Five quintessentially Manchester films you need to watch
Whether you’re new here or just love reminding yourself of how wonderful Manc culture is, this handful of films paints a pretty good broad strokes picture.
The world of Manchester film might be quite a relatively small one in the grand scheme of British and global cinema but, as with our world-famous music, there’s something to be said for how we depict the way of life around here.
Be it putting a positive shine on the ‘grim up North’ stereotype, rightly repping our sporting or musical heritage or celebrating the cultural heroes that have come from these parts, we have all the time in the world for Manc cinema and think it deserves shouting about more.
So, rather than waiting for others to pull their finger out, in the words of Thanos: “I’ll do it myself” – well, we will, but you catch my (our) drift.
Without further ado, here are five classic Manc films that you need to see if you haven’t already.
Five must-watch films about Manchester
1. 24 Hour Party People
First off, why not start with none other than a tribute to Mr Manchester himself, Tony Wilson? Made back in 2002, it’s quite mad how bang on and familiar this film still feels today and it’s a perfect dose of nostalgia for those who were around during this time, plus plenty of chuckles to go along with it.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring legendary local actor Steve Coogan as the iconic presenter, Factory Records owner, nightclub manager and music mogul, the comedic dramatisation of the Manc music community from 1976 to 1992 does just as much toying with caricatures as it does dive into the origins of the Madchester scene and beyond.
A quintessentially Manchester film and cast.
2. Looking For Eric
Next up is a cult favourite among not just Manchester United fans and football lovers in general but people all over Europe, especially here in Britain and with our French cousins, for obvious reasons. I mean, red or not, who doesn’t love Eric Cantona?
Written and directed by veteran Ken Loach and starring Salford-born screen veteran Steve Evets (Brassic, Wuthering Hearts, Pirates of the Caribbean), it revolves around a Manc postman living through whose life falls apart before visions of the footballing hero help him try and get in back on track.
Eric ‘the King’s acting at its finest.
3. East is East
From one working-class story to another which also sheds a spotlight on the South Asian experience in 1970s Greater Manchester, beloved British comedy East is East is another story full of emotion, social commentary and the UK’s relationship with race.
Centring around a Romeo and Juliet-esque multi-cultural romance, the 1999 classic always pulls at our heartstrings and is, at its core, about the universally binding theme of family. Semi-autobiographical and adapted from Ayub Khan-Din’s original play of the same name, it’s a belter.
Still such a touching story and one of the most iconic Manchester films of all time.
4. Control
Back to the music side of things, we can’t remember many more gripping Manchester-centric films than 2007’s Control, all about the life Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. Heartbreaking and brilliant.
Compellingly portrayed by Sam Riley, who himself was part of the short-lived Noughties band 10,000 Things, and lovingly brought to life by Dutch photographer and director Anton Coribjn – himself a huge fan of the seminal Manchester four-piece. It won a total of 31 awards when it released and it’s no wonder.
Find us someone who doesn’t rate this film and call them and you a liar.
5. There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble
Our fifth and final Manchester film pick is the one and only Jimmy Grimble – and as we all know, there’s only one. A staple movie for most Manc kids growing up in the ’90s and 2000s, football fan or not, everyone loves an underdog story – especially when the surroundings look so familiar.
Without spoiling too much, the 2000 film revolves around a young boy who finds a very special pair of boots and his future changes forever. One for the Blues (if you know, you know) and even this early clip alone still gives us chills to this day:
Childhood memories just come flooding back.
Honourable mentions
Now, obviously, there are more than just five films related to Manchester and it was hard to little down to just a handful, so we’ve kind of cheated and given you a few more in case you get through the list dead quick or having simply watched most of these far too many times already.
Peterloo
A bit of a sharp mood change for sure but the 2018 dramatisation of Peterloo, one of the most important moments in this region’s heritage, it’s a local history lesson that most people have skipped and for those who have only a cursory knowledge of the massacre, it’s a pretty eye-opening watch.
Spike Island
While Spike Island itself is Widness, we couldn’t not give a shout-out to a film all about The Stone Roses and their infamous 1990 concert. In truth, we’re not going to pretend this is a five-star flick, some of the acting gets pretty sketchy and Emilia Clarke’s attempt at a Northern accent is best not spoken, but we’ve still got a soft spot for the moment in Manc pop culture consciousness it tries to capture.
A Kind of Loving
Last but not least, a lesser-known one to most for sure but A Kind of Loving is one of those your mum and dad or grandparents tell you about and you never quite see what they were on about until you watch it. Another no-nonsense kitchen sink drama filled with normal people, this 1960s feature film is shot all over the tne boroughs, with glimpses of Miles Platting, Clayton, Beswick, Radcliffe and more.
Turns out the older generation love it for a reason. Give it a go.
The story behind one of Noel Gallagher’s best bits of songwriting and greatest ever performances
Danny Jones
Noel Gallagher is not only one of the greatest songwriters of a generation, but perhaps one of Britain’s best-ever; he’s certainly in the top five of all time from Greater Manchester, but did you know how the story behind how one of his best (you heard) songs, ‘Dead In The Water’ came to be?
