A petition to save one of Manchester’s legendary metal pubs from permanent closure has racked up hundreds of signatures.
It was sadly announced last Friday that the city centre’s staple metal music and gig venue, Grand Central, would be permanently closing its doors after being an Oxford Street stalwart for over 20 years.
Rumours had already begun circulating that the wildly-popular haunt would be calling it a day during it its temporary closure amid the COVID-19 pandemic – with the venue confirming on social media that it would not be reopening on the country’s so-called ‘Freedom Day’ last Monday as it “had a few things to sort first”.
Now, just a week after that initial announcement, the venue announced that it would “not be reopening the way it was”.
Breaking the news in a statement shared to Facebook, alongside a group photo of all the staff members, Grand Central said: “The stories are true, Grand Central won’t be re opening the way it was.
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“All the now former staff want to thank Tom for everything he has done for us and for giving the alternative scene a home for the last 20+ years [and] I’m sure everyone has stories connected to this little pub.
“Thank you to everyone for all your custom over the years, we will miss you.”
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The venue also urged fans to come together and share their memories of times spent there over the years in a bid to not “let the memory of GRAND F***ING CENTRAL die”.
Not long after the closure announcement was made on Facebook, hundreds of people flocked to share their sadness at the news, with many saying it’s “devastating” for the city’s alternative scene, and that “Manchester has just lost a main part of its culture”.
“I will never forget this place and everyone I have either served or had the pleasure to have a drink with,” one Facebook user wrote.
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Another person said: “Absolutely gutted isn’t even the word. Everyone was so nice and there was never ever trouble there, I’ve had some banging convos with people I didn’t even know I would always start my nights out there – I will miss you terribly.”
Grand Central has announced that it will “not be reopening the way it was” / Credit: Grand Central
Some punters have been so devastated by the closure news that they decided to take matters into their own hands and launch a petition to save the venue – which is believed to have been acquired by the Stonegate Pubs group.
Organised by Emma Gould and directed at Stonegate Brewery, the petition reads: “One of the last few remaining sanctuaries for the rock/metal/alternative folk in and around Manchester. Our venues keep disappearing and it’s time to stand up and say ”we’re not gonna take it”.
“Even if it doesn’t achieve anything, our voices need to be heard and the brewery need to realise exactly how this will impact us.”
Having already racked up over 600 signatures and counting, you can sign the petition here.
The UK looks set for a ’30°C heatwave’ this summer, according to weather expert
Danny Jones
It’s been a bit of an up-and-down spring but the warm weather is finally starting to arrive here in Manchester, with temperatures reaching up to 21°C this week and the summery vibes only set to increase over the next month or so as meteorologists are predicting a 30°C heatwave soon enough.
March onwards has been a pure mix of blustery winds, grey skies and flashes of rainfall, with just a few glimpses of sun peeking through and the thermometer has still been struggling to get into double digits – until now anyway.
As we leave April behind, the forecast across the UK is looking a lot brighter and according to the likes of the Met Office, those numbers are going to keep creeping as we head deeper into the month.
In fact, some experts are predicting that Britain could be set for a heatwave with temperatures of 30°C and over in just over a month’s time. It better bloody hurry up, put it that way.
According to Jim Dale, Senior Meteorologist at British Weather Services, while much of May will be a bit of a mixed bag, “towards the latter stage and into June and July… we will see climbing temperatures well into the 30s in the prone areas.”
As reported by Birmingham Live, while Dale didn’t detail the kind of heat Manchester can expect, specifically, the indication is that the region is beginning to dry and the country as a whole is now heading “in the right direction”.
Although it likely won’t be until the very tail end of May that we start to see the summer as we know rolling in, the trends around the continent are suggesting positive signs, adding that “a lot of Europe is getting the scorching hot temperatures” of late.
The Met Office’s Tom Morgan also warned The Guardian that we get anything close to a heatwave this month, so we’ll have to be patient and wait for the turn come June time, especially up North.
Temperatures are on the rise this week, but not everywhere will see the warmth all the time 🌡️
Oban in the west of Scotland sees a steady increase towards the weekend 📈
Where as Newcastle will see its highest temperature today before dropping off later in the week 📉 pic.twitter.com/gUOXDjm8YF
While we did enjoy a heatwave in September of last year, hitting a top end of 33.5°C, the chances of the country challenging the most recent temperature record sat back in 2022 (40.3°C in July 2023) are still looking slim.
April has been described as a “month of two halves” overall and let’s just say we’re looking forward to a strong showing this May.
Where in Greater Manchester are you most looking forward to heading when summer finally arrives?
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Dunk (via Flickr)
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Co-op Live assures fans arena WILL open this week in time for Olivia Rodrigo and other gigs
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s huge new arena the Co-op Live has assured fans that it will definitely, actually, for sure open this week.
The staggering new music venue beside the Etihad Stadium has been hit by a couple of high-profile delays in the last fortnight.
Although a test event with Rick Astley went ahead on 21 April, giving a small audience a glimpse inside the state-of-the-art arena, the brakes were slammed on soon afterwards.
Co-op Live pushed its opening date back while it ironed out some kinks, namely ‘power supply issues’, and underwent rigorous testing to ‘run all shows safely’.
That meant Peter Kay was rescheduled to 29 and 30 April… but then got postponed again, along with The Black Keys, who were meant to perform last weekend.
All the delays have left fans panicking that their shows will also be delayed, with some huge shows like Olivia Rodrigo, Take That, and Liam Gallagher lined up in the coming weeks and months.
But Co-op Live has now issued a statement reassuring gig-goers that they are full steam ahead and ready to open as planned this week.
The first act to perform here officially will now be A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on 1 May (not quite as local a name as they were gunning for, but we move).
He’ll be followed by Olivia Rodrigo and her Guts Tour, who will perform two sold-out gigs on 3 and 4 May.
Olivia Rodrigo has announced a Manchester gig at Co-op Live. Credit: Nick WalkerKeane – Photography by ALEX LAKE insta @twoshortdays WWW.TWOSHORTDAYS.COMOlivia Rodrigo and Keane will both play Co-op Live in Manchester this week when it finally opens
Then Keane will play the Co-op Live on 5 May to mark 20 years since the release of Hopes and Fears.
Co-op Live posted: “Let’s do this! Less than 48 hours until we kick off our full opening season.
“Our scheduled shows with @aboogievsartist, @oliviarodrigo and @keaneofficial are going ahead.
“Ticket holders can expect an email with everything they need to know about this week’s events to land in your inboxes tomorrow!”
Fans have breathed a sigh of relief at the news, with one person writing: “YAY THANK GOD OMG THIS IS AMAZING WAS LITERALLY HAVJNG A MENTAL BREAKDOWN BOUT OLIVIA BEING CANCELLED.”
Another commented: “THANK GOD!!! 4th mayyyy.”
Someone else posted: “IM SO HAPPY AHHHHHH I’VE BEEN NERVOUS ALL WEEK BUT NOW I KNOW ITS GONNA BE FINE AHHH.”
Olivia Rodrigo fans are BIG believers in an all-caps comment, clearly.
Co-op Live will open in Manchester on Wednesday 1 May.
It’s going to be worth the wait, we’re pretty sure…
Emily Sergeant -
27th July 2021 
