The Piccadilly Rats haven’t performed for several years following the death of their frontman Ray Boddington, who passed away after being hit by a tram in 2019.
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Tommy Trouble passed away on Monday evening at the age of 82 after suffering a seizure, his family said, following several years struggling with cancer, dementia and epilepsy.
Tributes are flooding in for the much-loved Manc icon, who will be ‘sadly missed’.
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One person wrote: “So sad to hear of the passing of Tommy from The Piccadilly Rats. He was wonderful.”
Nathan Cunningham, director of the documentary The Piccadilly Rats: Live in Moderation, described Tommy Trouble as ‘a mad, funny, loving, caring man’.
He said: “RIP Tommy Trouble. A Manc folk hero and a friend who shared his life with me for 6yrs during the making of the Piccadilly Rats Film.
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“A mad, funny, loving, caring, man. He made me laugh, he made me cry. God bless his soul as he dances with Ray in the sky.”
RIP Tommy Trouble. A Manc folk hero and a friend who shared his life with me for 6yrs during the making of the Piccadilly Rats Film. A mad, funny, loving, caring, man. He made me laugh, he made me cry. God bless his soul as he dances with Ray in the sky 🙏 pic.twitter.com/xLdu7BNpSK
Someone else wrote on Facebook: “Just read that Tommy Piggot(known around Piccadilly as Tommy trouble passed away on Monday. He was well known around market st as he was always dancing wearing a policeman’s helmet mainly outside Primark Manchester.
“He lately used to go on buses collecting an armful of free papers and distribute them around Piccadilly. I always stopped and had a few words with him and slip him a tenner. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.”
In a tribute supplied to the MEN by his family, they said: “He loved just going to town and dancing and bringing that joy to other people. That’s what he loved to do.”
RIP Tommy Trouble 🥲
The Piccadilly Rats were the best buskers in the world!
Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation to open in Manchester city centre
Emily Sergeant
Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation is set to open its doors in Manchester very soon.
Since it was first founded in Los Angeles all the way back in 2009, Reformation has gone on to become one of the largest sustainable womenswear brands on the planet, and is now known and loved for making beautiful, timeless apparel and accessories that aim to ‘inspire confidence’ across life stages and occasions.
Operating on a business model that pairs a smart approach to merchandising with a responsive supply chain, Reformation now operates more than 70 retail stores across the US, UK, Canada, and France.
At the heart of the Reformation story is a genuine commitment to ‘doing things differently’.
Since day one, sustainability has been woven into everything the brand makes – from the eco-certified fabrics and responsible factories, to its famously transparent sustainability reports.
Currently, Reformation has five UK stores to its name – but, it may come as no surprise to fans of the brand that they’re all in London.
That’s why the news of this new Manchester opening is such a big deal.
Set to be the label’s first UK store outside of the capital, Reformation has secured a prime spot on King Street in the heart of the city centre, and although there’s no confirmed opening date as of yet, if the shop windows saying ‘Summer 2026’ are anything to go by, we can only imagine it’ll be very soon.
“For Manchester, it’s a landmark moment, and for King Street, it’s the latest signal that this is one of the UK’s most exciting retail destinations,” a spokesperson for King Street said in a statement.
Stay tuned for details on opening dates to be announced in due course.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Andy Burnham to begin rolling out new ‘everyday fixes’ for Brits amid cost of living crisis
Emily Sergeant
A series of ‘everyday fixes’ to help combat the rising cost of living crisis are soon to be rolled out nationwide.
Kicking off with two measures today, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that he plans to ban retailers from making ‘misleading’ claims to customers about discounts.
The Government says shoppers have ‘increasingly complained’ about outlets artificially inflating prices to give a false sense of value, such as increasing prices only to then immediately advertise ‘discounts’ to make savings look larger than they really are, which goes on to create an uneven playing field for honest competitors.
The Prime Minister also wants to see an end to so-called ‘subscription traps’, where people find it hard to cancel their subscriptions, and contracts are automatically renewed at a higher cost.
Set to come into force in January 2027 and saving people an average of £14 a month for every unwanted subscription, the changes will mean businesses will need to provide clearer up-front information, regular reminders. and a ‘much easier’ exit to contracts.
Andy Burnham to begin rolling out new ‘everyday fixes’ for Brits amid cost of living crisis / Credit: gov.uk | Piotr Cichosz (via Unsplash)
A new 14-day cooling-off period will also be introduced to let consumers cancel after a trial or long-term contract renews.
Certain charitable memberships, like the ones for cultural and heritage organisations for example, will be excluded from the new subscription rules due to the fact they have a unique role in preserving the nation’s history, landscapes, and cultural collections.
The Prime Minister says he is ‘determined’ to use every chance he gets to restore fairness and take pressure off people.
“I know people are sick and tired of rip-off discounts and subscription traps,” Andy Burnham said. “Westminster has got used to telling people that everyday hassles like this are just part of life, but I don’t think that’s right, especially when the cost of living continues to weigh heavily on so many people’s lives.”
Daisy Jackson -
8th August 2024 
