Every city has something to be proud of, and Manchester has a lot.
It might be a city with “so much to answer for”, as the famous quote goes, but with a history that’s as rich, vibrant, and culturally diverse as Manchester’s, we’re happy to answer for it.
From iconic music and sporting achievements, to groundbreaking inventions, political movements, world firsts, and so much more, there’s no end to list of things that Manchester has gifted the world over the years, and we should have no shame in shouting about them from the rooftops with pride.
But are we forgetting something here? Is there something missing from that list?
Oh yeah, there’s also Vimto.
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Vimto is a much-loved Manchester-born soft drink that contains the juice of grapes, raspberries and blackcurrants – each in a 3% concentration – which is then flavoured with a selection of delicately-balanced herbs and spices.
It was created in 1908 at 19 Granby Row in Manchester city centre – now part of The University of Manchester’s grounds – by John Noel Nichols, who was a wholesaler of herbs, spices and medicines that saw the market opening for soft drinks, due to the temperance movement and the passage of the 1908 Licensing Act.
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It was originally sold under the name Vim Tonic, which Nichols shortened to Vimto in 1912.
It’s hard to believe it now, but Vimto was originally registered as a health tonic or medicine when it was first created, but was then re-registered as a cordial in 1913.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
It enjoyed so much success during the initial years following its creation that in 1910, because the Granby Row premises had become too small, Vimto production moved to a warehouse at Chapel Street, Salford, then to Old Trafford (1927), and finally to a state-of-the-art plant in Wythenshawe in 1970.
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As well as its continued popularity throughout the 20th and 21st centrury, Vimto has even taken on a life of its own as a flavour too in more recent years, meaning that as well as being able to pop to your local shop or supermarket to buy some Vimto cordial, a bottle of still Vimto, a can of the fizzy kind from the chippy on a Friday, or even a Vimto slushie, you can now also buy some Vimto bon bons, Vimto ice lollies, candy sprays, chewy bars, and a cheeky Vimto cocktail to go along with it – although the latter doesn’t actually contain Vimto, it has to be said.
There’s even a Vimto Remix range too, boasting some other unique flavour combinations like Mango, Strawberry & Pineapple, and Raspberry, Orange & Passion Fruit, so it’s really come a long way from its origins.
And yes, we know it’s not for everyone.
Someone once pointed out that its name is an acronym for vomit, which you can make of that what you will, and it’s also certainly got its fair share of competitors on the market too, but there’s no denying it’s a drink that’s loved round these parts.
To cut a long story short, Manchester is pretty proud of Vimto.
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So proud in fact, that we decided to dedicate a monument especially to it, and stick it pride of place in the heart of the city centre, on the very spot that it was created.
Credit: Manchester History
The sculpture is aptly entitled A Monument to Vimto.
The giant wooden bottle and berries was first commissioned by J.N. Nichols plc, and carved by environmental artist Kerry Morrison out of an oak tree from a sustainable forest, before being successfully installed in Granby Row in 1992.
And we’re not kidding either, the monument now stands proudly at the site of the original factory where the first batch of Vimto was ever made.
After 19 years of the typical Manchester weather taking its toll, and plenty of attention from city revellers, the monument was ready for a refresh, and was thus “brought back to its former glory” in 2011 with a much-needed makeover.
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The grapes and raspberries were restored – with the grapes changing from red to green to reflect the ingredients of Vimto – the blackcurrants were replaced entirely, a new wooden barrel was constructed to replace the bottom of the Vimto bottle, and new labels were carved and painted.
As bizarre as it may be, and despite the many heads it’s turned over the years, Manchester is as proud of the Vimto monument as we are the drink itself.
And we would’t have it any other way.
Featured Image – Flickr
Trending
Didsbury favourite Rustik has confirmed its will sadly be closing this month
Danny Jones
West Didsbury favourite Rustik has sadly announced it will be closing for food after a decade at the end of this month.
The beloved Burton cafe and bar has been a staple of the tight-knit foodie neighbourhood since 2015, but now the independent Irish eatery has confirmed that the business will be shutting down permanently in less than a fortnight.
Confirmed on Wednesday afternoon, 17 September, the casual Manc restaurant and hangout informed their loyal followers of the unfortunate news.
