The incredible history of Manchester Pride (and how far it’s come)
From police raiding the village bars for 'licentious dancing' in the 80s to the famous footloose policewoman filmed on the parade in 2015, Manchester Pride has come a long way indeed.
Manchester Pride is today one of the biggest LGBTQ+ events in the country, bringing thousands into the city every year to celebrate love in all its forms.
Over decades, the festival has grown into one of the longest-running Pride celebrations in the country – expanding massively over the years, whilst doing its bit to raise awareness, acceptance, and huge sums of money for important charitable causes.
But it wasn’t always like this. Rather, when it began life in 1985 as the Gay Pub and Club Olympics, organisers had to deal with a lot of hostility from both the police and the public simply to put on some fun events like .boat racing down the canal, tugs of war, and egg and spoon races judged by local drag queens.
At that time, there was still a lot of institutionalised homophobia in Greater Manchester. Back then, the village was a secretive area that people visited covertly and most of the bars had blacked out windows so you couldn’t see in.
The community struggled with a lot of prejudice, as well as police raids to stop what was at that time termed as ‘licentious dancing.’
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Albert Memorial rally, 1988. 20,000 people were in attendance / Image: Manchester City Council / Manchester Libraries
An except from Mancunian Gay magazine in 1984 titled ‘Not tonight, Anderton’ tells the story of how one night 20 plain clothes officers stormed into Napoleons and forced everyone in attendance to provide their personal information before being allowed to leave – an incident that was later branded as “an obvious case of police victimisation” in a press release issued by the Gay Centre.
In spite of this, the first Gay Pub and Club Olympics event still went ahead on the August Bank Holiday weekend of 1985. Notably, the event had the support of a new generation of Labour councillors elected in 1984 – who gave the gay community their support and appointed a Lesbian and Gay officer in a move reportedly inspired by Ken Livingstone.
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Inspired by Livingstone’s ‘s early days on the Greater London Council, in 1984 those new Labour councillors created an Equal Opportunities Committee and appointed Lesbian and Gay officers Maggie Turner and Paul Fairweather in what would prove to be a landmark move for gay rights in the north of England
1986 saw things gradually improve for the community, as councillors ‘put their arms around’ the gay community and gave it their support, welcoming a Northern Pride event in 1986 and contributing public funds towards the previous year’s celebrations.
The late Tony Wilson is pictured here alongside Coronation Street’s David Neilson (Roy Cropper) and Councillor Pat Karney. / Image: Manchester City Council / Manchester Libraries
Paul Fairweather, Manchester’s first Gay officer, covered the 1985 event for Manchester magazine Mancunian Gay: That year, the council had donated £1,700 towards the event which was focused around fundraising for AIDS.
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“Some of the bars got together to raise money for AIDS organisations in the city. There was a lot of support from the gay community and a lot more hostility from people in the city.
“At the time it was a very small event but people really, really put their heart into it. I think underlying it was beginning of the AIDS epidemic – people were concerned about the future.”
As the ’80s continued, Manchester’s fight for gay rights continued with the Section 28 march in 1988 acting as a huge turning point as the Thatcher government’s draconian legislation brought people out onto the streets to protest in their droves.
At the time, Manchester was almost alone in voicing its opposition and those involved came under huge pressure both politically and through the media. However, the marches were huge in that for one of the very first times locals who weren’t part of the gay community joined in solidarity and allyship.
Although the exact date of this image is unknown, it depicts a familiar scene that takes place very year at Sackville Gardens and is one of the most poignant moments of the festival / Image: Manchester Council / Manchester Libraries
Ultimately, though, that protest put paid to the restrictive legislation, which had been introduced to explicitly discriminate against gay people and prevent them from discussing their sexuality with, say, teachers or social workers at the time.
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The march also did its bit to bring together different elements of the disparate tribes within the LGBT community, and the next year was followed by another event called Love Rights ’89 – which was billed as a “celebration of Lesbian and Gay Sexuality”.
Still, it wasn’t until the early nineties that the Gay Village welcomed its first openly-gay bar and even then police raids in the area continued right up to 1994.
