2022 was a pretty wild ride wasn’t it – three PMs, two insane celebrity court cases, one Platinum Jubilee (and then, sadly, a state funeral), financial turmoil, ANOTHER LadBaby Christmas number one, and Sir Ian McKellen hatching out of a giant golden egg.
That’s just the national news stories too… Back here on home turf things were also getting pretty weird, and it’s those odd local gems that really kept us going throughout the year.
So we’ve looked back, dug deep, and pulled together the maddest Manc news stories from 2022 to give us a laugh as we head into 2023. Enjoy.
Storm Franklin causes chaos
Storm Franklin was an absolute monster, and it hit the north west just days after both Storm Eunice and Storm Dudley had wreaked havoc across the region.
More than 400 homes in South Manchester had to be evacuated due to the flooding risk and the public transport network well and truly gave up on doing its job.
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But the most Manc reaction to the weather chaos came from Failsworth, and a certain Pete Brotherton, who chose to look on the sunny side of his completely flooded back garden.
In a video shared on his social pages, Pete popped on his swimming trunks, a pair of inflatable armbands and goggles, and hopped into the icy water (essentially a big puddle) to swim laps.
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Mystery pooper in sofa showroom
The man taking a poo in the middle of the Sofa Club. Credit: TikTok, @sofaclubuk
One local man was so excited about the great deals on offer in a sofa showroom in Manchester, he literally couldn’t contain his excitement – or his bowels.
In a shocking video posted on LinkedIn (of all places) and TikTok in May, a man was caught on CCTV walking into the Arndale, dropping his trousers, and doing a poo on the floor.
We all know that the worker bee is the symbol of Manchester, and we all have a bit of a soft spot for the little creatures here.
But they pushed their luck again this summer, when they once again chose to swarm all over the place – and this time, it was a pedestrian crossing they made their home for several days.
We’re all used to the sight of Boombox Barry, a legendary local figure, whizzing through the streets of Manchester on his push-bike, speaker dangling from the handlebars.
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But it was a bit of a surprise to all of us when his mode of transport got a sudden upgrade, with Barry zooming around on a much faster and fancier set of wheels.
It’s a Tuesday afternoon. The streets are quiet as everyone sits at their desks cracking on with work. Except, there are the tinny strains of The Four Tops, a glimpse of a man walking around flashing his belly beneath his t-shirt, the sight of a pensioner in a 1920s-style flapper dress boogying.
Because Tuesday afternoons in The Chestergate pub are not like Tuesday afternoons anywhere else on this planet.
This completely chaotic video captured the most quintessentially British drunkenness, went viral, and won the hearts of the nation.
We still can’t get over @Sam Ryder suprising us in Manchester today and busking in St Peter’s Square! What an incredible man with an incredible voice #foryou#samryder#manchester#fyp#busking#eurovision
Manchester has tonnes of supremely talented buskers – something our 60 Seconds With series highlights – but a visitor recently gave our local talent a run for its money.
The star popped in to town to sing his heart out in front of an enraptured crowd. What a lovely dude.
The least accurate billboard of all time
Aww, sweet, well-meaning Magnum… but they really missed the mark with their absolutely enormous billboard in Piccadilly Gardens.
The ice cream brand chose to go with the slogan ‘The only thing that can make lying on Piccadilly Gardens even better‘ – directly above the absolute mud bath that the area was at the time.
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Mancs definitely saw the funny side, and the irony, and completely trolled Magnum with comments like: “Who better to share a magnum with than Dave the rabid pigeon.”
Jack Grealish having a *lovely* day out
Jack Grealish celebrating at the Manchester City victory parade. Credit: Manchester City
World Cup hero, Man City heartthrob, owner of the most famous calves in the Premier League – Jack Grealish is a lot of things, but he’s also our favourite person to ever take part in a very public victory parade.
At his club’s bus parade through town, Jack was caught well and truly letting his hair down.
The wobbly footballer was videoed saying: “I wanna see everyone at Albert’s Schloss tonight, and I’ll buy everyone a Jagerbomb,” as well as hitting Phil Foden with an inflatable banana, posing for photos cuddling the mascot Moonbeam, and wearing a woman’s handbag. Pure joy.
Mugshot madness
Jonathan Cahill. Credit: West Yorkshire PoliceRobert Rimmer
What on earth have our local police forces been putting in the water lately?
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Twice this year we’ve seen mugshots of wanted men go viral because people were flooding the comments with remarks about their appearance.
Our favourite comment of the lot was this one: “What’s his crime breaking hearts or houses?”
