A new national collection that’s dedicated to “the preservation and research of popular culture” is set to open in Manchester.
The British Pop Archive (BPA) has been created by the University of Manchester (UoM) and will open at the iconic John Rylands Library on Deansgate in the heart of the city centre, with the aim of celebrating British popular music and other aspects of popular culture to recognise its “pivotal influence” on the world stage.
Featuring “iconic items” relating to quintessential British bands, legendary UK television, youth culture, counter-culture, and more that have set trends around the globe, the BPA will be an important academic resource for research and teaching, UoM says.
It’ll also be public resource for exhibitions and public events that’s open to all.
We are excited to announce today the launch of the British Pop Archive, a national collection dedicated to the preservation and research of popular culture.
— John Rylands Research Institute and Library (@TheJohnRylands) April 6, 2022
Through working with the celebrated music journalist and broadcaster Jon Savage – who was recently-appointed as Professor of Popular Culture at The University of Manchester – the BPA has “ambitious plans” to build on its current collection.
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It wants to create a “comprehensive representation” of British popular culture.
“Britain’s pop and youth culture has been transmitted worldwide for nearly sixty years now,” Jon Savage explains.
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“The intention of the BPA is to be a purpose-built pop and youth culture archive that reflects the riches of the post war period running to the present day, and while we are launching with Manchester-centric collections, the intention is for the BPA to be a national resource encompassing the whole UK”.
The British Pop Archive will feature “iconic items” relating to quintessential British bands, legendary UK television, youth culture, and more / Credit: The University of Manchester
To kick-start the action, on 19 May 2022, the British Pop Archive will launch with Collection – which is curated by Mat Bancroft, Jon Savage, and Hannah Barker, and is described as a “distinctively Manchester-flavoured exhibition” to really show why Manchester is the perfect home for the BPA.
It is set to explore the “vibrant cultural scene of a city” that has driven innovation, creativity, and social progress.
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The exhibition will feature treasures from British pop history – many of which have never been seen by the public – and some of the highlights include personal items relating to The Smiths, New Order, The Haçienda, Factory Records, Granada Television and Joy Division, such as Ian Curtis’s original handwritten lyrics for ‘She’s Lost Control’.
“We launch the British Pop Archive with a Manchester focused exhibition full of unique and unseen artefacts,” Mat Bancroft says ahead of the exhibition openeing.
The BPA will open at the iconic John Rylands Library in Manchester city centre / Credit: John Rylands Library
He continued: “These materials tell the story of a vibrant city with art, culture and music at its heart.
“More than that, they foreground the creative catalysts, musicians, producers, artists, designers and writers who have instigated this repositioning of landscape to propose media as the new cultural capital of the city.”
Speaking ahead of the BPA launch, Professor Christopher Pressler – John Rylands University Librarian and Director of The University of Manchester Library – added: “The British Pop Archive is part of our desire to reach into areas not always associated with major research libraries, including pop music, popular culture, counter-culture, television and film.
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“This is a national archive held in Manchester, one of the most important centres of modern culture in the world.”
Featured Image – University of Manchester
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Liam Gallagher says he’s ‘ready’ to make a surprise appearance at the World Cup final
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher has said that he is “ready” to play at the World Cup final should England make it all the way to the last two later this month.
He may have just been having some fun on social media as usual, but you never know – after all, we never actually thought we’d see him and his brother reconcile, but look how that turned out…
In his words, he may have “Irish blood”, but the Manchester-born Britpop and rock icon has an English heart, and after one person online said it’d only be right for him to fly out for the conclusive fixture if Thomas Tuchel’s side make it all the way, he gave a typically off-the-cuff response:
You could argue there’s not much in this besides an impromptu comment from a famously keyboard-happy lead singer, but stranger things have happened.
For instance, it may have come after a gradually increasing barrage of old tweets, pestering and a bit of positive peer pressure in full view of the public eye, but we did at long last get to witness an Oasis reunion with the ‘Live ’25’ world tour; however surreal it felt, it’s soon set to be relived in a documentary.
This reply comes as a response to LG’s initial post on X, in which he wrote: “It’s hard work that singing Harry Kane cmon ENGLAND cmon WONDERWALL.”
