Photos of Manchester’s legendary gay clubnight Flesh and Clause 28 protests have gone on display at The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.
Documenting and celebrating the city’s LGBTQIA+ community, the new exhibition appears as part of the venue’s longstanding partnership with arts institution the British Culture Archive (BCA).
Named ‘Together As One – A Celebration Of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’, the exhibit launched on Thursday 28 July and will be in situ throughout the summer.
Photographs on display capture two pivotal moments in the city’s queer history.
Image: Peter J Walsh
Photography by Peter J Walsh documents the anti-Clause 28 protest, which was held in Manchester and saw over 20,000 people take to the streets to protest Clause 28 – an attempt to suppress the gay community at a time when it was already struggling to deal with the HIV & AIDS epidemic and the backlash towards the community driven by media.
Walsh, who is more well known for documenting the city’s nightlife during the ‘Madchester’ years is one of the few who documented this important protest that would help change the face of LGBTQIA+ rights in the UK.
Speaking on the Clause 28 Demo, Manchester, 1988 imagery, photographer Peter J Walsh said: “The Anti-Clause 28 demo was one of the largest demonstrations I had covered in Manchester during that period.
Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
“The starting point was on Oxford Road, by the Poly and the participants seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. Manchester City Council reckoned there were 20,000 people on the demo. It was loud, happy and vibrant.
“The country had been under Thatcher’s rule since 1979 and people were determined to fight back against this law.
“The left-wing council of Manchester welcomed the marchers and stood with them in solidarity against the divisive Tory Government. The LGBQTQIA+ communities civil liberties were under attack by Thatcher and we were prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with them and say enough is enough.”
Elsewhere, photographs by Jon Shard capture The Haçienda’s hallowed dancefloor club night, Flesh, first launched in October 1991.
Flesh was the flamboyant mid-week night at The Haçienda, which welcomed everyone, black, white, gay, straight and was also the home of the clubs’ first female resident DJs, Paulette and Kath McDermott.
Image: Jon Shard
Flesh arrived during a turbulent time during the club’s and city’s history., the comedown from the Halycon years of 1988-1990 was in full flow and regular ‘Hac’ nights were losing their appeal due to a number of heavy gang-related incidents and laddish clientele putting off the punters.
The Haçienda and nights such as Flesh fit into a tradition of creativity and cultural innovation in Manchester, which can be seen throughout the city today.
Speaking on the Flesh at The Haçienda imagery, photographer Jon Shard said: “My friends and people around me, would be talking about it all month.
Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
“People came from all over, you had people from Europe coming over for it – it was always packed and full of energy. It was one of the most important nights there – probably the biggest gay night in Europe.
“It was always special. I was there for every single one, it was the best night to shoot because of the carnival atmosphere. It was really colourful, everyone would spend two or three days working out what they were going to wear for it.”
The new exhibit ‘Together As One – A Celebration of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’ follows on from the success of ‘A Woman’s Work’, the first instalment by the BCA in the hotel,
Throughout the summer, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and The Refuge Bar and Restaurant will be hosting a series of summer activities in celebration of all things Pride.
Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
From Sparkle Weekend celebrations, a new exhibition celebrating Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ community in partnership with British Culture Archive, and of course the iconic Come As You Are Weekender – there’s something for everyone.
To find out more about the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel x British Culture Archive ‘Together As One – A Celebration Of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’, visit the hotel’s website here:
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Beloved British boy band Five are BACK in FULL for the first time in 25 years
Danny Jones
No, your eyes don’t deceive you: all five members of the beloved British boy band Five are set to reunite for the first time in a quarter of a century.
Formed way back in 1997 and dominating the charts throughout the period in and around the millennium, the iconic pop group was the UK’s answer to the Backstreet Boys and NSNYC, as well as a much-needed replacement for Take That just after their split.
And they did exactly that for a number of years, with hit tracks like ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Keep On Movin”, ‘Everybody Get Up’, ‘If Ya Gettin’ Down’ and more still firmly stuck in our memories.
It doesn’t matter how long it’s been, we still remember all the words and the dance moves to go along with them – and we’ll be able to prove it when the Five UK reunion tour comes to Manchester.
Although the London-formed group has reformed every now and again in different configurations over the years for special occasions, anniversary events, etc., this is the first time that the original lineup has been together for 25 whole years.
That’s right, Abz Love, J Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon will all be reuniting on stage for a limited UK arena tour – because anything less simply wouldn’t be enough to mark this throwback celebration.