The arrival of Karen’s Diner and THAT very cross pensioner
News of Karen’s Diner reaching our shores drummed up a mixed reaction last year – half of us thinking that getting deliberately taunted by staff was an insane prospect, the other half thinking it was quite a hilarious concept.
Tell you who didn’t see the funny side though, and that’s the unsuspecting, 73-year-old grandmother who was dragged along by her family with absolutely no explanation of the Karen’s Diner concept.
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It gave us all some hilarious content, though, as Barbara turned the tables back on the deliberately rude wait staff and gave them a stern telling-off.
Millions of people were stunned when this – apparently legit – business started advertising its very unusual product on Facebook.
A couple of amateur Manchester taxidermists created stationery holders using dead squirrels they found in Heaton Park… the headless mammals apparently make ‘perfect holder’s for pens, cutlery etc.’
Shocking and horrifying some, whilst genuinely intriguing others, the post’s accompanying images show decapitated, hollowed-out squirrels with crossed arms and, in some cases, pink painted nails and rhinestone collars.
Featured image: Facebook
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Live out your Traitors fantasy with this murder mystery in Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
You can now feel like you’re a part of the hit UK TV show The Traitors with this murder mystery experience in Greater Manchester running all throughout the year.
Since we can’t all squeeze around that glamorous round table with a board and chalk at the ready, this murder mystery experience will definitely do the trick!
Hosted by East Lancashire Railway, who are known for their already incredible events and arrangements, the evening is definitely in safe hands – even if a hypothetical murder has taken place.
Each guest can expect a welcome drink on arrival and a killer three-course meal, you’ll soon realise it’s hungry work solving murders and investigating crimes.
Beginning in February and running right up until Santa Claus comes to town, all the occasions are themed and passengers are encouraged to dress up in attire fitting of starring in their own version of Murder on the Orient Express.
Guests onboard a Sherlock Holmes-themed murder mystery at East Lancashire Railway. Credit: East Lancashire Railway
‘Death at the Rock and Roll Diner’ kicks off the innovative nights as anyone who boards the train will be transported back to the 50s, all diners will have to twist the night away to solve this crime.
In April, head down to the world’s most famous Parisian night club where you’re sure to be singing “Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, da-da” as you shimmy, burlesque and cabaret your way to uncovering a murder.
Chocoholics this one’s for you: in June, the steam train is turning into a chocolate factory where guests can expect treats just as sweet and rewarding as revenge.
There are two opportunities to be a ‘Super Trooper’ as ‘The Killer Takes it All’ visits Bury Bolton Street Station in June and August, in this ABBA-inspired murder mystery lots of attendees will be asking, ‘Take A Chance On Me’?
With plenty more themed evenings on the cards, why not hop aboard this vintage steam train and try your hand at solving a murder mystery, just like a faithful would on the telly?
All we need now is to rent a few green cloaks and find a mate who can pull off a fringe as good as Claudia – any takers?
Starting on 21 February, anyone interested in seeing a full lineup of themes and looking to add a murder mystery to their calendar can do so with tickets on sale HERE.
Whether you’re a ‘faithful’ or your talents lie in deception, you’ll have a ball.
Better Man has bombed at the box office – but is the Robbie Williams biopic any good?
Danny Jones
So, Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man has been out for a little while now and the question on many people’s lips – you know, apart from ‘why is he a monkey?’ – is, quite simply, is it any good?
Many of you may have already seen it, others may have absolutely no interest in hearing about Robbie‘s already well-publicised exploits (be they in ape form or otherwise), or maybe you’ve just been waiting to hear whether it’s any good before heading out to the cinema.
Well, if you’re judging it purely by the current headlines circulating online, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s absolute rubbish. So far, Better Man has ‘tanked’ at the box office, making just over $1 million compared to a budget of nearly $110m (£90.8m).
However, given how pivotal the US viewing figures are, a big chunk of the commercial disappointment has come down to Americans largely not knowing who Robbie Williams even is and it’s no surprise that it’s done a little better here in the UK – though still not stellar. But again, ticket sales aside, is it good?
Better Man – Review
I wasn’t sure a (very good) CGI monkey Robbie Williams film was going to be any good either based solely on the trailer, but they nailed it.
*Once again, some spoilers ahead – though it is his life story, so we’re not really spoiling anything…
I’ll start this off by admitting that for all his foibles and controversies of the years, I am a Robbie fan; his music was always on in my house as a kid and well into my teens. Being born in the mid-90s, he was probably one of the first big pop stars to ever enter my world.
Growing up obsessed with football too, a charismatic, mainstream rock and roll-spirited figure in the mainstream who also loved the beautiful game and even took influence from chants heard around the grounds in his songwriting always made him extra appealing to me.
