Manchester has been named the fittest city in the UK, with residents apparently exercising around four or five times per week on average.
Now this is a crown us Mancs will be willing to wear.
After recently having been voted as the city with the country’s sexiest accent, Manchester just keeps on going from strength to strength when it comes to titles, and in this case, quite literally, as according to new research from Vitality American Express, the city has been revealed, alongside the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, as one of the UK’s ‘fittest’.
More than a quarter (26%) of respondents to the recent survey who live in Manchester say they exercise at least four or five times per week.
This compares with Edinburgh coming close behind at 23%, and then when you take a look and these stats in comparison to the rest of the UK, the nationwide average is 17% of people who exercise four or five times per week.
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The most common response, however, was exercising two or three times per week nationally (25%).
Manchester has been named the ‘fittest’ city in the UK / Credit: Pxhere
As well as finding out the cities where residents like to keep their bodies moving the most, the survey also revealed the forms of exercise that proved to be the most popular in each location – and perhaps understandable to some, but surprising to most, Manchester has shown itself to be a city of pilates lovers.
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Overall, the UK appears to be a nation of walkers, as 34% named hiking as one of their favourite ways to exercise – with respondents saying they took an average of 7,550 steps a day, and a third (33%) saying they choose to exercise in rural areas.
Gym workouts take the silver medal for most popular exercise activities, with one in five (20%) of UK adults listing gym sessions as one of their top ways to work-out.
Residents apparently exercise around four or five times per week on average / Credit: Manchester City Council
Speaking on the findings of the new research, Nick Read – Managing Director of the Vitality Programme – explained: “The new year is a great time to reset and think about your health and wellbeing goals and it’s really refreshing to see such a variety in the types of exercise people are doing – from hiking, to football, to heading to the gym.
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“It’s particularly interesting to see the amount of Brits choosing to exercise together, which we know can strengthen relationships and community ties.
“Whichever activity you choose, getting more active does so much for both your mental and physical health.”
The Vitality American Express Credit Card is currently giving its Cardmembers the chance to earn cashback on their spending, while being rewarded for staying active at the same time, and you can find out more here.
Watch Ross from The 1975 pull a few pints at Bunny Jackson’s after sold-out Gorilla gig
Danny Jones
Following his band’s sellout intimate gig at Gorilla, Ross from The 1975 decided to celebrate like any true rockstar would: by pulling pints behind the bar at Bunny Jackson’s.
Bassist Ross MacDonald has become somewhat of a cult figure in the band of late, with countless fans swooning over him and his understated manner on stage.
He comes across as just a normal, down-to-earth bloke — so much in fact that he could probably slip into your local bar without anyone really noticing. Well, almost.
Yes, after The 1975 wrapped up their much-talked-about charity set for War Child on Wednesday, Ross decided to head round the corner to everyone’s favourite dive bar and surprise some Manc faces by serving up a few drinks. Because why not?
Imagine getting up to order a pint and some wings only to see Ross fromThe 1975 serving you.
The beloved bar and wing spot on Jack Rosenthal Street is packed to the rafters most nights whether there’s a gig on or not, but with arguably one of the biggest bands in the world right now having played literally metres away at Gorilla, there were plenty of punters enjoy their usual rock-heavy playlist.
That being said, while many may have expected the Wilmslow band to come on shuffle at some point, very few of them would have been expecting to see the long-haired heart-throb himself behind the bar.
Again, so unassuming — just a tall guy in a hoody.
We have to say, he could do a little more practice when it comes to pulling pints, but we always like hearing wholesome stories like this.
It wasn’t too long ago that rising pop star Olivia Rodrigo made a similar spur-of-the-moment decision and decided to get up on stage and sing for the Bunny‘s crowd.
Why are we never in there when this stuff happens? Fuming.
We’re just gonna start writing a list of all the people we want to see in real life and hope we catch them at BJ’s one of these nights.
We might not have been able to get our hands on one of those Gorilla tickets (they were like gold dust), but we did recently catch them at their massive arena show.
Think it’s safe to say we had a very good time and Ross was on just as good form that night too.
You can read our full review HERE or just watch us making pillocks out of ourselves instead:
Featured Image — Bunny Jackson/The1975 (via Instagram)
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‘Grow up’ – Matty Healy urges Oasis to ‘stop messing around’ and reunite
Emily Sergeant
Matty Healy has urged Oasis to “stop messing around” and get back together in a new interview.
In a video that’s already amassing tens of thousands of views online, the frontman of Manchester-based indie pop rock band, The 1975, has made his thoughts on the feuding Gallagher brothers known during an in-depth interview with on Q with Tom Power from Canadian broadcaster CBC this week.
During the interview, the 33-year-old singer touched on everything from the process of making the band’s latest record, 2022’s critically-acclaimed Being Funny in a Foreign Language, to his onstage antics, and why he’s decided to embrace sincerity and being earnest – but that doesn’t seem to be the main take-away of Manchester music fans.
It’s his opinion of iconic Britpop band Oasis that’s really got people talking.
In what he called a “public service announcement”, Healy claimed Oasis are still “the coolest band in the world” but questioned what the Gallagher brothers are playing at by continuing to fight with each other after all these years.
Telling them to “grow up”, Healy urged Liam and Noel to “get back together and stop messing around”.
Healy told the interviewer: “What are Oasis doing? Can you imagine being in potentially, right now, still the coolest band in the world, and not doing it because you’re in a mard with your brother? I can deal with them dressing like they’re in their twenties but being in their fifties, but acting like they’re in their twenties?
“They need to grow up.”
Matty Healy urges Oasis to ‘stop messing around’ and reunite / Credit: Tom Power & CBC’s Q (via Instagram)
Healy continued: “Stop marding. They’re men of the people, and they’re sat around in, like, Little Venice and Highgate crying over an argument with their brother.
“Grow up. Headline Glastonbury. Have a good time. Have a laugh.”
The Wilmslow lad also took a second to speak on the popularity of both the Gallagher brothers’ post-Oasis solo projects and endeavours, and claimed fans aren’t as interested in seeing Liam Gallagher or Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds live as they would be going to an Oasis gig.
“There is not one person going to a High Flying Birds gig or a Liam Gallagher gig that would not rather be at an Oasis gig,” Healy claimed.
“There is not one person.
“Not one person is there going, ‘you know what? I loved Definitely Maybe, but my favourite thing is f***ing Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’.”
Emily Sergeant -
17th January 2023 
