Salford’s beloved Sounds From the Other City festival (SFTOC) has announced it will return to Chapel street‘s pubs, churches and community corners in 2022, bringing new music, performance and art to Salford once again.
Spreading across a host of exciting indie venues, it will celebrate intimate gigs in small spaces – taking over the likes of Bexley Square, Seven Bro7hers Beerhouse, fivefourstudios, Hot Bed Press, Old Pint Pot, Partisan, Porta, Regent Trading Estate, Saint Philip’s Church and The New Oxford.
Manchester International Festival’s new cultural space, The Factory, will also present a stage of up-and-coming artists as part of the SFTOC ahead of its official opening next year.
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
The festival has released its initial line-up today, welcoming a host of local Greater Manchester talent from across the city to perform following a two-year break.
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Names to watch out for on this year’s roster include Manchester’s LayFullStop, Jenna G, OneDa, Katbrownsugar, Mali Hayes, Jazztronica, and LYR (Land Yacht Regatta) – the brainchild of UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and his bandmates Patrick James Pearson and Richard Walters.
Elsewhere, Chandé and Gracie T, fresh off the back of their iconic 2021 B2B Boiler Room set, will bring a mix of garage, funky and classic Asian bangers to Salford.
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
Joining them on the bill will be much-lauded British electronic music producer Holy Other and Grove, the proudly black and queer Bristol-based producer, vocalist and DJ.
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Many more artists due to appear on the lineup are still to be announced.
This year’s community festival promises to recapture the “true, sweat-drenched, hands-on DIY SFTOC spirit”.
A regular sell-out, despite having taken two years off there’s no doubt that Sounds from the Other City is a genuine DIY success story and has a reputation for championing huge breakout artists at early points in their career.
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Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
In previous years, the festival has housed early performances from a diverse mix of artists including 2017 Mercury Music Prize winner Sampha, Manchester BBC Sound of 2018 nominee IAMDDB, Slowthai, Marina, Alt-J, James Ferraro, Hannah Peel, GoGo Penguin and Black Midi.
SFTOC has been a firm underground favourite with music lovers since 2005, delivering a unique annual event that champions local promoters and celebrates the off-kilter beauty of Salford, the oft-overlooked ‘other city’ to Manchester.
Taking place across the May Bank Holiday, this year the festival will kick off on Sunday 1 May 2022.
Riv Burns, Creative Director for the festival, said: “Coming back from two years without a festival was always going to be daunting.
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
“The support of our extended community from crowdfunders in 2020, through to purchasing tickets in the back end of 2021 with just a date announced, through to sheer enthusiasm from promoters and artists has been overwhelming and humbling.
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“This first wave of artists is so unbelievably exciting and quintessentially SFTOC, I’m really proud and can’t wait to bring this AND MORE to Chapel St and the surrounding area on Sunday 1st May. It really is shaping up to be a vintage year, full of magic, collaboration and new faces. One you don’t want to miss.”
This year’s artists have been selected by Manchester tastemakers Alphaville, Band on the Wall, Beauty Witch, Big People Music, Daytimers, Fat Out, Good Afternoon, Grey Lantern, Heavenly Recordings, Hey! Manchester, Kiss Me Again, Ladies Music Pub, Love Rain, NIAMOS, Now Wave, Partisan Collective, Reform Radio, Strange Days, Sweet Vibrations Radio, The Factory, Tru Luv and VAM.
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
The full Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC) 2022 lineup announcement so far:
Call it a Truce – Chandé (DJ) – Contours – Do you Remember the First Time? (DJ) – For Breakfast – Frazer (DJ) – Freya Beer – Glue 70 – Gracie T (DJ) – Grove – Gut Level (DJ) – Holy Other – Isaiah Hull – Jenna G (DJ) – Juke Joint (DJ) – Katbrownsugar (DJ) – Kid Katharsis – LayFullstop – LYR – Mali Hayes – Mandy, Indiana – Modern Nature – Nayana Iz – Obeka (LIVE) – OneDa – Psychederek – Sarah Bates – The Bug Club – The Rebel – Wesley Gonzalez
Police search for Moors murder victim Keith Bennett resumes as ‘skull is found’
Daisy Jackson
Police are back searching for Moors Murder victim Keith Bennett after a skull was reportedly found.
12-year-old Keith was snatched by notorious serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in 1964.
The pair’s victims were five children, Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans, all aged between 10 and 17 years old at the time of their murder.
The victims were buried on Saddleworth Moor, but Keith’s remains have never been found.
