A number of prominent musicians and names within the Manchester music scene have condemned Rishi Sunak’s comments appearing to suggest arts workers should “find other jobs”.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s comments have gone on to cause uproar online.
In a video-recorded and printed interview with ITV Politics this morning, Mr Sunak appeared to issue some vague remarks about what people working in the arts should do as the industry struggles amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
He said: “I can’t pretend that everyone can do exactly the same job that they were doing at the beginning of this crisis.
“That’s why we’ve put a lot of resource into trying to create new opportunities.”
ADVERTISEMENT
He then went on to say that government is “trying to do everything we can to protect as many jobs as possible”, but conceded that unemployment is “likely to increase”.
When asked whether he was suggesting some of the UK’s “fabulous musicians and artists and actors” should get another job, Sunak said “as in all walks of life everyone’s having to adapt”. He continued: “Can things happen in exactly the way they did? No. But everyone is having to find ways to adapt and adjust to the new reality”.
ADVERTISEMENT
The ITV article was later updated to state: “This article has changed to reflect that the Chancellor’s comments were about employment generally and not specifically about the music or arts sector.” however, Sunak’s comments still caused anger from those working in the struggling arts sector.
Now, well-known names on the Manchester music scene have had their say.
Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, The Smith’s guitarist, co-songwriter and solo artist Johnny Marr, Charlatans’ lead singer and solo performer Tim Burgess, and Bolton-born singer/songwriter Badly Drawn Boy have all taken to Twitter this afternoon to address Mr Sunak’s controversial comments on the arts sector.
ADVERTISEMENT
In his expletive-filled rant, Liam Gallagher asked the government to “show a bit of respect”.
So the dopes in gov telling musicians and people in arts to retrain and get another job what and become massive cunts like you nah yer alright c’mon you know LG x
He also went on to state that: “If anyone needs to retrain, it’s [the government]”.
The same sentiment was echoed by Tim Burgess, who also called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to talk with him about the struggles the arts sector is currently facing.
Hey @RishiSunak – I think we need to talk about this : /
Johnny Marr questioned the Chancellor’s comments with regard to the content produced by the arts sector and consumed by the public during lockdown.
This is someone running the country. How about you not have your movies, TV shows, Netflix etc during lockdown ? All the music, paintings, art in the culture since time began. Moron. pic.twitter.com/jyBXf2sjde
Sacha Lord – Night Time Economy Advisor for Greater Manchester – has also hit back at the Chancellor’s comments today.
The co-founder of Warehouse Project and Parklife has continued to be vocal on the topic on Twitter and in the media over the past few months, and more significantly in the wake of the #CancelTheCurfew campaign – the nationwide campaign calling on the UK government to remove the curfew which requires venues to shut at 10pm – where he has previously that the lack of support would result in “a tidal wave of redundancies” across the country.
Taking to Twitter to respond to Rishi Sunak’s comments this afternoon, Mr Lord indicated that the government is “killing off our scene”.
He also called on live music fans to “remember this when we are through it”.
Today, the Chancellor has said musicians and others in the arts industry should look for another job.
That includes your favourite DJ….
If you like to go to nightclubs/events/festivals, just remember this when we are through it.
Earlier in the day, Mr Lord had also taken to Twitter to call on the government to “urgently introduce a sector-specific support package” and stated that the night time economy would not survive without it.
ADVERTISEMENT
One of the significant points in his call was to “cancel the current 10pm curfew” for public safety.
Today I am calling on the Government to urgently introduce a sector-specific support package if the night time economy is to survive #WeAreViablepic.twitter.com/HFbv9RF944
Rishi Sunak has since responded to the backslash surrounding his comments.
Following the change in headline of the originally-published ITV article to reflect the nature of the comments in the interview, the Chancellor took to Twitter to respond to the widespread criticism he has received throughout the day.
He indicated that the original article headline “falsely suggested” his thoughts on the arts sector.
An earlier @itvnewspolitics tweet falsely suggested I thought people in arts should retrain and find other jobs.
I'm grateful they have now deleted that tweet. I care deeply about the arts which is why our £1.57bn culture package is one of the most generous in the world. https://t.co/raEXxXUMqx
Mr Sunak also went on to say that he “cares deeply about the arts”.
He then referenced the government’s £1.57 billion culture package – which he called “one of the most generous in the world” – as a reason to back up his supportive stance.
Audio
Bez and Shaun Ryder are starring in a new gangster movie – nope, not kidding
Danny Jones
No, you didn’t misread the headline and you’re not on acid: Manchester music legends Bez and Shaun Ryder are set to feature in a brand-new gangster film.
Yes, the ones from the Happy Mondays – why are you having such trouble processing this?
Seriously though, we did a little double-take ourselves when we came across this news, but the familiar Manc faces look to be among the ensemble of a brand-new gangster movie by Irish writer, actor, producer and filmmaker, Ciaron Davies.
