Would you believe us if we told you that Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan is actually Banksy?
Well, after a conspiracy theory suggesting this began circulating online over the weekend, there’s now thousands of people out there who very much do believe it.
Or at least want to believe it.
If you’re unfamiliar with who Neil Buchanan is and how he could even possibly be the iconic anonymous street artist Banksy, Neil is an artist, musician and children’s TV presenter best known as the host of the CITV show Art Attack from 1990 to 2007.
But, where on earth did this bizarre theory come from then? Who started it?
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Although not entirely confirmed, it’s believed to have originated last Friday afternoon on Twitter by user account @Scouseman who said: “Just heard that it’s rumoured Neil Buchanan is Banksy.
“If true, it’s the funniest shit ever. Aintree’s finest. He’s a musician and art has followed in the cities of shows he’s done allegedly.
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“This is straight in the believe without question category.”
Just heard that it's rumoured Neil Buchanan is Banksy. If true, it's the funniest shit ever. Aintree's finest.
He's a musician and art has followed in the cities of shows he's done allegedly.
Neil Buchanan is NOT Banksy. Could Banksy use cardboard tubes from old toilet rolls and different coloured ping pong balls to make a trap so you could tell if anybody had been in your room while you’d been out? I think we know the answer to that. It’s ‘no’. #neilbuchanan
The fact that there’s a huge rumour going round that Art Attack legend, Neil Buchanan, is actually Banksy is one of the only good things to have happened this year.
In fact, to say it’s a theory that has ‘taken off’ would be somewhat of an understatement, because not only has it been widely reported on and is currently trending on Twitter with over 6,800 tweets and counting, but word of it has even made it back to the man himself.
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Yes, it probably won’t come as a surprise to learn that Neil now knows that everyone thinks he’s Banksy – having been “inundated with enquiries” over the weekend – but he is keen to set the record straight.
In an official statement addressing the claims on his website, Neil Buchanan’s team said: “Neil Buchanan is not Banksy. We have been inundated with enquiries over the weekend regarding the current social media story [and] unfortunately this website does not have the infrastructure to answer all these enquiries individually, however we can confirm that there is no truth in the rumour whatsoever.
“Neil spent lockdown with vulnerable members of his family and is now preparing to launch his new art collection in 2021.
“Thank you and please stay safe.”
Regardless of Neil’s denial, this certainly hasn’t stopped the internet from continuing with the mass speculation and if anything, it’s only ignited the theory even further.
All we know is that we’re invested and we hope there’s an outcome before the end of the year, but that’s probably wishful thinking.
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‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Benson Boone has announced a headline gig in Manchester – and it’s a big one
Danny Jones
American pop sensation and unrivalled king of unnecessary front flips, Benson Boone, has just announced his first-ever headline Manchester arena gig as part of a new arena tour.
The solo artist and acrobatic chart-topper has seen a meteoric rise in the US and, as is usually the case across the Atlantic, he’s become increasingly popular over here too.
Benson may have performed here in Manchester before as part of the 2024 MTV EMAs and for a small show at The Deaf Institute, but now big fans have the added Boone of getting to watch a standalone show at one of Europe’s leading indoor entertainment venues.
Announced on Friday, 30 May, the 22-year-old will be making his way across the pond from Washington for a limited run of UK concerts, with a date at Co-op Live arena being one of just five dates.
Extending his ‘American Heart Tour’ ahead of the release of his eponymous sophomore record, with this autumn leg, Co-op Live will mark his individual visit to 0161.
The Grammy-nominated artist has earned several nods of recognition already for his first album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which was released just last spring.
He has been described as among the current trend of male singers who fit into the American Idol and ‘Voice audition pop’ genre (a term recently coined online), along with the likes of Teddy Swims, Shawn Mendes, Alex Warren and others.
Regardless of the slightly tongue-in-cheek term, he’s become a huge hit around the world and landing him is still a big coup for the venue that has already welcomed similarly massive pop contemporaries like Swims, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
In case you’re wondering just how big a deal he is over in the States, even this early in his career, his domestic headline dates sold out in seconds, quite literally…
The last time he visited Co-op Live was to perform at the most recent MTV EMAs
Benson Boone is coming to Manchester on Monday, 27 October and will be playing just two other British venues: The O2 in London (two nights) and the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Safe to say you don’t want to miss this one if you like soaring vocals and lots of flipping.
General admission tickets go live at 10am on Thursday, 5 June, but Co-op Members can gain access via the arena’s official pre-sale window from the same time on Tuesday (3 Jun).
Emily Sergeant -
7th September 2020 