Or rather, do you know how one little radio performance produced one of his best vocal performances to date? Keep reading…
In case you’ve never heard the haunting ‘Dead In The Water’, taken from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds LP three, Who Built The Moon?, it is very much just that: an almost ghostly and preciously quiet, acoustic song that became a cult favourite on the LP and even more beloved live track.
But this tune was never even supposed to be on the album; the deep cut, which was only ever played live a few times during concerts prior to its being released to the world, was taken from a radio show on Irish station RTÉ 2FM – and Noel didn’t even know it was being recorded.
Played during 2015, and it barely even needed ‘mastering’ before being released in 2017.
As explained by RTÉ’s Damian Chennells, Noel was promoting the previous album, Chasing Yesterday (his sophomore HFB outing and just second solo album up to that point), and during the session in the studio, Damian decided to hit record on an otherwise behind-the-scenes moment.
You can actually hear him going back and forth with the sound engineer at the start of the track – one he’d only just finished writing the night before – before he actually starts playing and the rest, as they say, is history.
We love the notion that the piano player didn’t even know what he was doing until Noel started playing.
Taped and ultimately tracked thanks to a spur-of-the-moment decision made in 2FM Studio 8 at the national free-to-air network’s radio centre in Dublin, Oasis and High Flying Birds fans, as well as lovers of Noel and music in general, got one of the most beautiful stripped-back listening experiences imaginable.
Returning to Ireland some time later, and just four years prior to getting Oasis back together for the Live ’25 world tour show that is now well underway, he performed it once again for The Late Late Show, which goes out on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Some might argue he sounds even better this time around, but just as he says in the interview above, there is something truly special and unfiltered about that first raw and ridiculously good live recording.
From 2015 to 2021, and even present day, the story behind the original ‘Dead in the Water’ recording is fascinating.
Many have even speculated that the chatter recorded at the start and played to crowds on just a handful of occasions may have even foreshadowed the eventual reunion, as it seems to feature discussion surrounding Liam
The radio tech himself said in the recent retrospective interview of his own, he felt in the moment that “this song is an Oasis B-side” and was the only one played on the day that could easily slip onto one of their records.
As for Who Built The Moon?, a.k.a. HFB3, the album never featured ever B-sides of its own; instead, it just had one extra bonus track right at the very end of the 48:46 run-time – ‘Dead in the Water (live at RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)’.
So there you have it: one of Noel’s most emotional, in-the-zone/lost-in-the-moment vocal performances in history, and one that so many still rate right up there with his very bits of music, may never have been if it wasn’t for ‘Damo’. So thanks, mate, I guess…
Are there any other tracks like ‘Dead in the Water’ where you love the back-story almost as much as the song itself? Bonus points if they’re by Greater Manchester artists.
Ed Sheeran announces ‘intimate’ Manchester date later this year
Danny Jones
The king of contemporary male pop music, Ed Sheeran, is returning to Manchester for one of his biggest dates ever, as well as his venue debut.
Yep, Teddy’s coming to Co-op Live.
The 34-year-old solo star and songwriting extraordinaire hasn’t played a standalone Manchester show since 2023, when he played the legendary AO Arena barely a year on from playing four sold-out nights at the Etihad Stadium.
And now he’s back for more with his first-ever gig at the city’s newest and Europe’s biggest indoor entertainment space.
Confirmed on Wednesday, 3 September, Ed Sheeran is set to play just a small handful of huge headline spaces this winter, including dates in Paris, Munich, Coventry and Dublin, as well as here in Manchester.
Announced ahead of his new LP and eighth studio album, Play, of which we’ve already heard four new tracks: ‘Sapphire’, ‘Old Phone’, ‘A Little More’ and ‘Azizam’ – the latter of which went straight to number one and stayed there for five whole weeks after it dropped.
These upcoming shows will be an extra and rare chance to see Sheeran before his all-new ‘Loop’ stadium tour, which kicks off in Australia next January.
Revealing details about the limited number of EU dates via his own social media channels, Sheeran wrote: “Coming to play some shows in Europe. These shows will be more intimate than a stadium show, obvz, but still will be incredible.”
We don’t know how he plans to make a room as big as the Co-op Live arena ‘intimate’, but we’re looking forward to seeing what he has in store…
He went on to add that he loves “playing these venues so much”, urging fans to pre-order the new record if they want to get their hands on tickets ASAP.
Play releases on Friday, 12 September, and those who pre-order the album exclusively through Amazon.co.uk before 7pm BST this Sunday, 7 September, can put themselves in with a chance of securing pre-sale tickets.
Elsewhere, early access will also be available to official Co-op members next Wednesday (10/9/25) ahead of general admission going live on Thursday, 11 September.
You can get ready to grab your tickets for Ed Sheeran at Co-op Live on Sunday, 7 December HERE.
Danny Jones -
8th April 2024 