The battles against institutional homophobia were still being fought, clearly, and some continued to call the Canal Street area ‘Satan’s Square Mile’ – but the opening of new nightclubs like Nightclub Cruz 101 and seminal events Electric Chair and Poptastic saw the community pushing back.
In 1991, the Village Charity was formed and the Manchester Mardi Gras, ‘The Festival of Fun’ was created – raising £15,000 that year alone.
A more recent image from one of the legendary parties held inside a car park in the village / Image: Gpphotography / Manchester Pride Festival / Down At The Social PR
That year, there was a ‘street market’ in Sackville park (instead of on the road outside the Rembrandt Hotel) soundtracked by DJ Mike Coppoc, and a ‘It’s a knockout’ competition that was characterised by the wearing of some very tight cycling shorts – by all accounts ‘the thing’ to wear at the time.
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A heartfelt speech by Paul Orton of The Village Charity closed that year’s event on the Monday night, followed by a fireworks display which ended with “Manchester Cares” spelt out in the night sky.
In the years that followed, the free-to-attend event grew and grew, with stages erected in the public park and on the car parks every year. Then, in 1999, for the first time ever the Gay Village area was fenced off and what was then known as a “pledgeband” was introduced, with a commitment that 50% of proceeds raised would go to charity.
The decision to cordon off the village and charge an entry fee was contentious at the time, and is still considered to be so by some today – with some campaigners arguing that the wristband system prevents some members of the community from taking part by imposing financial restrictions.
In part because of this, some bars and clubs in the village still don’t require a wristband to gain entry to this day and the campaign group Facts About Manchester Pride have done quite a lot of work to suggest that there isn’t a basis in law to charge people access to the village over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Image: Gpphotography / / Manchester Pride Festival / Down At The Social PR
Despite the contention, though, for many the party was only becoming more popular. By the early 00’s the event was attracting more than 100,000 people a year.
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Renamed from Mardi Gras to Gayfest in 2001, the celebrations still didn’t officially become Manchester Pride until 2003, when the event was renamed once more – this time by Marketing Manchester.
In the years that followed, millions of pounds have been raised through the festival – which now has numerous different parts to it such as the Superbia Weekend, the Gay Village Party, Manchester Pride Parade (which is not taking place this year), Youth Pride MCR and the Candlelit Vigil.
It’s also continued to push the boundaries and campaign for equality, too. Manchester’s parade was the first in the UK to include services like the police, NHS and army amongst its floats – showing just how far things have come within the space of 20 years.
Remember the dancing footloose policewoman filmed on the parade in 2015? We can’t imagine that having happened without the progress of the past 20 odd years.
A familiar sight, this is how Canal Street looks today when the village party takes over for the four-day knees-up / Image: Manchester Pride Festival / Down At The Social PR
From what was essentially a jumble sale in the 80s to a world-recognised event, no matter what criticisms you may have of Manchester Pride it’s still fair to say that it has done a lot for promoting equality within the wider community. It’s also one of our favourite times of year.
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Of course, the work’s not done – in 2019, the festival’s Chief Executive went on record to say that “the fight has only just begun.”
“Every year I am asked do we still need a Pride celebration and every year I say yes we do.,” said Mark Fletcher.
“We must support every single member of every single LGBTQ+ community and fight until they feel equal and free to be themselves.”
These comments feel even more pertinent in 2023 after ‘anti-woke’ GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson told officers they cannot decorate their uniforms with rainbow badges and patches this year – leading some to wonder if we’re going backwards, not forwards.
Manchester Pride Festival 2024 will take place between 23 and 26 August – you can find out more here.
Feature image – Manchester City Council / Manchester Libraries.
Feature
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | May 2025
Danny Jones
Oh, hey, didn’t see you there. Come looking for more top Manc tunage, have we? You’re in luck, because Greater Manchester just keeps pumping out top bands and artists all the time, hence why we do this.
If you’re new around these parts, first of all, welcome and secondly, the whole thing is very simple: every month, we round up some of the best talents coming out of 0161 and talk about why we like them. I know, groundbreaking stuff, right?
They don’t have to be born and bred in Manchester, but they do need to have made this their music home – the first the correct career decision they made, the second being working their way into our ears.
