People share their favourite Deaf Institute and Gorilla memories after venues close permanently
The Manc invited readers to share their greatest moments - and live music fans arrived in droves to relive some unforgettable evenings spent dancing into the early hours.
Live music in Manchester is embroiled in the biggest fight of its life. And earlier this week, two of its most treasured veterans fell.
The Deaf Institute and Gorilla, an iconic, decorated duo on the local gig scene, confirmed on Thursday they would permanently close – sparking a mass, bassline-like groan that warbled right beyond the M60.
There’s been a growing undercurrent of panic and nausea in the live music sector in recent months, and this was the biggest blow yet.
Both of these venues have been at the forefront of Manchester’s gig scene for years, earning special status among artists and fans.
Deaf Institute, on Grosvenor Street, has doubled as a stomping ground for amateurs cutting their teeth and a stage for world-famous performers, whilst Whitworth Street’s Gorilla has been inviting clubbers to party below the railway arches since 2012.
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Sacha Lord is currently attempting to find a way to save the venues by speaking to potential buyers, claiming “there is hope.”
Fingers are crossed. But whatever happens, we’ll always have the memories.
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The Manc invited readers to share their greatest moments at Deaf and Gorilla – and live music fans arrived in droves to relive some unforgettable evenings spent dancing into the early hours.
Among the respondents was local DJ Hattie Pearson.
My favourites were Mae Shi (photo), chilling up on the balcony during Wild Nothing, EMA, Avi Buffalo & a couple of Emmy the Great Shows. Like the Roadhouse it will sorely be missed. pic.twitter.com/A39ETtH0kB
— M҉ả̴̞̫͖̼̙̦̺̪̟̹̑͐̃̿̂̚̕ ƚ†ℌɇŵ (@matthirtyfive) July 16, 2020
Possibly when The Residents came to prove that it's not just the young 'uns that can get excited over nonsense pic.twitter.com/pWVxNYOohO
.@PrettyLights (1 of my heroes) played only 2 UK gigs, one in Manchester at Deaf Institute, on my birthday. Not only was it an incredible set, @IamtheHiggster organised to meet him after and we spent hours with him & his crew chatting shit in the car park after. Awesome times 🎶
This rapturous response is a real reflection of just how important a role these venues have had in maintaining that electric atmosphere Manchester is famed for.
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In the best case scenario, a new chapter may begin – with owners Mission Mars asking “any industry and music entrepreneurs who might be interested in this as an opportunity to please get in touch.”
Manchester’s Night-Time Economy Adviser is already on the case. Perhaps one, or both, of these venues can reopen later down the line.
The concern for now, however, is that the closure of Deaf and Gorilla is only the beginning.
Simply put, more money must be pumped into our favourite venues over the coming weeks and months or they’ll continue to fall like dominoes.
Sad to hear that Manchester’s @DeafInstitute & @thisisgorilla won’t be opening again. I’ve played and watched gigs in both and they were the lifeblood of Manchester’s vital network of venues. It’s awful news but seems inevitable that so many more independent venues will be lost
A campaign entitled Let The Music Play was launched on 2 July in an attempt to acquire the necessary funds to keep the live music industry ticking over – with the sector set to lose £900m and cut jobs by 50 per cent if gigs do not resume in 2020.
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Many major artists including Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Dizzee Rascal, Johnny Marr, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney have all signed a letter addressed to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden calling for help.
The government have since provided a £1.57bn cash injection to support the arts sector – providing music venues with emergency grants and loans.
The money will help some venues survive. Others will not be so lucky.
Two of Manchester’s top spots have fallen already.
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
The Manc -
17th July 2020 
