Stone Roses bassist Mani and his wife Imelda have raised over £100,000 for two cancer charities close to their hearts.
After Imelda Mounfield – who is the wife of Stone Roses bassist Gary ‘Mani’ – was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer back in November 2020, the couple not only set out to raise awareness of the devastating disease, but also raise as much money as possible for local cancer charities through an online auction featuring some impressive prizes.
The auction was launched at a fundraising event held at Kimpton Clocktower Ballroom on Friday 18 November, and saw the couples’ friends from the world of music, sport, and entertainment donate an incredible array of exclusive items.
Some auction highlights included Noel Gallagher’s framed and signed set of six platinum discs for the album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, which went for an impressive £8,000, while guitars donated by Damon Albarn, Arctic Monkeys, Primal Scream, Foo Fighters, Peter Hook, and The Who were also all up for sale.
The highest bid went to John Squire’s Jackson Pollock-inspired painted and signed Hofner guitar 3/3 for a whopping £16,800.
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Stone Roses bassist Mani raises over £100k for The Christie and local NHS charities / Credit: Imelda & Mani Fund
Liam Gallagher’s 2022 NME award for ‘Music Moment of the Year’ sold for £4,100, and David Beckham’s signed boots he wore for the last match of his career on 18 May 2013 were sold for £6,800.
All together, over £80,000 was raised from the auction, as well as £24,000 raised on the night of the fundraising event itself – which means that just over £100,000 has now been donated to The Christie Charity andStockport NHS Charity.
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Imelda explained that funds were donated to these two charities as they “supported me through my journey.
“Cancer affects not just the person who has it, but everyone around them,” she explained, “I hope that by investing in some more research, we can help alleviate some of the devastation caused to families by cancer.”
Both charities say they are “really touched” and “hugely grateful” for the contributions.
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Imelda & Mani would like to thank everyone who attended the fundraiser on Friday night.
We're delighted to have donated £10k each to both of our charities @christiecharity & @stockportnhscharity
“We’re really touched that Imelda’s experiences as a patient have spurred her and Mani into action for our charity,” said Louise Stimson – Head of Fundraising at The Christie Charity.
While Karen James OBE – Chief Executive for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust – added: “We’re hugely grateful to Imelda and Mani’s efforts in organising the fundraising event and auction [and] we’re proud of the care Imelda and many others with cancer have received at Stepping Hill Hospital.
“This fundraiser for our charity is a really touching display of her thanks, which will help us go on to support more patients in the future.”
Sadly, Imelda’s cancer has spread to her liver and a small nodule in her lung, so she underwent emergency life-saving bowel surgery as it perforated, and after months of treatments, she had the right side of her liver removed.
Imelda is now currently waiting for the next stage of treatment.
Jadon Sancho looks set to leave Manchester United for good – and he could be heading back ‘home’
Danny Jones
Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho looks all set to leave the club permanently this summer, and as per the latest reports, his next destination could be back at one of his previous ones: Borussia Dortmund.
Having become somewhat of a forgotten man after being loaned out to three different places since being effectively exiled from the first team under Erik ten Hag’s tenure, Jadon Sancho’s career hasn’t exactly progressed as many thought it would.
Enjoying loan spells not only back at Dortmund for the latter half of the 2023/24 season and even playing in a Champions League final, before then being loaned to Chelsea – winning the UEFA Conference League trophy – and then spending this campaign with Aston Villa, he’s been all over, even at 25.
Given his Southern roots prior to eventually coming through Man City’s youth academy, it was thought that he might stay down in London at one point; however, it now seems increasingly possible that he could return to Germany, where his breakthrough began.
Borussia Dortmund are interested in re-signing Jadon Sancho.
Sancho, who is currently on-loan at Aston Villa from Manchester United, will be out of contract in June, having moved to Old Trafford from Dortmund for €85million (£73m; $97.9m at current rates) in July 2021.… pic.twitter.com/TKjirKUW2W
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) March 19, 2026
While Man United do technically have the option to extend his stay, and the England international hasn’t experienced life under Michael Carrick, the feeling is that it is unlikely this will be the outcome.