Unsurprisingly, their social media has been awash with condolences, collective sadness and support for the local institution.
Posting across all of their accounts, Rustik wrote: “After an unforgettable 10 years on Burton Road, the time has come to close our doors. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come — never in a million years did we imagine Rustik would grow into what it became.
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to every single one of you who walked through our doors and supported us along the way. We poured everything we had — our time, our energy, our lives into making Rustik a space for everyone. And what a ride it’s been.
“From the chaotic, beautiful brunch shifts to late nights dancing on tables to ‘Wagon Wheel’, pushing through the challenges of COVID and helping our community with meals during hard times— we’ve done it all, together.
“To our amazing staff, past and present: thank you for your hard work, your dedication, and the love you brought every single day. You helped build something truly special, and we’ll never be able to thank you enough.
“To the incredible musicians who filled our space with life — keep doing what you do. The noise complaints? 100% worth the unforgettable nights.”
The team go on to detail that the official closing date is Tuesday, 30 September, reiterating that it is “business running as usual until then” and urging fans to “come down, grab your last Rustik fix, and raise a glass with us one final time.”
Signing off with an emotional farewell, they add: “Lastly, a message close to our hearts: please support your local cafes, bars, and independents. Hospitality is tough right now, and they need your support more than ever.
“Thank you for the most incredible decade of our lives. It’s over and out from us.”
It goes without saying that we’re gutted to see Rustik go and know how much it meant not only to the Burton Road community, but also to the Didsbury community, Chorlton and many other Greater Manchester natives.
Review | Villanelle debut: Liam Gallagher’s son’s band release their first track – here’s our review
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher’s son, Gene, and his band Villanelle, have officially released their debut single to the masses, and since we’re still very much immersing ourselves in everything even remotely to do with Oasis, we thought we’d give this first track a review.
Now, if you’re expecting a familiar Britpop vibe like his dad and uncle used to bash out back in the day, you’d be very wrong…
It’s one thing to settle into something similar to what you’ve grown up around and try to continue a lineage if you’re from a successful family – especially with a legacy as important and influential as the one left by Liam and Noel – but we’re glad to report they’ve done something pretty different.
24-year-old Gene Gallagher and his bandmates Ben Taylor (guitar), Jack Schiavo (bass), and Andrew Richmond (drums) haven’t just tried to do an impression of Oasis; instead, they’ve found their own sound, and while it does give somewhat of an old-school flavour, it’s not what we expected.
It takes literally milliseconds for you to click into realising the vibe they’re going for.
‘Hinge’ is a simplistic but hard-hitting, grungey and dark debut from Villanelle, who, despite having played a number of in-progress songs live over the last year or so, have only just dropped their first studio single.
In fact, they’ve actually taken the admittedly bizarre and unorthodox first steps of having already played live with Liam Gallagher on the Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour before they actually released anything people can easily listen to outside of their live performances.
Nevertheless, the young four-piece introduces Villanelle as the latest post-punk outfit amidst the ongoing revival of the classic rock genre.
That is to say that punk is a tried and true classic style of music, not that these lads are trying to sound like The Rolling Stones…
Anyway, we’re getting sidetracked: Villanelle draw plenty of influences from both original and contemporary examples of this sonic subculture, and while it isn’t explosive per se, ‘Hinge’ is short, direct and hits the same formulaic notes.
It’s also fair to say you can hear a bit of the recognisable LG whine in Gene’s vocals at times, too. Listen to it in full down below and see if you agree.
Even the basic found-footage style video fits into the same category.
To call it straightforward isn’t intended as any kind of a diss, by the way – some of our favourite tunes and best artists spearheading the renaissance of the punk scene write like this.
What we will say is that it looks like bloody good fun to both play and listen to in a small, sweaty room, with plenty of pits and people bouncing off the walls.
Gallagher Sr. might be surprised to see his son going for a slightly heavier, more hardcore route with his sound, but he can’t accuse him of forgetting his roots as the child of a ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Star.’
The boys are actually hitting the road this winter, including a date at The Castle Hotel in the Northern Quarter, if you fancy grabbing a ticket.
You can grab your tickets to see Villanelle on tour HERE, and in the meantime, let us know what you think of their debut track down in the comments.
Emily Sergeant -
4th November 2021 
