A bar in Manchester’s Gay Village is being forced to close its doors, having amassed numerous complaints from local residents.
Tribeca, a long-standing late-night bar in the area, has been ordered to close for a month whilst it gets its affairs in order after authorities were inundated with complaints around excessive noise, Covid rule-breaking, and police interventions.
The bar has had its license suspended, meaning it will have to shut its doors for a month in a few weeks’ time.
Both Manchester police and the council have called for the suspension of Tribeca’s license after previous promises that issues would be rectified were broken, with councillors reportedly coming ‘very, very, very close’ to shutting the bar down entirely.
Now, a former boss of the bar is stepping in in a bid to save it from permanent closure.
Image: The Manc Group
At a Town Hall hearing explaining the decision, licensing chair Paul Andrews said: “We are giving Tribeca the chance to get things back on track to where you used to be which is why we’ve decided not to revoke [the licence].
“Best of luck for the future – but please don’t come in front of the licensing panel again.”
Lee Montgomery previously ran the bar, up until 2019, and has been the leaseholder since 2010.
Now, he’s stepping in as a designated supervisor at Tribeca after Manchester council officer Margaret Lewis called for a ‘complete change’ with a ‘new regime’.
A change of management in 2019 saw Hayley O’Keefe, previously an Events Manager, take over the premises before the Covid pandemic.
In early 2020, she was in the premises of purchasing the license when the pandemic hit – leaving her struggling to pay bills and ultimately becoming homeless and living in the bar, before being advised to move by fire services.
She is said to have forged documents that she later gave to the police in ‘panic’, and later faced a fine for failing to empty the bar in time for the 10pm curfew.
Image: The Manc Group
A lock-in with drug use was also reported to have taken place at Tribeca, a charge which Ms O’Keefe denies.
Police were called to the bar in January to reports of a ‘very large crowd’ gathered outside, and residents of apartments in Regency House reported numerous noise complaints with loud music playing until 4am.
She said: “The venue I run is what Manchester should have. It’s been an unprecedented horrifically difficult two years. I just ask for any opportunity to rectify it.”
O’Keefe also said, after the licensing hearing, that anyone who has a booking at the venue during its enforced period of closure will be refunded.
Tribeca will close for a month in 21 days’ time, starting on 10 May, in order to give the bar time to appeal the decision.
Feature image – The Manc Group
News
‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
News
Lewis Capaldi announces MASSIVE comeback gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Everyone’s favourite Scottish ballad-maker, Lewis Capaldi, is heading out on tour across the UK, including a massive Manchester date.
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is ready to tug at our heartstrings again right in front of our eyes as he announces a new UK arena tour.
This huge announcement comes right after his surprise set at the UK’s biggest music event of the year, Glastonbury, where he made a heroic return to the Pyramid Stage just two years after being forced to pull out.
Capaldi is known for writing some of the most notable and emotive hits of the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a long list of anthems such as ‘Someone You Loved’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Before You Go’.
His monster of a hit ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed 3.9 billion views and is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time, so it is safe to say that his presence has been well and truly missed.
To many fans’ delight, the singer has stepped back into the spotlight and is ready to sing his heart out live at a variety of arenas across the UK, including Co-op Live right here in Manchester.
Now, in a post on his official Instagram account announcing this upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour, it’s good to see the Scottish powerhouse hasn’t lost his wit and charm as he jokes, “About time I got back to work.”
These shows are set to be in high demand as the singer has also revealed these upcoming dates, “Will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year! Would love to see ya there.”
On the back of his glorious Glasto return, Capaldi has dropped a huge heart-wrencher titled ‘Survive’ which offers more insight into the struggles and challenges the singer has been facing.
There is no confirmation of whether this new single marks the launch of a bigger project or not, but we can’t wait to scream his hits at the top of our lungs, regardless of when he pays Manchester a visit later this year.
Georgina Pellant -
20th April 2022 
