In what is a headline that admittedly sounds fake but somehow actually isn’t, Bob Dylan has this week revealed himself to be a Coronation Street fan.
While we obviously know that the long-running ITV soap – which is set in the fictional Manchester suburb of Weatherfield, and celebrated an impressive 60 years of entertaining the masses back in 2020 – currently averages around six million viewers per episode, and has a legion of loyal fans, we just can’t say we expected that one of the most revered singer-songwriters of all time was one of those fans.
Taking us by surprise in a recent interview, Bob Dylan admitted that he is, in fact, a Corrie fan, and it’s all because the soap makes him “feel at home”.
That’s right, he may have been born and raised in Minnesota, he may have sold millions of records, and he may have a whopping 10 Grammys, an Oscar, and even the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature to his name, but the music icon says he feels just “at home” watching a soap opera set in Manchester as us Mancs do.
In a rare interview, Bob Dylan shares candid thoughts on streaming music (“too smooth and painless”), social media (“a wonderful thing”) and his scattered creative process https://t.co/49BBJtrR8w
Opening up and giving an insight into his life and career that has spanned the best part of six decades, Dylan spoke to the Wall Street Journal to share his thoughts on creativity, current songwriting process, the explosion of technology and culture during the mid-20th century, and life in the TikTok age.
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He also spoke a little about his lockdown experience, and it seems Coronation Street was a part of helping him pass the time.
He told WSJ: “I recently binged Coronation Street, Father Brown, and some early Twilight Zones. I know they’re old-fashioned, but they make me feel at home. I’m no fan of packaged programs or news shows.
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“I never watch anything foul-smelling or evil. Nothing disgusting, nothing dog ass.”
Coronation Street / Credit: ITV
Dylan did admit though that he thinks he may be a bit “too old” for binge-watching programmes nowadays, explaining: “Two or three hours in front of the tube is a lot of binge watching for me. Too much time to be involved with the screen. Or maybe I’m too old for it.”
He also added that technology “doesn’t really help” him relax.
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“I’m too relaxed, too laid-back,” he continued, “Most of the time I feel like a flat tire, unmotivated, positively lifeless. It takes a lot to get me stimulated, and I’m an excessively sensitive person, which complicates things.
“I can be totally at ease one minute, and then, for no reason whatsoever, I get restless and fidgety – there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground.”
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Emily Sergeant -
20th December 2022 