It seems especially improbable given that it still remains to be seen who the permanent manager at the Theatre of Dream will be, as there is no guarantee he would form part of their plans moving forward.
Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has since corroborated the already ‘tier one’ outlet, clarifying that the decision for Sancho to leave United was made “months ago” and adding that the Bundesliga side is “keen” if all the personal terms can be ironed out.
Despite not having played for the red half of Manchester since 16 August 2023, there are some among the fan base who would like to see a universe where he gets a second chance at Old Trafford – then again, there are also plenty in the Midlands who would like to see him stay in Birmingham, too.
Steadily regaining some form, he also grabbed a key assist in the Villains’ recent 2-0 win over West Ham.
As always with marquee signings, even if things haven’t quite worked out, part of the obstacle will obviously be finding a suitor willing to pay his wages and/or the talent’s willingness to maybe take a pay cut, with Sancho said to be on one of the highest salaries not just at MUFC but in the English top flight.
Either way, he is currently due to leave as a free agent this coming summer transfer window, and the chances are he won’t staying on their books much longer.
Meanwhile, in transfer news in and around Greater Manchester, one fellow Premier League star has not only been heavily linked with a move to swap one United for another, but apparently he’s been ‘personally recommended’ as a potential successor by one current player.
Enter Shikari announce SUPER intimate show in Manchester
Danny Jones
Much-loved British alternative band Enter Shikari have just announced a very, VERY intimate gig in Manchester city centre, and it’s happening rather soon.
It doesn’t matter how die-hard or casual a fan you are, you are simply not ready for this one…
Almost a full 20 years from what they still covet as a watershed breakout gig here in Greater Manchester, Enter Shikari are set to play none other than grassroots rock bar and nightclub, Satan’s Hollow, right in the heart of the city centre.
Pretty much the life and soul of the heavier music scene here in 0161 for decades now, it remains not only a treasured small-cap venue but arguably still among thego-to post-gig spots after any hard gig; you could say Enter Shikari are simply cutting out the middle man.
It’s fair to say that a group of their size very rarely get to play rooms as tiny as this one these days, so it’s sure to be quite a rowdy one for the electronically influenced post-hardcore outfit.
Formed way back in 1999 (if you can believe that), they’re more used to selling out arena tours all over the world, including their upcoming Co-op Live gig this winter.
It’s also worth mentioning that this will be their single biggest domestic headline show to date.
But not before they go back to where it all started for them in this city, booking a certain-to-sell-out Shikari show at Satan’s Hollow – a Manchester venue they first played in 2006.
In fact, they’ve actually shared footage from that fateful night, and yes, the quality is as bad as you’d expect, but it gives you an idea of what the atmosphere was like then, let alone now their fan base has grown so much over the years.
Here’s us, almost 20 years ago, playing ‘OK Time For Plan B’ at our first ever Manchester show in @satanshollow on April 10th 2006.
Funny to think that in November, Manchester will host our biggest ever UK headline show at the @TheCoopLive. Both shows with the same promoter. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uHKVOwZbM2
Speaking on this milestone moment, the band wrote in a statement: “Manchester’s a city that means a lot to us. The Satan’s Hollow show back in April ’06 was the first sense we got that ‘something’ was ‘happening’. A queue around the block and total chaos inside.
We’ve had a lot of memorable shows in Manchester since then (and in November we’ll play our biggest ever UK headline show there!), but for some reason that night at Satan’s Hollow kept coming up in conversation, so the anniversary show was just too tempting.”
Tickets for this unmissable show will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for those who register HERE up until 9:30am tomorrow, Wednesday, 25 March.
The gig itself is happening on 9 April, with support from Liverpool’s very own East Exchange as support. Best of luck to all those trying to cop tickets, and hopefully we’ll see you at Satan’s.
Emily Sergeant -
5th December 2022 