Now a major breakthrough may have come from an author, Russell Edwards, who alerted police to ‘potential human remains in a remote location’.
Myra Hindley and Ian Brady – the serial killers behind the Moors Murders, including Keith Bennett
Specialist GMP officers have now begun initial exploration activity but say it is ‘far too early’ to confirm if human remains have been discovered.
Officers have also updated Keith’s brother Alan Bennett, who was just eight years old when his sibling vanished and who has dedicated much of his life to solving the mystery of the missing body.
MP Force Review Officer Martin Bottomley said: “At around 11.25am on Thursday 29 September 2022, Greater Manchester Police was contacted by the representative of an author who has been researching the murder of Keith Bennett, a victim of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.
“Following direct contact with the author, we were informed that he had discovered what he believes are potential human remains in a remote location on the Moors and he agreed to meet with officers yesterday afternoon to elaborate on his find and direct us to a site of interest.
“The site was assessed late last night and, this morning, specialist officers have begun initial exploration activity. We are in the very early stages of assessing the information which has been brought to our attention but have made the decision to act on it in line with a normal response to a report of this kind.
Saddleworth Moor, where the search for missing Keith Bennett has resumed. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“It is far too early to be certain whether human remains have been discovered and this is expected to take some time.
“We have always said that GMP would act on any significant information which may lead to the recovery of Keith and reunite him with his family. As such, we have informed his brother of the potential development – he does not wish to be contacted at this time and asks that his privacy is respected.”
A further GMP statement published by the Manchester Evening Newsadded: “We have always said that GMP would act on any significant information which may lead to the recovery of Keith and reunite him with his family.
“Officers met with Mr Edwards yesterday evening (29th September) and he was able to locate a site of interest and provide us with further details of the work he has been carrying out.
“We are at the very early stages of assessing the evidence which he brought to our attention, but have taken the decision to excavate an area of land with a view to determining what lies there.
“It is far too early to be certain whether human remains have been uncovered, but out of respect for Alan Bennett, who we regularly maintain contact with, we have informed him of this potential development.
“Alan does not wish to be disturbed at this time and we would ask that his request for privacy is respected.”
Featured image: GMP
News
Question Time audience stunned as first-time buyer says mortgage quote DOUBLED
Danny Jones
Thursday night’s Question Time audience could be heard audibly gasping after a fellow crowd member revealed that her mortgage quote had doubled followed the recent mini-budget.
Taping in Manchester on 29 September, the current events and politics programme was discussing property when would-be first-time buyer Rabia revealed that her mortgage offer had jumped from an initial amount of 4.5% interest to a shocking 10.5% in just a matter of days.
As you can see in the incredible clip, both the audience and the panel are taken aback at the revelation.
The gasps from the audience as this woman reveals she’s received a revised mortgage offer of 10.5%. pic.twitter.com/a5Nb1co8al
The Greater Manchester resident said she is desperate to know what the government’s plan for mortgages is as following the latest revision, she says she simply cannot afford to put the money down on her first home.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer weighed in on the social media reaction, quote tweeting the clip from his party’s own account and stating that “the Tories must get back to Parliament and reverse their kamikaze budget” as the current economic mess is being “paid for by working people”.
The government’s economic chaos is already clobbering those like Rabia who're trying to get a mortgage or to re-mortgage.
This crisis was made in Downing Street but it’s being paid for by working people.
The Tories must get back to Parliament and reverse their kamikaze budget. https://t.co/bw8B2TOUgl
To make matters worse, Rabia was given no clarification from her lenders, only that they were pulling her offers. Conservative MP and Minister for Local Government, Faith and Communities, Paul Scully had little information to offer her either, simply stating it is a short-term effect and that the market will stabilise.
Scully was subject to an entirely different reaction from the audience as well after his blind attempts to defend Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng were met with laughter. Conversely, Richard Bacon was met with applause after he labelled the mini-budget “absurd”.
As if the anti-Tory sentiment wasn’t already at a high, the chancellor’s mini-budget – which saw the corporations, bankers and the generally wealthy benefit ahead of the working class – has seen fresh calls for a general election to be held as soon as possible.
Beyond declaring a so-called £2,500 limit on energy bills (which many have warned isn’t a guaranteed cap), there was seemingly very little in the way of policy that
For those still unclear as to what was announced in the divisive mini-budget, here is a quick summary:
Speaking in a speech at the Labour conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, Starmer said that the government “haven’t just failed to fix the roof, they’ve ripped out the foundations, smashed the windows and now they’ve blown the doors off for good measure.
Georgina Pellant -
8th February 2022 
