A local Salford-born war hero celebrated his 100th birthday this month, and was treated to a military surprise party to honour it.
Bombardier Tom Jones has lived an eventful life.
After fighting in the Burma War and World War II, Tom is one of just a handful of war veterans with a Burma Star in the UK, and also has two stripes, a Royal artillery badge, and a VET badge to his name.
Only 17 when war first broke out, he joined as a volunteer with the 2\8 Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment, before he was called up with the 33rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Royal Artillery) in September 1939 and was stationed with the garrisons at the Princess Dock gun site to defend the Liverpool Docks during the Blitz until 1942.
From there, he was sent to Burma for four years, until October 1945 when he received the news that he could return home.
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Just a month later, he married his childhood sweetheart Eileen, and they later went on to have two children, and six grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.
Tom has lived at Bourke Gardens – a ForHousing residential home, which offers round-the-clock care and support – in Walkden for the past five years, and this is where he and his granddaughters, Carmel Jones, Rebecca Liivet, and Sarah Thornley, were joined by the 103rd Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Regiment Royal Artillery and fellow tenants for an afternoon of live music and fun for his centenary celebrations.
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The Lancashire Artillery Band were on hand to add to the party spirit, and even played the regimental march of Tom’s old regiment.
After the performance, the band’s bagpiper led Tom outside in a procession so he and his family could meet more of the Lancashire Artillery Volunteers, and he then had his photo taken alongside a L118 Light Gun with his medals proudly on show.
When asked about reaching his milestone birthday, Tom comically admitted: “I don’t feel any different, and the lady from across the way said I don’t look 100, but if somebody could just get me a new pair of legs, that would be great.”
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“It is an absolute honour to celebrate with Tom after all he has done for his country,” said Councillor John Mullen – Ceremonial Mayor of the City.
“It’s incredible to think that this brave Salford lad, who gave so much to Britain’s war effort and endured so many hardships, was just 23 years old when the war ended and has now celebrated his 100th birthday [and] we will never forget the bravery of men like Tom and we are all very proud of him.”
“It’s been our pleasure and honour to help him celebrate this special birthday,” added Hannah Ford, the Extra Care Scheme Manager at Bourke Gardens.
Featured Image – ForHousing
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The Sopranos stars finally visit much-loved Manchester sandwich inspired by the show
Danny Jones
In what feels like an inevitable story in the making for a long time now, members of The Sopranos cast have finally visited the popular Manchester sandwich spot inspired by the show, Bada Bing.
We know were biased, but we believe there’s an argument to be made that the beloved Manc butty shop has perhaps an even more fervent cult following than die-hard viewers of the hit American TV drama.
In case you somehow still don’t know the connection, Bada Bing is named after the strip club where several of the main characters work and spend a lot of their time.
Having returned to Manchester city centre back in 2024 after a successful first stint, they’ve been busier than ever, and that famous local name seems to have spread further than ever, including all the way over to the States, where actors from the original show caught wind and have now made the pilgrimage.
You might wonder why they didn’t name it after the butchers and deli, Satriale’s, or maybe even Artie Bucco’s oft-featured restaurant, Vesuvio. Both seem pretty ideal, right?
But let’s be honest, Bada Bing just has a better ring to it; there’s no denying that.
Either way, when series stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa came over to Manchester last week for a live edition of their podcast (which has just wrapped a limited UK tour) at the O2 Apollo.
But whilst they were here, they also made sure to visit a lunchtime joint that we’re sure Tony, Paulie, Christoper, Silvio and all of The Sopranos regulars would approve of.
While they didn’t quite perch out on the stoop with an espresso and a cigar, they did pose with co-owner Sam Gormally for a quick photo op outside the door.
Oh, and we don’t even need to confirm whether or not they liked the heroes – we just know they did.
‘Chris’ Moltisanti himself, Imperioli, also hopped on social media to share another key moment from his visit to the region:
Writing on their TikTok post, the Babd Bing boys dubbed it a “full circle moment” and reiterated that they still “can’t believe this just happened.
To be honest, we’ve barely got over it ourselves, and we’re just very big fans of the place.
We simply cannot imagine how surreal that day must have been for the whole team and everyone involved, and we hope we get a fun new special toasting the pair’s appearance sometime soon.
Featured Images — Bada Bing/Michael Imperioli (via Instagram)
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Grammy-winning hardcore band Turnstile perform ‘exceptional’ cover of a Stone Roses classic
Danny Jones
In a cover version we never knew we needed, multiple Grammy award-winning hardcore band Turnstile have taken social media timelines by storm with a cover of a true British rock classic by The Stone Roses.
Described as everything from “pretty damn brilliant” and “exceptional” by CLASH Magazine to “one of the best triplej covers ever”, it’s fair to say they smashed it with this one.
This one was always likely to go down well with us Mancs, but you never know how possessive people are going to be with iconic tunes treasured not just by regions but entire eras like this.
Without further ado, please enjoy Turnstile’s cover of ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ by The Stone Roses:
Lost track of how many times we’ve watched this now.
Truly excellent.
Not only did they manage to capture the ambient atmosphere of that legendary intro, but they managed to tow the thin paint-splattered line between simply trying to imitate the original and making it their own.
There’s something about frontman Brendan Yates’ vocals that suits this particular cover so very well right from the off.
We’re, of course, not saying that he sounds like Ian Brown in any way, but his range and top notes, in particular, seemed to fit almost perfectly.
Pair that with a contemporary rock band helping rejuvenate their particular guitar-driven genre, and those raw, driving D-beat-centric drums, and you’ve got a winning combo.
As you can see, the majority of the internet seems to agree with us…
.@TURNSTILEHC step into the @triplej studio to recover their take on The Stone Roses' debut album opener 'I Wanna Be Adored'.
The bulk of social media didn’t just hail the reimagining as one that did Brown, John Squire, Reni and the late, great Mani justice, but perhaps one of the greatest that the popular Australian radio station, YouTube channel and Spotify playlisters have seen in a long time.
In fact, in Audio North‘s humble opinion, we’d go so far as to say this is the best we’ve heard in the platform since their native Royel Otis’ delightful duo of The Cranberries and Sophie Ellis-Bextor covers.
Safe to say it’s been an incredible year for Turnstile, who mopped up all manner of accolades in 2025 and were even nominated for International Group at the BRITs here in Manchester this past weekend. They might not have won that one, but they get all the plaudits from us for their song selection alone.
What did you make of it? Better still, do you have a favourite triplej ‘Like a Version’? Actually, no – scrap that: is there a better cover of a Manc artist‘s track that you can think of?
Emily Sergeant -
23rd February 2022 
