Our Manc of the Month series is back, but this time round, we wanted to do something a little bit different.
We all know that Manchester is home to plenty of special people, some born here and others drawn here, who have inspired and led us through tough times, so we decided to start a series that shines a light on those who should be celebrated.
Following on from our ‘The Mancs of the Year’ feature towards the end of 2020, Manc of the Month officially kicked off in July 2021 – with Marcus Rashford MBE, Manchester’s mural king Akse P-19, the local chef feeding the region’s vulnerable families Mary-Ellen McTague, and Manchester’s groundbreaking new Council leader Bev Craig among previous honourees.
In earlier editions, we had chosen to feature people who had an impact on our region in the recent weeks prior, but for this month, we want to cast our minds back and pay worthy tribute to an inspirational pair who are sadly no longer with us.
With International Women’s Day – a global holiday marked annually to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women – coming up on Tuesday 8 March, and Manchester getting ready to celebrate the females who have made our city what it is today, we cannot think of a better time to remember the careers of a duo who not only changed the comedy landscape for women, but changed the game entirely.
Victoria Wood and Caroline Aherne truly left their mark.
Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV and The Mrs Merton Show / Credit: BBC
Although born in London to Irish parents, BAFTA award-winning actress, comedian, and writer Caroline Aherne moved to Manchester at the age of two, was raised in Wythenshawe, went to school in West Didsbury, and kick-started her illustrious career on the city’s comedy circuit by performing as a collection of characters, before developing the iconic ‘Mrs Merton’.
Aherne developed her Mrs Merton character with Frank Sidebottom for his show on Piccadilly Radio, where she worked as a receptionist.
She made a number of television appearances as the hilarious character, before rising to prominence in 1994 with the mock chat show The Mrs Merton Show, where she was known for asking celebrity guests a series of outrageous fake questions – the most-memorable example being to the wife of magician Paul Daniels, Debbie McGee, asking: “So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?”.
Aside from the Mrs Merton character, Aherne was known for appearing on BBC comedy sketch programme, The Fast Show, and then cemented her place in the heart of us Mancunians when she co-wrote and starred as Denise in beloved Manchester-based sitcom, The Royle Family – which ran for three series from 1998 to 2000, and was a largely stereotypical portrayal of working-class family life at the turn of the millennium, with almost all of the episodes taking place in the Royles’ telly-centric living room and showing the hilarious conversations they’d have.
The Royle Family could not be a more perfect lasting legacy for Aherne, as it’s often included in the conversation when it comes to Britain’s best sitcoms, and was named in BFI’s 100 greatest British television programmes of all time.
The Royle Family was co-written and starring Caroline Aherne / Credit: BBC
Known for having an instantly-recognisable voice, Aherne narrated the Channel 4 reality television series Gogglebox from its inception in 2013 up until her death in 2016.
She passed away from cancer on 2 July 2016 at her home in Timperley at the age of 52.
2016 was also the year that the world tragically lost the multi-talented Victoria Wood, who, just like Aherne, had a wealth of strings to her bow as a comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer, and director.
Born in Prestwich, and raised and educated in the Greater Manchester borough of Bury, Victoria Wood was struggling with self-confidence, identity, and her place in the world when she discovered a love for performing after her father gifted her a piano for her 15th birthday and she joined the Rochdale Youth Theatre Workshop later that same year.
Wood began her career in show business while she was undergraduate studying drama at The University of Birmingham in the 1970s.
Throughout her decorated and multi award-winning career that spanned over four decades, Wood wrote and starred in countless sketches, plays, musicals, films, and sitcoms, and she was particularly known for humour grounded in everyday life that included references to activities, attitudes, and products that are considered to be typically British, with eclectic live stand-up shows that were often interspersed with her own musical compositions that she performed at the piano.
Her very-own comedy variety sketch show, Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, aired on the BBC from 1985 to 1987, undoubtedly making her a household name and paving the way for her to become a mainstay on our screens.
But if you ask Mancs what Wood’s career highlight is, most would point to the cult-classic sitcom, dinnerladies – which ran for two series from 1998 to 2000.
