The Old Pint Pot is hosting a pop-up gig series with local artists to raise money for Manc foodbanks
What's better than a party at a great pub? A party at a great pub with live music from local artists where the money goes towards local charity — that's what.
Beloved local boozer The Old Pint Pot is holding a new pop-up series of live gigs, DJ sets and day-into-night parties to help raise money for Manchester charities.
One of the most popular pubs in Salford, the iconic watering hole and its owners are hosting the first of what they hope to be many of these charity music-based events in March from their storied attic space which has seen plenty of live entertainment and partying down the years.
Welcoming the headliners DJ Absolutely Sh*t (Il Bosco and Metrodome‘s spin-off) — a favourite duo over at White Hotel — North West-based DJ BUNNEY and her mix of acid, electro and breakbeats, as well as Manc legend and esteemed selector, Rhod Parry.
Rhod alone is at the heart of the Manchester DJ scene, whether it be programming the extended vinyl set party ‘Open to Close’ on Thursdays at Eastern Bloc or his own production/shows on NTS and Reform Radio, so it’s no surprise that he’s got his in this local community event too.
Powered by the REC. arts, entertainment and promotions collective, the very first of the parties over at The Old Pint Pot kicks off on Saturday, 9 March, having previously streamed past events via their YouTube channel.
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All that being said, this is the first time they will playing sets and hosting community-driven parties around Manchester city centre and all of the money raised will be going directly to their chosen local charity partner, Manchester South Central Foodbank.
So yeah, you can dance the night away at one of the most inviting riverside pubs in Salford and Greater Manchester full stop, all whilst helping put food on the table for those who need it most.
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As the organisers themselves said, “Who doesn’t love a tear-up in your local boozer?” — plus it’s all for a good cause, so you’d be a fool not to go along really.
The Old Pint Pot has seen many a gig in its time but not many as important as this one. (Credit: Supplied/Rhod Parry via Instagram)
Sticking with the theme of locality, the acts hand-picked to play this first event haven’t just played at the likes of Glastonbury, Lost Village, Boiler Room and Love International, they are regulars in the late-night music culture here in our area, so they know all about what this city and its people mean to each other.
Tickets are live now and will set you back just a fiver, with all the proceeds raised going directly to local Manc foodbanks and emergency relief across Hulme, Whalley Range, Moss Side, Old Trafford and more. You can grab yours HERE.
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The fun kicks off from 6pm at The Old Pint Pot on Adelphi Street in Salford, with live music and partying right through till midnight and beyond. Say no more, we’ll see you there and hopefully, we’ll be back again for plenty more this year.
And to learn more about the Manchester South Central Foodbank, please watch this recent and truly moving video down below.
When Siobhan had to give up her job to care for her dad, she got little support from the social security system. This isn’t right. Universal Credit should protect people from going without the essentials. 💚 Sign @TrussellTrust and @jrf_uk petition 👉 https://t.co/oFPsOd4KfVpic.twitter.com/CLjhta2Gso
— Mcr South Central Foodbank (Bridging the Gap) (@MSCFoodbank) February 6, 2024
An unmissable Whitney Houston tribute event is returning to Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
A much-adored and cherished Whitney Houston tribute show is returning to Greater Manchester later this year for not one but two different shows, each channelling the charisma and energy of the pop legend.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the phenomenal theatre production, ‘Queen of the Night’, the show is visiting a multitude of stages and venues all across the UK.
0161 had to receive at least one date on this tour, partly due to being the music capital of the North and also due to the fact that this is a city many fans of the 80s diva will forever hold close to their hearts.
Houston played her final ever concert performance of her career here in this very city back in 2010, taking up residence in AO Arena for two nights of world-renowned ballads and mesmerising live vocals.
This tribute show is set to include some of the diva’s biggest and much-loved hits like ‘I Will Always Love You’, ‘How Will I Know’ and ‘The Greatest Love of All’, the audience is sure to be singing along.
Adenike Adewale is taking on the role of the American R’n’B Pop singer and is no stranger to the stage or TV, featuring on The Voice in 2021 where she sang a Whitney classic, making it to the semi-finals.
Fast forward to 1 June and the tour returns to Greater Manchester and legendary city centre space, Bridgewater Hall: an incredible room more than fit for renditions of the powerhouse vocalist.
A pair of stunning venues, two stunning shows and one incomparable voice.
It’s not only our lovely region the Queen of the Night experience will be visiting; our friends over at The Hoot have plenty of nearby opportunities to sing along too, with Yorkshire dates in Hull, Halifax, Harrogate and Bradford to name a few.
I’m definitely saving all my love for when this show visits us later this year in March, and after I buy out the front row for all my friends I’ll certainly relate to the smash 1993 single ‘I Have Nothing’.
Tickets are on sale already now – you can grab yours HERE.
Better Man has bombed at the box office – but is the Robbie Williams biopic any good?
Danny Jones
So, Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man has been out for a little while now and the question on many people’s lips – you know, apart from ‘why is he a monkey?’ – is, quite simply, is it any good?
Many of you may have already seen it, others may have absolutely no interest in hearing about Robbie‘s already well-publicised exploits (be they in ape form or otherwise), or maybe you’ve just been waiting to hear whether it’s any good before heading out to the cinema.
Well, if you’re judging it purely by the current headlines circulating online, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s absolute rubbish. So far, Better Man has ‘tanked’ at the box office, making just over $1 million compared to a budget of nearly $110m (£90.8m).
