Let me take you back to the swinging 60’s, to Whitworth Street in central Manchester and Station Road in Wigan. Seemingly ordinary looking buildings from the outside, but within those walls, a movement was building. Something distinctly Northern, with Motown and American Soul providing the soundtrack!

You know how it is. You want to go somewhere good — somewhere with a bit of a buzz, something that feels like a proper day out. And your brain goes straight to the city centre. Rudy's. Afflecks. The Northern Quarter. Easy choices. Classic places. But Greater Manchester is bigger than town. Much bigger. And if you're willing to hop a few stops further out, there's a load of cracking spots waiting for you. No long queues, no ten quid pints, and no TikTokers filming their chips.

Who doesn't love a bit of live theatre? The collective experience of sitting together watching performers give their all for our entertainment, with no second chances, no cuts and resets, no room for error. We're taking a moment to celebrate the best theatres in our region and taking a peek into what's coming up in the near future in each one!

I remember the first time I heard my home 'area' referred to in a song, I was 5 years old. It features in this list actually, I couldn't comprehend how these people on the radio knew someone that I did, how they knew the same places I did.

Their tracks, produced in bedrooms, youth clubs and small recording booths set up amongst friends, provided a soundtrack to a generation. Kids from inner city areas and council estates across Greater Manchester who finally had music that depicted our day to day lives, things we saw, things we experienced, tracks that described in detail people we knew.

Manchester’s full of iconic landmarks, but not all of them come with a £15 entry fee or a queue of influencers waiting for the same...

An article honouring World War II heroes from Greater Manchester, including Marine James Conway, William Speakman, David Teacher, John Beeley, Alan Turing, Dougie Farrington, Tony Johnson, Oldham’s munitions workers, and Bolton’s Harry Goslin. It shares their stories of bravery and sacrifice, celebrating their legacy on VE Day.