Bongo’s Bingo is hands-down a cracking night out. Mix up some cocktail pitchers with a rave in a historical hall and you’ve got a recipe for success.
But it’s also more than your average Manchester event. Bongo’s Bingo is mad, unadulterated entertainment: A Year Six disco crossed with an office Christmas party. Only this time, boys and girls are not lingering in opposite corners and the teachers are stood on tables singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ – fuelled up on Woo-Woos and jaeger bombs whilst waving glow sticks.
With Rich Furness and his two hype-men dressed in drag headlining the show, Bongo’s cranks up the volume and turns Albert Hall into an absolute riot.
Rich Furness and his two hype men dressed in drag are experts in entertainment.
Bongo’s is always that night-out where ‘that crazy thing’ happened.
During the event we attended, a lad stopped the game and proposed – a gesture greeted by hoots from an auditorium of smashed strangers and awarded with a pat on the back from Rich.
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And that’s the best thing about Bongo’s – nothing is off-limits, and no one cares. Everyone is there for one thing and one thing only – to get smashed and have a cracking night out.
Oh, and to play Bingo, of course.
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Bongo’s version of bingo is on steroids – and so are the prizes.
Here’s a bit more about what’s involved…
It’s a game of chance, anyone could be walking out with a serious cash prize
The Game:
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Bongo’s version of bingo is split into five games with three rounds.
First round is won by crossing off just one horizontal row, the second is won by two rows and the third by getting a full house.
Huge numbers flash up on the screen and are read out seriously quickly, so you’ve got to be on the ball. But that also means the more tequila consumed by your competitors, the higher chance of winning the later prizes (just a tip from us).
Then, the steroids kick in. Bongo’s takes a pensioner’s hobby and makes it wild, verging on an X-rated Mad Hatter’s party.
One false call and the crowd shouts “D*ckhead!” repeatedly at you – public humiliation you won’t forget.
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Shout “Bingo!” at the same time as someone else, and you’re in for a dance off.
Coco Pops that were won were immediately sprayed over the crowd.
The Prizes:
Prizes at Bongo’s range from a box of Coco Pops (sprayed over the crowd) to a life-size cut out of Michael Bublé – that’s right, you could win the king of Christmas himself.
If you’re really lucky, you might even wheel home a new Henry Hoover or a huge set of Disney Princess Barbies. There’s even a karaoke machine up for grabs – if you’re willing to sing for it.
Lucky winners can take home £50, £200 and £1,000 – and all you have to do is get drunk and turn up.
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Everyone’s a winner at Bongo’s, though. Singing Take That whilst ordering in another round of shots… it’s a class night out.
Audio North’s favourite albums of 2024
Danny Jones
We like to pride ourselves on our love of all kinds of music here at Audio North and we genuinely think 2024 has been one of the truly great years for music, with so many albums released making it into our all-time best-of lists.
Described by many as the year ‘proper pop came back’, guitar music found its feet again and where contemporary electronic music enjoyed another strong spell in the mainstream spotlight, we’ve been like a pig in proverbial you know what in terms of finding new artists and favourite tunes.
With Audio North still in its infancy as TheManc Audio page enveloped our fellow audiophiles over at The Hoot and The Sheff to cover as much regional music as possible back in July, we intend to make 2025 our biggest year yet, so it’s a good job we had such a prolific 12 months of music to launch off.
Let’s look back on how we got here, shall we?
The best albums of the year, according to Audio North
Romance by Fontaines D.C. – EmJ
The Dublin group have taken their evolving sound to new heights with Romance: a forty-minute exploration of post-punk and shoegaze which marks a striking departure from their previous album, Skinty Fia.
It’s gripping from start to finish; the album opens with the titular track ‘Romance’, leading listeners on an emotional journey with the Lana Del Rey-inspired tune, ‘In The Modern World’, before closing with on a high with the nostalgia-infused belter, ‘Favourite’.
Oftentimes, music – especially any music that falls vaguely under the rock umbrella – takes itself a bit too seriously, which is why I have been so utterly obsessed with Gary by Blossoms this year. Even the name is silly.
With songs inspired by a fibreglass gorilla, flares and 42s nightclub, this is indie music to shake your tail feather to, and it’s been my soundtrack to long drives, long shifts and just about everything else in 2024.
Add to that a strange sense of pride I feel to be watching a bunch of local lads hit such a wave of success (as if I had anything to do with it beyond a couple of dozen ticket sales), and Gary is easily my record of the year.
Próxima Parada have always tried to put introspection at the forefront of their music and this latest album is no different. Even their name translates to ‘next stop’ in Spanish.
A mix of laid-back indie tunes mixed with elements of spoken word make for a beautiful album perfect for self-reflection.