However, given how pivotal the US viewing figures are, a big chunk of the commercial disappointment has come down to Americans largely not knowing who Robbie Williams even is and it’s no surprise that it’s done a little better here in the UK – though still not stellar. But again, ticket sales aside, is it good?
Better Man – Review
I wasn’t sure a (very good) CGI monkey Robbie Williams film was going to be any good either based solely on the trailer, but they nailed it.
*Once again, some spoilers ahead – though it is his life story, so we’re not really spoiling anything…
I’ll start this off by admitting that for all his foibles and controversies of the years, I am a Robbie fan; his music was always on in my house as a kid and well into my teens. Being born in the mid-90s, he was probably one of the first big pop stars to ever enter my world.
Growing up obsessed with football too, a charismatic, mainstream rock and roll-spirited figure in the mainstream who also loved the beautiful game and even took influence from chants heard around the grounds in his songwriting always made him extra appealing to me.
All that is just to say that I’m fully aware there’s probably some bias here, so I’ll still try to be as impartial and ‘objective’ as you can be with a film review. But back to the point, the short answer is yes: it’s good – very good, in my opinion.
If you’re similarly fond of the frenetic, funny and ferocious showman, you’ll obviously have a vested interest in looking back on his career thru a (somewhat simian) Lens, but even if you’re not, I still think you can get a lot of of the film and a greater insight into a captivating life story.
Monkey see, monkey do—make me sad, very sad…
This scene (among many) had us welling up. (Credit: Paramount Pictures)
For starters, put simply: as daft as it may seem, the monkey thing does work. It may come across like a strange gimmick when you first see the trailers but it doesn’t take much digging to realise that there’s quite a well-thought-out three-pronged approach behind it.
One of the first things the 50-year-old singer said on the press tour for this film is that he’s always felt “unevolved” and it’s something that’s brought up a couple of times in the film itself, so making him an ape rather than a modern Homo sapien is one way to way to communicate that.
Plus, not only does it obviously make any sad moments – and there are a lot of them – even more emotional and tear-jerking, especially during the scenes during Robbie’s childhood, but it also plays into the sad reality that he’s felt like a performing monkey for the majority of his life.
When you stop and think about the reasoning behind it feels a lot more considered than on first impression, and it certainly helps you empathise and, more importantly, sympathise with the troubled character you’re seeing on screen.
Robert vs Robbie
A very clever movie poster to boot.
And that’s pretty much the rub right there: this was always going to be at least a somewhat self-indulgent watch, not just because it’s a biopic but because it’s Robbie and that’s what his persona is about – but it is and always has been a performance in every sense of the word and the film does a great job of trying to distinguish ‘Robbie’ from Robert.
From seeing the origins behind being given that name specifically, his younger years and affectionate albeit mostly fraught relationship with his father; how the boom of Take That engulfed his entire world and even more so once he went solo, as well as the version of himself he’s shown to the world for last three decades, it’s clear he’s often struggled to find the line between the two himself.
It’s also very important to state the cheeky, cocksure Robbie Williams you were expecting to watch the rise of throughout this biopic has wrestled with a much lower opinion of himself than you could ever imagine. It’s a driving force behind the film and manifests in all manner of problematic and unpleasant ways, just as it did in real life. You see him see a lot of them in the crowd throughout the duration, in fact.
Because for anyone who isn’t aware, a lot of Robbie’s experiences are problematic and unpleasant; the early days as a boyband commodity, his substance abuse, struggles with mental health and beyond are all laid bare on screen in fairly graphic detail at times. A lot of the situations these issues spring from would feel hard to believe were it not for the fact it’s a true story with very little embellishment, if at all.
Manchester references are a bonus
One of the things that did stand out as a particularly surreal aspect of the film was the handful of references to Robbie’s intersection with Mancunian culture, which simultaneously felt familiar and somehow like going back in time to peep behind the curtain at a world that very few saw first-hand.
Again, the behind-the-scenes examination of how Take That transpired and those very dangerous, inappropriate and frankly unlawful series of events in nightclubs over on the likes of Canal Street feels like a fever dream (as it did for Robbie).
Perhaps the biggest buzz we got was the not-so-surprise appearance by the Gallagher brothers and ‘The Robster’s obsession with Oasis. The look is exactly what you’d expect and Liam‘s accent might not be perfect but it still gave us a thrill without feeling like pointless lip service.
All that being said, is the much-talked Robbie biopic a good enough film to warrant popping out to the pictures? Well, I’d certainly say so. Not only are the visuals and the CGI itself pretty flawless, but the motion capture is done so well that it never felt like I was taken out of the film at any point – even the very particular Stoke and Cheshire accents of Robbie and Gary Barlow are very convincing.
We knew there was going to be lots of humour too but there’s also a lot of impressive stuff the director does that I wasn’t expecting.
One of those is the transitions: there are lots of clever tonal switches done with great camerawork and effects (particularly during one driving sequence and some of the flashback frames) and they really do help covertly shift the mood so some of the darker moments don’t give you full on whiplash.
And lastly, the director’s fingerprints can be felt all over the movie as Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman pedigree certainly makes sections of the film feel more like a musical than I was expecting – but in a good way. Big bold cabaret choreography fitting of the man himself.
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After all, we all know most Robbie tunes are bangers but seeing them brought to life in these new and interesting ways really does make Better Man a better film than we’d even hoped for and it’s certainly good enough to be performing a lot better than it is at the box office right now. Maybe give it a go.
As far as I’m concerned, big stunning set pieces like this are just the tip when it comes to what makes the Robbie biopic a good film.
Danny Jones -
7th February 2024 