So, now all the housekeeping is done and dusted, let’s dive into some delightful new Manchester music, shall we?
Five Manc bands and artists we’ve been listening to recently
1. IST IST
This month we’re starting off with one of those Manchester bands that may not be new but still crop up for us at regular intervals to remind us of two things: first of all, that they’re brilliant and secondly, that they should have featured on our regular round-up of artists a long time ago.
We’re talking about IST IST, who returned with another live, multiple LP-spanning compilation (plus some extras) this past March, which we’ve had on plenty over the past month. It goes without saying that they sound brilliant live, and we feel bad for only just remembering how good and prolific they’ve been.
You always get plenty of New Order, but also White Lies and Editors; Future Islands, The National and lots of other baritone-driven bands that bring that element of melodrama to layer over the instruments themselves. ‘You’re Mine’ might be their biggest track, but ‘The Kiss’ and ‘Exist’ are also favourites.
2. Robbie Cavanagh
Now, we all know that country music is having a real moment right now and we, for one, couldn’t be happier about it, to be completely frank. Though arguably simplistic at times, it’s soulful, often impressively pared-back, and when something does impress you lyrically or technically, it sticks.
With that in mind, we recently realised that award-winning songwriter Robbie Cavanagh has been on somewhat of a comeback since 2023, and we hadn’t noticed until painfully recently. Returning after a six-year hiatus – bar some little ditties during lockdown – his latest project has some of his best work yet.
Fully tilting from folk into country and folk, the stunning vocalist belatedly blew us away with the bluesy single ‘Helpless’ and a gorgeous new collaboration with solo artist, Abby Gundersen (equally talented sister of Noah), but please still start with his 2016 Mahogany Session, where it arguably all began.
Named after Manchester city centre’s famously eclectic indie emporium, Afflecks Palace have never quite blown up in the way they way we thought they would when we first came across them years ago, but there’s still plenty of time and we’ll be damn it if they don’t deserve more regular listeners.
You’ll also be glad to know that, despite the name, they aren’t one of those trite, overly performative bands who wear a stereotypical Manc-ness on their sleeve that we sometimes come across; they’re just good and deserve a lot more recognition for their contribution to the neo-pysch genre.
As for where to start, we’ll admit we prefer their first album; ‘Forever Young’ is noodley and catchy, ‘Everything Is an Attempt to Be Human’ has those shoegazey guitars, but it just doesn’t get better than the incomparable ‘Pink Skies’, which still makes us feel some type of way – we just can’t quite describe.
We just love it. ‘Nu-Madchester’, or whatever you want to call it, its distinct sunniness never fails to tickle a part of our brains.
4. Findlay
Next up is Stockport singer-songwriter Findlay, who released more new music this past February, and has been making indie pop that ropes in plenty of other influences for more than a decade now.
That being said, she’s always experimenting with her sound, as her collabs with Blossoms, Miles Kane, Bill Ryder-Jones, Joris Delacroix have shown, and this latest iteration seems to have her tapping into everything from almost 50s and 60s female soul singers to slow electronic and more.
We love the smooth sexiness and sheer ambition of her latest single, ‘Stay Kinky’ and ‘Waste My Time’ always feels like a late-night chiller fit for music video set in a dingey bar, however, we still have a soft spot for her debut, ‘Your Sister’, with the riff that’s almost reminiscent of ‘Blockbuster’ by Sweet.
Last but not least, it’s the second time we’re featuring a returning artist and it comes in the form of young Alex Spencer, whose journey from busking around the streets of Greater Manchester to sold-out headlines shows and featuring on the likes EA Sports FC 25 (yes, FIFA) is a truly remarkable one.
The charming and still fresh-faced local lad from Droylsden is nothing short of proof that hard work and determination can pay off, and those ‘Bucket List’ dreams really are within reach. Obvious talent aside, this teenager has grafted his arse off and we couldn’t be more proudof how far he’s come already.
He last featured in this round-up back in April 2024 but even in the time between then, he’s released plenty and developed even further as musician, so much so that we’re not going to suggest which songs to try; instead, you can watch our most recent interview with him and relive his last year or so with us.