BBC sitcom dinnerladies ran for two series from 1998 to 2000 / Credit: BBC
Created, co-written, produced by, and starring Wood herself as Brenda “Bren” Furlong, dinnerladies is set entirely in the canteen of the fictional Manchester-based factory of HWD Components, features the caterers and regular customers as the show’s main characters, and was beloved for the fact that it depicted the lives, and social and romantic interactions of all of the staff.
Victoria Wood also sadly died of cancer on 20 April 2016 at her London home, surrounded by her children and former husband.
Although we’ve done our best to take you through the lives of these two late local legends and give a worthy nod to everything they went onto achieve throughout their careers from humble beginnings, it’s almost impossible to truly sum-up the impact that Caroline Aherne and Victoria Wood had and quantify just what they mean to the people of our proud city.
Their talents will always live on, and Manchester will never forget our comedy heroines.
Featured Image – BBC
Feature
Review | Snow Patrol roll back the years at Co-op Live for a mini-Manc’s first gig
Danny Jones
This weekend we enjoyed a new kind of live music experience: rediscovering the joy of listening to a childhood favourite by watching it through the eyes of the next generation – that was how we witnessed a fully-fledged arena return to Manchester for Snow Patrol at Co-op Live.
And it was special for lots of reasons.
Taking a little one to their first gig is something you’ll never forget and sharing a new-found connection with a band that you loved when you were their age is one of those magical things about music that we’re eternally grateful for.
You might assume the Snow Patrol crowd one skews a little older for the most part but we were pleased to see there were more than a few kids and teenagers donning tour tees, looking wide-eyed at the sheer size of the Co-op Live arena, and singing the words back better than Gary Lightbody at times.
Sees the sign: ‘Race you there!’ (Credit: Audio North)
Yes, the Belfast-born frontman made a few mistakes on the night, but it did add a rather laid-back quality to what many acts might have found a daunting performance: playing a sell-out night to around 23,500 fans inside the enormous state-of-the-art venue.
But, obviously, there wasn’t even a whiff of nerves from these lads.
You don’t get to have been around for this long and become as successful as they are without being able to relax on stage and lean into those idiosyncratic perfections that feel more like private moments shared between the artist and the crowd.
The young lad sat watching it with us certainly got a kick out of it and though we might not have been able to cover his ears in time to censor some light but ever-charming swear words (it always sounds better in Irish, don’t you think?), it made for some nice banter between him and the crowd.
Big props must go to Johnny McDaid on the keys too, who besides having written for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Biffy Clyro and countless others over the years, also managed to impress by playing the majority of this entire tour after having trapped his hand in a train door. OUCH.
Credit: The Manc Group
Not only was that little interlude up there with one of the most applause-worthy parts of the entire show, but we were always pretty blown away by what we saw, as we all as what we heard.
Be it watching a digital tree come to life, shed its leaves and then fall as petal confetti, two sheer semi-opaque paper-thin screens swirl to create the album cover art for their latest album, or kicking the gig off with ‘Take Back The City’ as a multicoloured skyline appeared behind them, it was all pretty incredible.
We even got to hear a personal favourite of ours, ‘Set Fire To The Third Bar’, complete with a virtual performance from the voice that truly makes the song: Martha Wainwright.
It was in moments like this when we turned to see a 10-year-old’s face not quite sure of what it was seeing but an open-mouthed expression confirming they were finding it as stunning as we were.
We thoroughly enjoyed going through the back catalogue and working our way right up to plenty of the songs from The Forest Is The Path – which Gary himself firmly believes is their best work yet when we interviewed him – but it was as visually stunning as it was to the gorgeous sonically.
Both proved to be a brilliant way to see the contemporary rock, indie and alternative veterans, but there’s something about giving them a stage as big as this that reminds you of just how much they deserve it.
Up there with one of the prettiest gig snapshots in our memory.Not quite a hologram but very cool nonetheless.The production levels are always top-tier at Co-op Live but the Snow Patrol set was much more impressive than we expected.
Last but not least, thanks to Co-op Live not just for having but for creating a little boy’s memory that he’ll never forget.
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Emily Sergeant -
25th February 2022 
