The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess has taken over the tannoys at Manchester Metrolink stations this week and become the voice of our tram network.
Commuters since Monday have been hearing Tim’s friendly voice piped over the speakers.
Mancs are loving the cheery announcements from the Salford-born singer and DJ, which occasionally captures him bursting into song.
It’s all ahead of the Vinyl Adventures Record Fair on December 5, held at multiple venues and shops in the region.
A live gig will be taking place close to a city centre Metrolink stop at the weekend.
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Tim will also be revealing the locations of 500 hidden lanyards right across Greater Manchester, which grant whoever finds them free weekend tram travel.
“I always fancied being a station announcer when I was a kid so a big thanks to Metrolink for making that dream come true,” said Tim.
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“We have a brilliant weekend lined up, with a Charlatans gig on the Saturday and Vinyl Adventures on the Sunday is going to be amazing with live sets, DJs, interviews, podcasts and more records than you can shake a stick at – and if you’re lucky enough to find a lanyard you can travel for free thanks to our friends at Metrolink.”
On Twitter, one person said: “I’m enjoying @Tim_Burgess voicing @MCRMetrolink stops! Thought someone had hacked the mic!”
Another tweeted: “This is awesomeness! Bet there will be many #Charlatans fans riding round trips on @MCRMetrolink this week”
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Someone else posted to Tim: “Just heard you on @MCRMetrolink to brighten up a drizzly Manchester morning!”
The Vinyl Adventures Record Fair is taking place at venues including Piccadilly Records, Mars Tapes, Vinyl Resting Place, Clampdown Records, Eastern Bloc Records Vinyl Revival, and Wax and Beans in Bury, with gigs, podcasts and talks.
Artists such as Pete Doherty, We Are Scientists, Badly Drawn Boy and the Lovely Eggs will be hosting their own stalls, while Clint Boon will be selling his vintage organ and synth collection.
Manchester Piccadilly station will also be hosting three musical performances on Sunday, with Apollo Junction taking to the mezzanine at 11.30am, followed by a very special guest at 12.45pm and Cold Water Swimmers at 1.30pm.
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Danny Vaughan, head of Metrolink at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “This year Tim Burgess’s Vinyl Adventure Record Fair is back, better than ever and we are delighted to support him.
“It’s the only thing I know that’s definitely worth checking out this weekend. Whether you’re a vinyl hobbyist or just looking, it’s going to be a great experience for everyone.”
Featured image: Supplied / Unsplash
Music
Government to introduce price cap on ticket touts and launch consultation on dynamic pricing
Danny Jones
The UK government are finally set to install a price cap on re-sale tickets for touts and open an official consultation on the growing trend of dynamic pricing.
If you’ve bought a ticket to a live music show over the past year or so, you’ll have noticed that ticket prices in general are on the up – particularly if purchased from a reseller, in which case you might have paid through the nose for the privilege.
Not only does ticket touting remain a prevailing problem in the industry, with tonnes of tickets for big shows, especially, being snapped up in bulk or by bots and listed for re-sale before you’ve even added them to your basket, but the advent of this new dynamic pricing lark has made things even harder.
You only have to look at the controversy and chaos surrounding Oasis’ reunion tour, which ultimately saw some fans paying significant amounts more for practically the same ticket just a few days later in what many dubbed as ‘fraud’ and even ’emotional blackmail’.
Justin Timberlake at Co-op Live Manchester was one of countless gigs where ticket prices fluctuated. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Tackling resellers head-on
Knowing full well that people will go to extreme lengths to try and see the musicians and artists they love so dearly – in some cases being backed into a corner as the final figure displayed on the screen when they checkout suddenly jumps up – the modern ticketing industry is severely broken.
With all that in mind, the government are now looking to enact more stringent measures on resellers, by announcing a new price cap on tickets put back up for sale which is set to be introduced (hopefully) in the very near future.
Targeting sites infamous for inflating re-sale costs such as Viagogo, StubHub and others, the bill published on Friday, 10 January proposes a price cap of face value plus 10-30% but no more, with an obvious aim to keep that number as low as possible.
According to the current figures, touts reportedly cost music fans alone more than £145 million in extra re-sale fees when purchasing tickets every year – a frankly ridiculous sum. There will always be tickets ending up on re-sale sites, that’s unavoidable, but a price cap could seriously improve the situation.
The Manc music legends themselves claim they had little control over the situation.
Down with dynamic pricing
Labour, who were voted into power back in July, are also set to try and combat dynamic prices, which essentially sees gigs and events set people back more or less depending on how the popular ticket sales have been up to that point, market trends and general demand. An initial review was called for last year.
Put simply, the more people want to attend a gig, platforms like Ticketmaster feel they are able to jack up their margins even after the initial price point has been established. The European Commission has been investigating these methods since September 2024.
Although it is still unclear as to the exact time scale of when these changes will come in, Labour MP Chris Bryant told NME that although they are still in the early stages, it is “now just a matter of how the government takes action.” And that’s where you come in.
The consultation is also crucially public, with the calling for people to submit their evidence on current pricing practices and continue engaging in the discussion throughout the progress. New Year’s Resolution: let’s curb ticket touts as much as we possibly can.
David and Victoria Beckham’s son Cruz is kicking off his own music career
Danny Jones
David Beckham’s son, Cruz, is the latest member of the Beckham family to try and make a name for themselves, as he is now making his first foray into the music business.
Cruz, 19, is the third child of David and Victoria Beckham and while daughter (youngest of the four) Harper is still just a kid, each of the famous couple’s boys has begun making a name for themselves.
First-born Brooklyn has already enjoyed multiple ventures at just 25, trying everything from modelling, photography, being a chef, as well as investing in everything from hot sauce to saké and more. As for Romeo, the former footballer looks to have hung up boots at just 22 to focus on his fashion career.
Now, though, it’s the turn of Cruz who is looking to follow not in the footsteps of his dad but rather ‘Posh Spice’, as he has now started releasing the first glimpses of his new music.
As you can see, Becks junior has been spending plenty of time in the studio and trying to create his own unique sound.
While the fledgling musician will no doubt have greater access to the industry thanks to his mum’s massively successful career in pop, and no doubt a few contacts through his dad here and there, there’s clearly plenty of natural talent there the youngster it clearly putting the work in.
It’s also worth noting that the 19-year-old dabbles in various different instruments: as well as the guitar, he has taught himself to play drums, piano, mandolin and isn’t shy from offering vocals either.
Cruz looks to be working with multi-platinum songwriting and production duo, The Wavys – made up of musicians Jack Brady and Jordan Roman – and although he hasn’t properly released anything of his own just yet, we have now had a snippet of his original track, ‘Ya Love’, which is rumoured to drop very soon.
Rewind to 2016 when he was just 11, the little lad even did his own festive single for charity entitled, ‘Every Day Was Christmas’, which was his first-ever bit of original music.
It’s safe to say that while he’s still a pretty fresh-faced teenager, his general creative direction has come quite some way since then.
From what we’ve heard, it’s all sounding pretty too; you only have to head to the comments to see followers complimenting the funk guitar and overall sound, as well as even drawing comparisons to the likes of Oasis and more. One person conceded: “Nepo baby aside this is actually very good.”
Son of a Man United legend and British popstar or not, there’s enough style to his stuff so far that we’ll be keeping on his music – who knows, maybe the next famous Beckham will be an artist called Cruz?
Daisy Jackson -
1st December 2021 