‘Anybody Can Sing’ is my personal highlight on the album, making my tram rides into work feel like a much more healing journey than most other commutes.
Picking one album as my favourite of the year is far too hard, so I’ve tried to narrow it down a bit.
I wanted to choose something different (hopefully) to the others on the list, and one that I genuinely listened to, front to back, a lot this year – and this ticks both those boxes.
I also have a thing for 10-track albums, don’t ask why, I just do, and this ticks that box as well. Oh, and I’m a bit of a sucker for a concept album and a beat switch, so that’s yet another box ticked. Ended up being a fairly obvious choice after all because, as we all know, Billie is bloody brilliant.
Midas by Wunderhorse – Danny
It’s actually quite hard to verbalise just how much this album has come to mean for me personally but I’ll give it a go. Was already a Wunderhorse fan after seeing them support Sam Fender at Castlefield Bowl back in 2022 and quickly fell in love with their debut, Cub, but Midas has become a full-on obsession.
I typically try to avoid hyperbole but this is up there with the best guitar-driven album to come out of the country in god knows how long and Jacob Slater’s lyricism has genuinely changed my life by tapping into a mix of emotions that, as I’ve already mentioned, are hard to put into words – he somehow manages it.
There’s everything from grunge, post-punk, shoegaze and super digestible indie to stripped-back acoustic ballads on this record; ‘Arizona’ might just be their magnum opus and the whole project led to the single greatest gig of my life back in October.
It’s also been a joy watching them get bigger and bigger, people discovering their first-ever single ‘Teal’ and going on to turn it into a viral TikTok hit. You know that feeling of pure, communal and totally unselfish joy of getting your mate into a band? Yeah… that. Watch this pace, they’re going to be massive.
In case you need a reminder of what happened last time…
Rumour has it @MancAcademy still hasn’t recovered. 😅
The Secret of Us is the perfect bedroom girlie-pop record. Period.
Not a bad track on the album; each song is honest, organic and melancholic. Comfortably one of if not my absolute favourite albums of 2024 and perfectly relatable for all with topics such as heartbreak, love and personal growth.
Cannot wait to see where her career takes her next.
The Chicago airy-toned vocalist dropped her second studio album in 2024 and also paid Manchester a visit for the second time in November too. The R&B songstress’ latest record has it all, from some easy-listening favourites such as ‘Candy’ to the call-and-response classic, ‘Love Me Not’.
A huge highlight is the narrative track ‘One Wish’ which doubles as a heartfelt collaboration with Childish Gambino that has some of the most addictive guitar twangs ever.
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I’ve definitely spent many ‘Days’ listening to this record and will continue to do so well into next year – and most likely forever.
“I’m not a bitch, I’m just bitchy” – Charli XCX. Saturday, 7 June was not only the day the best album ever to bless our ears was released but the start of BRAT summer – a summer we will all never forget. Charli XCX shaped the whole year by being unapologetically ‘bratty’ and I will forever be here for it.
She encouraged everyone to interpret ‘BRAT’ differently; whether it was rocking up to the club with smudged mascara or just being generally bold, however you wanted to celebrate BRAT was allowed.
I’ve always been a huge Charli fan. CRASH is an album I still frequently listen to (possibly too often), so when number six was on the way I was gassed. From top to bottom, this album is absolutely phenomenal. With club bangers like ‘360’ and ‘Von Dutch’, Charli brought back the real meaning of dance-pop tunes.
If BRAT wasn’t enough Charli then went on to release a second collaborative version called Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still BRAT, where she collaborated with creators on every single track. I could go on forever but this is your sign to queue up both albums at top volume. BRAT summer, autumn, winter and spring — amen.
The debut album from Leeds legends English Teacher bagged them the coveted Mercury Music Prize in 2024 and I must have fantastic taste because it’s been the soundtrack to my life ever since it was released.
The post-punk four-piece blend inventive lyricism with twisted vocals, and their Northern charm really shines through.
My favourite track is the smash single ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ is a certified banger and one that I will never skip every time it pops up on my Spotify.
Credit: Universal/Press Image (via Spotify)
Wicked: The Soundtrack by Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and more – Kris
I have only just discovered Wicked and now I’m fully obsessed. The music, the songs, the FEELINGS – it’s all just sensational.
Even if you don’t like musicals you can’t help but love it and, of course, we encourage you to go along and see the original theatre production as well as the movie adaptation.
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The only downside is it’s now seriously messing with my Spotify algorithm…
Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter – Amy
Being a radio girl myself, I have to admit I’m not usually a full album listener, but when you think of the biggest songs in 2024, you’d be mad to say Sabrina Carpenter isn’t up there.
From ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please’ to ‘Taste’, ‘Juno’ and more, this year is the one that saw the Short n’ Sweet pop princess completely take over – and I will always find myself singing along to them all, you can’t say you won’t find yourself swaying along too.
Sabrina Carpenter’s latest album is 100% one of if not, THE best album of 2024.
Inhale / Exhale by Rüfüs Du Sol – Will
It was a tough choice but I think I have my answer.
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Their music is unreal and always reminds me of summer – real on-the-beach vibes. Can’t wait to go see them at Manchester Academy 2 next year and witness the beauty of ‘Innerbloom’ live.
Sensational.
Early Twenties by Cat Burns – Belvie
Cat Burns‘ Early Twenties is my pick for album of the year 2024. Saw her at Boardmasters and she was absolutely brilliant.
Every time she comes on it just reminds me of being in a field, in the sun with a gin and tonic and just enjoying those festival vibes.
She’s even got a great gospelly cover of ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ too.
Come From Away at The Lowry – a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope
Oli Lowe
Let’s start with a summary of Come From Away – this is a theatre show about a small town on the coast of Canada, that when disaster shook the world on September 11th 2001, offered accommodation to over 7,000 passengers whose flights had been diverted due to the American airspace being closed.
On the surface, you wouldn’t read the above summary of events and think ‘Let’s turn that cheery story into a musical’ but you simply have to believe me when I tell you that it just works.
Come From Away isn’t a story about disaster or tragedy (although both do feature heavily for obvious reasons) – it’s a story about community, hope and how when faced with the toughest of circumstances people are capable of extraordinary things.
The show opens in the unsuspecting town of Gander, Canada on the morning of 9/11. Gander was once home to the world’s largest airport, in a time gone by, when planes used to have to stop immediately after crossing the Atlantic.
This meant that Gander was the first place in North America that people such as The Beatles or even The Queen, ever landed. However, as we begin our story, Gander is now a small town with a population of about 11,000 and a derelict Airport, barely fit for purpose.
These circumstances changed very quickly when at 8:46am on September 11th 2001, a terrorist attack was committed on the World Trade Centre, New York. With the US airspace immediately closed, with all airborne planes now suspected to be terrorist weapons, all flights crossing the Atlantic had to be diverted to the nearest Canadian airport… Gander.
Come From Away at The Lowry – a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope
This creates a scenario whereby within minutes a quiet unassuming town on the coast of Canada is expected to welcome over 7000 passengers from 38 different flights, without warning, without proper preparation and without any indication as to how long they’ll be staying.
When this tale is brought to life, it’s one that will bring you to tears. I have never in my life cried so much at a musical, which I know might not sound like the most resounding endorsement but it’s truly meant to be. There were of course sad tears, heartbreaking tears and sorrowful tears but there were also tears of joy, tears of quiet happiness and tears of hope.
When you think of the horrific events of 9/11, your thoughts immediately turn to the epicentre, to New York. I’d never considered the wider implications of that day, how thousands of people flying must have had their lives turned upside down, how panicked loved ones all across the world must have been, how communities globally were affected and how a small town in a completely different country was called into action.
I don’t want to give too much away in regards to the actual characters within this story or how their journeys play out through what must of been an incredibly tough time, but what I will say is that the characters in this story, all of whom are directly based on real people (more on that later), are some of the most inspirational human beings I’ve ever come across.
Come From Away is at The Lowry until 5 January
The show stars an extraordinary ensemble performance, with no leads or ‘main characters’, instead each of the twelve actors play a multitude of characters, whose stories inevitably intertwine with one and others.
The staging and choreography for this show are also fantastic, very minimalist with the set mainly being made up of just chairs and small props, leading the audience to use their imaginations to fill in blanks.
I sadly can’t guarantee this at every performance of Come From Away but at the curtain call the night we watched, the real residents of Gander from whom the story is based on, came onto stage and gave a speech about how ‘none of them are heroes but instead just people who decided to do the right thing’… Which inevitably led to more tears from me and an even deeper appreciation of the show.
I think this story is truly needed in the world we’re living in at the moment, with global tensions high, an economy that doesn’t favour most of us, and a lot of the world feeling more separated than ever before. This story, this beautiful, heartwarming and inspirational story shows us how even through the toughest of circumstances, we can work together for the betterment of everyone.
Please go and watch Come From Away. It’s one of the most beautiful stories I’ve seen brought to the stage and it deserves endless support from us Mancs whilst here in Salford.
It’s running throughout the festive season till 5 January and I guarantee you’ll walk away from it feeling just that little bit more hopeful about the world we live in.
Dolly Busby -
10th December 2021 