All that is just to say that I’m fully aware there’s probably some bias here, so I’ll still try to be as impartial and ‘objective’ as you can be with a film review. But back to the point, the short answer is yes: it’s good – very good, in my opinion.
If you’re similarly fond of the frenetic, funny and ferocious showman, you’ll obviously have a vested interest in looking back on his career thru a (somewhat simian) Lens, but even if you’re not, I still think you can get a lot of of the film and a greater insight into a captivating life story.
Monkey see, monkey do—make me sad, very sad…
This scene (among many) had us welling up. (Credit: Paramount Pictures)
For starters, put simply: as daft as it may seem, the monkey thing does work. It may come across like a strange gimmick when you first see the trailers but it doesn’t take much digging to realise that there’s quite a well-thought-out three-pronged approach behind it.
One of the first things the 50-year-old singer said on the press tour for this film is that he’s always felt “unevolved” and it’s something that’s brought up a couple of times in the film itself, so making him an ape rather than a modern Homo sapien is one way to way to communicate that.
Plus, not only does it obviously make any sad moments – and there are a lot of them – even more emotional and tear-jerking, especially during the scenes during Robbie’s childhood, but it also plays into the sad reality that he’s felt like a performing monkey for the majority of his life.
When you stop and think about the reasoning behind it feels a lot more considered than on first impression, and it certainly helps you empathise and, more importantly, sympathise with the troubled character you’re seeing on screen.
Robert vs Robbie
A very clever movie poster to boot.
And that’s pretty much the rub right there: this was always going to be at least a somewhat self-indulgent watch, not just because it’s a biopic but because it’s Robbie and that’s what his persona is about – but it is and always has been a performance in every sense of the word and the film does a great job of trying to distinguish ‘Robbie’ from Robert.
From seeing the origins behind being given that name specifically, his younger years and affectionate albeit mostly fraught relationship with his father; how the boom of Take That engulfed his entire world and even more so once he went solo, as well as the version of himself he’s shown to the world for last three decades, it’s clear he’s often struggled to find the line between the two himself.
It’s also very important to state the cheeky, cocksure Robbie Williams you were expecting to watch the rise of throughout this biopic has wrestled with a much lower opinion of himself than you could ever imagine. It’s a driving force behind the film and manifests in all manner of problematic and unpleasant ways, just as it did in real life. You see him see a lot of them in the crowd throughout the duration, in fact.
Because for anyone who isn’t aware, a lot of Robbie’s experiences are problematic and unpleasant; the early days as a boyband commodity, his substance abuse, struggles with mental health and beyond are all laid bare on screen in fairly graphic detail at times. A lot of the situations these issues spring from would feel hard to believe were it not for the fact it’s a true story with very little embellishment, if at all.
Manchester references are a bonus
One of the things that did stand out as a particularly surreal aspect of the film was the handful of references to Robbie’s intersection with Mancunian culture, which simultaneously felt familiar and somehow like going back in time to peep behind the curtain at a world that very few saw first-hand.
Again, the behind-the-scenes examination of how Take That transpired and those very dangerous, inappropriate and frankly unlawful series of events in nightclubs over on the likes of Canal Street feels like a fever dream (as it did for Robbie).
Perhaps the biggest buzz we got was the not-so-surprise appearance by the Gallagher brothers and ‘The Robster’s obsession with Oasis. The look is exactly what you’d expect and Liam‘s accent might not be perfect but it still gave us a thrill without feeling like pointless lip service.
All that being said, is the much-talked Robbie biopic a good enough film to warrant popping out to the pictures? Well, I’d certainly say so. Not only are the visuals and the CGI itself pretty flawless, but the motion capture is done so well that it never felt like I was taken out of the film at any point – even the very particular Stoke and Cheshire accents of Robbie and Gary Barlow are very convincing.
We knew there was going to be lots of humour too but there’s also a lot of impressive stuff the director does that I wasn’t expecting.
One of those is the transitions: there are lots of clever tonal switches done with great camerawork and effects (particularly during one driving sequence and some of the flashback frames) and they really do help covertly shift the mood so some of the darker moments don’t give you full on whiplash.
And lastly, the director’s fingerprints can be felt all over the movie as Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman pedigree certainly makes sections of the film feel more like a musical than I was expecting – but in a good way. Big bold cabaret choreography fitting of the man himself.
After all, we all know most Robbie tunes are bangers but seeing them brought to life in these new and interesting ways really does make Better Man a better film than we’d even hoped for and it’s certainly good enough to be performing a lot better than it is at the box office right now. Maybe give it a go.
As far as I’m concerned, big stunning set pieces like this are just the tip when it comes to what makes the Robbie biopic a good film.
Daisy Jackson -
4th January 2023 
