penny, too, with around £3.5million being fundraised for the project’s development since 2015.
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Backstage, a connecting platform makes it easy to roll the grand piano from the main stage to the bars, and lots of work has been done throughout the venue to ensure it’s completely wheelchair accessible for both performers and artists.
More is still to come, with ongoing construction at the back of the building currently putting in a new recording studio, workshop spaces and a roof terrace that will be used by students of Manchester College.
Image: Jody Hartley
The work is set to be fully completed at the end of April, but after a long period of closure, bosses were keen to get the doors open again to keep doing what they do best: booking brilliant underground musicians and filling up dancefloors with fans eager to hear (and see) them play.
With so many closures of small, intimate venues in recent years, the new bar makeover at Band On The Wall brings something Manchester is sorely lacking – a small, intimate space where upcoming artists can play and be heard, right in the hearrt of the city centre.
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Riding the line between the big mainstream venues and the spit and sawdust dive bars, it’s great to see it open once again with a promising lineup for artists all confirmed for its reopening.
Featured listings for the Band On The Wall reopening:
MF Robots / Fri 11th March / Buy Tickets Amadou & Mariam and Blind Boys of Alabama: From Bamako to Birmingham / Tue 15th March / Buy Tickets Avi Kaplan / Sun 20th March / Buy Tickets Balimaya Project / Tue 22nd March / Buy Tickets Bill Laurance Trio / Thu 24th March / Buy Tickets Soft Machine / Mon 28th March / Buy Tickets Ibibio Sound Machine / Fri 1st April / Buy Tickets Mario Biondi / Sun 3rd April / Buy Tickets Focus / Tue 5th April / Buy Tickets Asian Dub Foundation / Fri 8th April / Buy Tickets Roberto Fonseca / Thu 21st April / Buy Tickets James Taylor Quartet / Sat 14th May / Buy Tickets
The simple hack that can save healthcare workers and teachers money on their holidays
Danny Jones
With cost-of-living pressure ever-present in the background of most everyday lives, finding some spare pennies for a getaway feels more difficult than ever, and if there’s anyone who deserves discounts on a holiday, it’s healthcare workers.
That’s why, when we became aware of the simple hack that can save those working in healthcare services money on holidays, we thought we’d help spread the word.
We’re sure lots of you working within the sector already know plenty about this booking strategy, but for anyone who doesn’t, how do you fancy saving up to half a grand on your next jolly?
In fact, even those working in education can cut their costs, too.
With searches for ‘holiday voucher code’ up by 73% on Google, and even the likes of TikTok seeing ‘money saving tips’ up by 45%, travel agency TUI have decided to team up with the Health Service Discounts platform for 2026.
Providing those who work for the NHS with a ‘Holidays for Heroes’ (HfH) access code on various popular peak-season trips, this exclusive discount can be added on top of all other seasonal TUI deals, including the company’s ‘First Choice’ package holidays.
With the HfH code alone guaranteeing workers an extra £100 off their bookings, play your cards right, and you could get up to £500 in total discounts overall.
How to access the healthcare ‘Holidays for Heroes’ deal
Separate from standard Blue Light card savings, here’s how it works, and don’t worry, it’s all very simple:
As mentioned, education workers can also benefit from similar money off, with an extra £50 per person through the TUI x Discounts for Teachers partnership, as well.
Ella Foden-Lynch, Partnerships Manager for TUI, said in a statement: “Getting away is absolutely vital for wellbeing, especially for those working in high-stress healthcare and education roles.
“With the cost-of-living crisis still putting a strain on household budgets, we know how hard it is to stretch your pay to cover a much-needed family break. By unlocking these exclusive TUI deals, we hope to give our key workers the realistic recovery time they deserve without the financial worry.”
So, for those of you healthcare heroes and teachers looking for a well-deserved break, we urge you to find an affordable holiday that suits you very soon. With cheaper airport pints also inbound later this year, here’s hoping you save even more spends for when you’re away.
New ‘cutting-edge’ cancer treatment to be rolled out on NHS from next week
Emily Sergeant
A new ‘cutting-edge’ cancer treatment is set to be rolled out on the NHS from next week.
Thousands of men with prostate cancer are to be offered high-powered ‘precision’ radiotherapy on the NHS to target the disease more effectively – helping reduce side-effects and spare them 15 courses of treatment.
The highly targeted SABR (stereotactic ablative radiotherapy) delivers radiotherapy to the tumour from many different directions to help reduce the risk of cancer spreading or returning.
SABR has been proven to be effective at far fewer doses than conventional radiotherapy.
Standard radiotherapy can often be a major burden for patients and loved ones, due to the substantial treatment and travel time involved, but SABR is typically delivered in just five doses within a fortnight, compared to at least 20 doses with external beam radiotherapy.
Thousands of men with prostate cancer are to be offered high-powered ‘precision’ radiotherapy on the NHS to target the disease more effectively, helping reduce side-effects and spare them 15 courses of treatment.
Around 17,500 men are diagnosed with low or intermediate risk prostate cancer in England each year and could be offered the option of SABR radiotherapy.
It is expected that the cutting-edge technique for localised prostate cancer will be offered at all 48 radiotherapy providers across England in the coming days – with the first centres making it available on the NHS from next week.
The roll-out could free up around 50,000 appointments for prostate cancer treatment each year, helping the NHS continue to bring down waiting times for patients.
NHS chief executive, Sir Jim Mackey, said the news will ‘transform’ treatment for thousands of men with localised prostate cancer.
“This cutting-edge approach will transform treatment for thousands of men with prostate cancer, helping the NHS provide far more powerful and convenient care to stop their cancer spreading,” Sir Mackey commented.
“Having been proven effective in keeping cancer under control, this technology will not only help reduce the risk of certain side effects but also the major ‘to-and-fro’ burden of hospital treatment, which can be really draining for so many patients and their families.”
Georgina Pellant -
8th March 2022 