I’m Alex Spencer and This is my journey so far!
8 years of my music journey summed up in 1 minute 55😅 Thankyou to everyone who’s followed my journey so far, to anyone new or to anyone who doesn’t know my story, I made this video to show where it all started and how I got here❤️ pic.twitter.com/Hi3W7MHMxX
So, the next time you hear someone foolishly complaining that the Greater Manchester music scene ‘isn’t what it once was’, you can go right ahead of show them these bands and artists.
In fact, you could just point them in the direction of this very page and Audio North, in general, as we do this round-up every month and plenty more every week, meaning you’re headphones never dry up.
For instance, you can check out which Manchester bands and artists we were listening to back in April, both new, current and old, down below. We’ll see you again very soon.
Bruce Springsteen’s unforgettable final night at Co-op Live in Manchester – just wow…
Danny Jones
It’s rare you get to see legends in real life, especially this up close and personal, but there’s still just one key word that keeps coming to mind when we think of seeing Bruce Springsteen in Manchester at the Co-op Live last night: surreal.
We still can’t quite believe that he was here in Manchester, in the flesh, for three separate nights, but we do intend to replay it in our heads over and over again until it fully sinks in.
Springsteen, ‘The Boss’, Brucey, whatever you want to call him, there really is something to be said for someone who’s been going this long and still exerts so much energy at 75.
That goes for his desperately loyal and dedicated crowds, too. The legions that marched down ‘Thunder Road’ and back down the CityLink walking route and the Ashton canal in supreme spirits after all was said and done gave as good as they got.
We can only assume Springsteen was as incredible on the first night at Co-op Live as he was on the last. (Credit: Audio North)
From singing back every chorus to the chants of “Bruuuuuuuce!” between every single song, it was more apparent than ever that being a Springsteen fan is quite literally a way of life for these people; they know every line, every call and response, every micro-dance move and regular on-stage ritual.
Each show is roughly three hours long, by the way – he does have an absolute treasure trove of discography to work through, in fairness.
Put simply, there’s no messing about, just non-stop rock and roll of the highest order. Well, there are some brief pauses, but for good reason…
As a passionate political and philanthropic person throughout a career which spans more than six decades, he took the time to talk about America and the turbulent times they are once again facing.
He spoke about the craven billionaire class, poverty, uniting through art and, just as he did on night one in Manchester, Springsteen railed against a particular tyrant who happens to have found himself in the seat of power yet again back over in the States. He made sure to do this every single night.
‘Born in the U.S.A.’ (which he did decide to play, along with a plethora of the other biggest hits) now feels more like a protest song than ever. The war may no longer be in Vietnam, but there is one raging back home, and he’s even more wary of it than before.
He thanked those in the pit and the stands for indulging him, as well as the “wonderful space” of the Co-op and its “beautiful sound” for hosting him, but we have a feeling the New Jersey poet could have said just about anything and he’d still have 23,500+ in the palm of his hands.
All that being said, it wasn’t like this was a pseudo-rally or anything like that, nor was anything of this being foisted upon the audience, but there was a real sense of a congregation gathering in the church of Bruce to take in his sermon.
His followers have often been referred to in this way, and despite only previously considering ourselves a very casual Springsteen enthusiast, having now been to a sell-out arena gig with one of the biggest Boss fans we know, we can understand why millions of people around the world idolise this absolute icon.
It goes without saying that a huge amount of applause must go to The E Street Band themselves, who are just as much a part of what makes Springsteen sets so special as he is.
From the ever-charismatic Steven Van Zandt (still hard not to see him as ‘Sil’ from The Sopranos) to Jake Clemons on sax – who has been part of the group since 2012 and shared a touching embrace with Bruce as tributes to his predecessor and uncle, Clarence, played behind them – these lot are a family.
Our only minor gripe is that we sorely missed hearing ‘Atlantic City’, but what the concert did confirm is that much like the effect the recent Bob Dylan biopic had on us, we’re now more committed than ever to working through the Springsteen back catalogue from start to finish and seeing how obsessed we get.
To end on one final thought and echo the words of the man himself: “peace, love and freedom.”