And this is just a little leak or rumour that may have been blown out of proportion: you can take it from the horse’s mouth as Happy Mondays frontman, Ryder, recently shared the news on social media.
As you can see, the new film is called Geezers and is billed as a “British crime caper” written and directed by Davies, featuring Shaun as hard-man Robbie and Bez as ‘Monk’. If you saw Ryder shaking off that snake biting his hand like it was nothing then you already know he’s hard as nails.
Although it’s not strictly listed as a comedy per se, ‘caper’ would suggest plenty of humour and light-heartedness, so we’re thinking more like The Gentleman, Italian Job, or maybe even Four Lions, rather than a serious crime thriller.
Now, while we’ve seen both of the Salfordians on screen before not only in the likes of music videos, interviews, panel shows and even as two of the funniest guests to ever go on Celebrity Gogglebox, this latest venture will serve as their respective acting debuts.
According to the IMDb page, the synopsis of the film is as follows: “Crime caper about a stolen bag of money. Caught in the crossfire are ‘The Geezers’ a bunch of wannabe criminals who have bitten off more than they can chew. With 24 hours to grab the cash, London may just go up in smoke tonight.”
Shame it’s not set on the mean streets of Manchester, or better yet Salford, but you’ve still very much caught our interest.
You can see the first promotional poster for the film down below.
As for Davies, he has been involved with a number of small-budget TV film projects, as well as appearing in shorts and even video games, so it’s fair to say that getting 62-year-old Ryder and his ever-energetic hype man, 60, involved is quite the coup for his movie-making career.
Although the film has no release date just yet, we know that filming locations having included parts of Warrington and Pinewood Studios, will be produced by Loose Gripp Films and distributed by publishers High Fliers.
Given the high-octane nature of Geezers and its genre, the feature will involve lots of action, stunts, violence and even martial arts – though how much kung-fu these two will have learned for the project remains to be seen…
All we know is that the film is supposedly “coming soon” and if you don’t want to see Bez and Shaun Ryder doing their best impression of a Guy Ritchie gangster movie then you’re lying to yourself. Praying for a Rowetta cameo to put the cherry on top.
Featured Images — Shaun Ryder (via X)/Loose Gripp Films/IMDb
Audio
Blossoms at O2 Ritz Manchester – five-night hometown residency is already a triumph
Daisy Jackson
Blossoms are a band who were born and forged here in Greater Manchester, and now they’re back retracing their steps with a five-night residency across the venues that launched them into the big leagues.
Their star has risen all the way to arena level and headline shows at Wythenshawe Park at this point, especially here in their hometown, so the chance to see them back in these cosy-ish little venues is special, and a little bizarre.
For night two of their landmark sold-out gig series, it was the turn of the O2 Ritz, that sweaty spot off Oxford Road where the floor bounces downstairs and you stick to the carpets upstairs.
Poetically, the first time I ever saw Blossoms was in this very room in 2016, when they had the mid-afternoon slot at Neighbourhood festival and the queue to get in went all the way back to St Peter’s Square.
Since those days, Blossoms have come a long, long way, and their live show has evolved and matured from five lads thrashing on their instruments to this well-oiled, hip-swaying, flares-wearing, chart-topping machine.
There’s even choreography now – how fancy!
A stand-out moment from the show is actually a song from their new, fifth studio album Gary, which is still barely eight weeks old.
A spoof recording of legendary Manchester indie club 42s rings out, then all five band members abandon their stations, slinging keytars and marching drums around their necks so that they can dance together in front of neon signs.
Blossoms have just done their second of five shows in Manchester, this time at the O2 Ritz. Credit: The Manc GroupBlossoms on stage at the O2 Ritz in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Blossoms promised more disco with this album and they bloody meant it. It’s not just the flares and the blow-dries and the moustaches (though those do help) – it’s in the funk and groove that’s gradually crept into their music exponentially with each album release.
This is still indie rock but it’s the most danceable of its genre. Good luck keeping your shoulders from wiggling and jiggling in here. Good luck keeping that grin off your face.
And Gary is one of the most unexpectedly fun albums to be released in the last year – the fact they called it Gary, named after a giant fibreglass garden centre Gorilla, should’ve been our clue. It could border on silly were it not such a masterpiece.
It seems like the only thing Blossoms are trying to prove is that you can be wildly successful without taking yourself too seriously. They just seem like a group who want to have a good time and it’s totally infectious.
Case in point – when each band member is introduced, keyboardist Myles Kellock plays the riff of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi and The Biz. Unexpected.
Blossoms also clearly give a sh*t about their live shows and graft at it – I’ve seen these guys an awful lot and it’s because their tour dates are plentiful and consistently worth the ticket price.
This is definitely the biggest era of their career so far, but have they peaked? Not even close.
Emily Sergeant -
6th October 2020 