More importantly, if you don’t think every single one of these massive rooms is going to sell out in a flash, then you clearly can’t count to five.
As for the Manchester crowd, fans will be welcomed inside the equally legendary AO Arena for the ‘KEEP ON MOVIN’ 2025’ Tour later this year and we can’t wait.
Fellow domestic DJ and producer Naughty Boy will also be joining them as the main support act. We’re rolling back all the memories this autumn.
You can see the rest of the tour dates below, including equally massive shows at The O2 in London, the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, a First Direct Arena date in Leeds and more.
We really can't wait to get back on stage together and see you all in person, it's gonna go OFF!! Let's goooooo! International fans, make sure to sign up there so we know where in the world you are too 👀
Scott says: “This has been a long time coming and it really does feel right for all of us now – 25 years on and we’re so ready for it. Reconnecting as a 5 over the last year has been special and I know I speak for all the boys when I say we can’t wait to do this all over again. Hope you’re ready!”
Another fifth of the throwback boy band, Abz, added: “We really can’t wait to get back on stage together & see the fans, it’s gonna go OFF! Buzzing to have Naughty Boy on tour with us too… 5 bad boys and a naughty boy, that sounds like a lot of fun. Let’s gooooo!”
General admission for Five’s 2025 UK reunion tour goes live on Friday, 7 March from 10am but die-hards can access the exclusive pre-sale window on Wednesday, 5 March by signing up for the mailing list.
2000s indie rock icons The Enemy continue comeback trail with must-not-miss UK tour
Danny Jones
For fans of old-school indie and noughties contemporary rock, you do not want to miss the one because The Enemy are not just back making music but they’re heading out on a pretty big UK tour and, of course, they’ll be stopping right here in Manchester.
The Enemy first reformed back in 2022 for a limited run of shows, but it turns out the Coventry-formed trio were satisfied with a one-off reunion and a fifth studio album officially being worked on, the fierce Brit rock throwbacks have announced a series of pretty large UK tour dates.
Following on from some hugely successful comeback performances at TRNSMT, Isle Of Wightand a headline slot at Godiva Festival 2023, not to mention the instantly hit ‘Indie Til I Die’ shows last year – including an absolute stormer at Victoria Warehouse – they returning for more.
One of the few bands to make their way back to the live music circuit fully intact, with all three members still performing together, nothing has changed other than a few more grey hairs.
If you weren’t there at the outset, The Enemy’s debut LP We’ll Live And Die In These Towns (2007) was one of the most seminal domestic releases of its time, with songs like ‘You’re Not Alone’ going on to become indie anthems of the era.
To be honest, we’d argue their sophomore outing Music For The People just two years later is the better album, with tracks such as ‘Be Somebody’, ‘Elephant Song’ and ‘No Time for Tears’ still in plenty of our playlists to this day – but, you know, each to their own.
The point is, we’re very glad these lads are back and having played with everyone from Oasis and The Killers to even The Rolling Stones, we’d wager lots of other music lovers are too.
Set to play New Century Hall in Manchester as well as the legendary Leadmill in Sheffield, Beckett Students’ Union in Leeds, Rock City in Nottingham and more, it’s going to be a big tour.
We're absolutely buzzing to be back on tour & in some of our all time favourite venues.
We'll be trying out new material for the first time in years ahead of the new album we're making, we're all really excited to try some new tunes and see what you think whilst we finish it!
Frontman Tom Clarke, who has put out two solo records of his own in past years, said of the announcement: “We’ve been working long days in the studio recording new material, so we’re really excited to get out on the road again.
“The plan is to experiment with some of the new tunes, maybe different ones on different shows to see how the crowds react and which ones connect with fans, and let that guide the track listing on the record which is nearing completion.”
Co-songwriter and bass player, Andy Hopkins, added: talking about the upcoming tour: “My favourite part of being in a band is having those nights with the fans where the atmosphere is electric – I think this tour is going to be really special for the 3 of us.
“It’ll be the first time we’ve been back to some of these cities in a long time, in venues we absolutely love and have been really important to us on the way up – Electric Ballroom was the first venue we ever played in London supporting The Fratellis, I drove us there with all the amps & guitars in my Fiesta!”
The Enemy come to New Century, one of our favourite live music venues in all of Greater Manchester, on Saturday, 1 November.
Pre-sale has already been snapped up in the blink of an eye, which is no surprise whatsoever, but general admission will go live from 10am this Friday, 28 February.
Georgina Pellant -
29th July 2022 