It also isn’t the only time he stoked the fire of this still only pie-in-the-sky idea, either, as after another user similarly asked if he’d fly out and sing it at the final, he simply responded, “Oh I’ll show Harry how it’s done.”
He’s not the only one to have made a rather big public proclamation this tournament, either.
The England and Man United legend set himself up for a fall.
As for the 53-year-old musician, he also jokingly quipped at the expense of those less keen on the idea with just as straightforward a clap-back: “Stop crying your heart out.”
Now, obviously, we’re taking this one with a big pinch of salt (enough to season ‘some lasagneee’, you could say), but who knows? There’s been plenty of big and strange showbiz stuff happening at this year’s competition in North America.
Maybe we all need to just keep tagging the Burnage boys, FIFA, England and the official World Cup page as much and hope for at least some kind of Oasis-centric surprise.
Come on, just imagine how much this would go OFF if even one of the Gallagher brothers was in the crowd, let alone this unthinkable hypothetical…
Kings of Leon at Co-op Live, Manchester – blinding in every way
Daisy Jackson
Will Kings of Leon ever lose their ability to sell out enormous arenas in the UK? Based on the cup-slinging, sat-on-shoulders, full-pelt-singing crowd that rushed the Co-op Live on Saturday night – nope.
The American rockers are back out on a short tour, but rather than plugging a new album, this feels like a greatest hits, remember-how-good-we-are-live tour.
It’s a setlist that will please those of us who loved their twangier, garage-rock earlier albums, Youth & Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak, with live highlights including The Bucket, Molly’s Chambers, Four Kicks, and King of The Rodeo (my personal favourite).
But there’s plenty of their more recent, stadium-worthy rock anthems thrown in too, like the inescapable Sex On Fire. Love it loathe it, you can’t deny its impact when played in a venue of adoring fans.
Kings of Leon arrived in Manchester on 4 July, and dress for the occasion. Jared Followill strolls on stage in a faded, cropped Stars and Stripes tee. Caleb Followill opts for double denim. Nathan Followill is behind the kit in a ‘wife-beater’ vest.
They look every bit the all-American rock band. They must stick out like sore thumbs wandering around the UK between tour dates.
Less impressive is the slightly maddening stage design. The band spend much of the night silhouetted against enormous banks of blinding lights. If you’re looking straight at the stage, it’s like staring directly into the sun for two hours, or accidentally walking into a scrum of paparazzi just as Taylor Swift arrives. Once you accept that you’ll spend the evening partially blinded, though, there’s very little to fault.
Musically, they’re immaculate. Every song sounds as polished as the record, but never sterile. They make it all look absurdly easy, which is hardly surprising given they’ve been playing together for more than 25 years.
Nathan’s especially nonchalant – in the middle of intricate drum fills, he’s chewing bubble gum as if he’s waiting for a bus rather than holding together one of rock’s biggest bands.
There’s an instinctive chemistry between the Followill family members that’s impossible to manufacture. Unlike the Gallagher brothers, who always seem on the verge of putting each other in a headlock, Kings of Leon perform with complete harmony. Every glance and transition feels effortless, the product of decades spent sharing stages together.
The band have been changing their setlist throughout the tour, but nobody expected a heartfelt rendition of America The Beautiful. Unsurprisingly, it’s the only song of the night the British crowd doesn’t sing along to, and it even draws a few boos before the band move swiftly on.
There are reminders throughout of where they came from. Caleb’s unmistakable Tennessee drawl still gives the songs that loose, bluesy Southern character that first set them apart, even as arenas sing every word back to them. During ‘Use Somebody’, he happily hands the chorus over to the crowd with a simple, “Alright, you sing it then,” barely needing to touch the microphone.
When the set finally ends, the band don’t rush off. They linger on stage, tossing guitar picks and sweat-soaked handkerchiefs into the crowd, waving from every corner of the stage and soaking it all in with broad smiles.
After all these years, they still look genuinely grateful to be there. For a band who’ve been doing this for more than two decades, it’s reassuring to see the novelty hasn’t worn off.
Emily Sergeant -
6th April 2022 
