Here it is, NME's Student Guide 2006. A guide to all the UK's major cities sits just to your right. Where to drink, eat, shop and watch bands. It's all there.
Thom Gibbs, Head Of Music at Fuse
“By the time you leave Manchester you will happily destroy your copy of ‘Definitely Maybe’. It can seem like a place way too in love with its past, with the nasal whingeing of Messrs Brown, Gallagher and Ryder rarely far away. Happily, the façade of ’90s revivalism drops as you explore the more exciting elements of Mancunian life. Getting away from the uni’s Oxford Road stretch is rewarding, with great bars and shops to discover in the Northern Quarter and nearby ’burbs Chorlton and Didsbury. You will seldom be short of gigs or club nights to cater for your tastes, just make sure you’re well prepared for regular exposure to all eight painful minutes of ‘I Am The Resurrection’.”
University Of Manchester
Contact: Oxford Road M13 9PL;tel: 0161 306 6000
Website: www. manchester.ac.uk
Student Union: www.umu.man.ac.uk
Number of Students: 30,000
Boy/Girl Ratio: 54:46
Famous alumni: The Chemical Brothers (above), Sophie Raworth, Mark Radcliffe, Meera Syal, Rik Mayall
Fuse FM
www.fusefm.co.uk/A growing station which broadcasts a wide range of music for two months of the year. Recruiting DJs and other staff at Freshers’ Week.
Student Direct
www.student-direct. co.uk/Highly-regarded student newspaper with well organised music, fashion and opinion sections. Writers and section editors always required.
Indirect
Supplement style magazine covering local music, shops, club nights.
Pelicanneck
74-76 High Street, M4 1ES;tel: 0161 236 4792;
www.boomkat.com
Electronica specialists with tons of rare and obscure vinyl. Next door is the none-more-kooky café, Oklahoma, for post-purchase sleevenote reading over a latte.
Kingbee Records
519 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton, M21 0UF;tel: 0161 860 4762
www.kingbeerecords.co.uk
They’ve got an awesome selection of vinyl ranging from unbelievable bargains to super-rare punk and reggae. Well worth the bus ride.
Pop Boutique
34-36 Oldham Street, Northern Quarter, M1 1JN;tel: 0161 236 5797;
www.pop-boutique.com
Essentially Next clothes for indie boys and girls who want retro dresses and suits, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Sand Bar
120-122 Grosvenor Street, M1 7HL;tel: 0161 273 3141
A great selection of ales and one of Manchester’s best jukeboxes make Sand Bar very popular.
Lal Haweli
68-72 Wilmslow Road, Rusholme M14 5AL;tel: 0161 248 9700
A trusted favourite of the 50 or so restaurants in the famous Curry Mile of Rusholme, featuring a waiter who looks a bit like Hitler.
Big Hands
296 Oxford Road, M13 9NS;tel: 0161 272 7779;
www.myspace.com/bighandsmanchester
First stop for indie cognoscenti. Very rare to not see at least one member of Elbow in here. Sister bar Temple (an ex public toilet) is also worth a look.
BOLTON
GigsThe Soundhouse
Ash Street, BL2 1DG
www. soundhouselive.com
This 500-capacity venue bags touring bands as well as allowing local acts to put on gigs.
Club
Hawthorne’s
5-41 Spa Road, BL1 4AG
tel: 01204 361427
Rock, indie and metal shake the floorboards, and bottles of beer are usually a pound.
Shop
X Records
44 Bridge Stree, BL1 2EG;
tel: 01204 524018
www.xrecords.co.uk
“Bolton’s premier music store” has a big selection of older and rare vinyl. They’ll even try and locate deleted stuff for you.
Food & Drink
Town Café
9 Deansgate, BL1 1HH
tel: 01204 388 653
Cheap place for greasy fry-ups. A surefire cure for hangovers.
OLDHAM
GigsThe Castle
8 Union Street, OL1 1DJ
tel: 01706 882 759
An intimate venue with an awesome sound and light set-up.
Club
The Castle
8 Union Street, OL1 1DJ
tel: 01706 882 759
Same venue but may we suggest you attend Club NME there every Saturday – the likes of The Boyfriends and Dustins Bar Mitzvah have played recently, and you can see forthcoming gigs at www.nme.com/clubnme. Good times guaranteed.
Shop
Save Records
Unit 1-2, Tommyfield Market Hall, Albion Street, OL1 3BG
tel: 0161 627 5267
Claims to be able to get you anything for the cheapest price within 48 hours, and still has eight-tracks in store.
Food & Drink
The Ashton Arms
26 Clegg Street, OL1 1PL
tel: 0161 785 8126
Darts, table football, homemade food, sorted.
Jilly’s Rockworld
65a Oxford Street, M1 6FQ;tel: 0161 236 9971;
www.jillys.co.uk/rockworld
This is a pleasingly unpretentious catch-all club for rock fans. Cheapskates night on Thursdays are, er, cheap and feature metal, emo/hardcore, classic rock and indie rooms.
Smile
18-20 Fairfield Street, M1 2QFtel 0161 273 6726;
www.starandgarter.co.uk
Far better option for an indiecentric dance than the terrifying parade of Karen O look-alikes on offer at the nearby 5th Ave and 42nd Street. This Saturday night is always packed and generally full by half ten, so get there early.
Hot Milk
Attic, 50 New Wakefield Street, M15 NP;tel: 01612366071
www.thehificlub.co.uk
Monthly club night of righteous reggae/dancehall/dub selection with reliably friendly crowds, non-stop dancing and general good vibes.
Night And Day
26 Oldham Street, Northern Quarter, M1 1JNtel: 0161 236 4597
www.nightnday.org
An intimate, but normally packed, bar that hosts some of the best new acts. Cheap on the door, but not at the bar.
Academy 1, 2 & 3
Oxford Road, M13 9PR;tel: 0161 275 2930;
www.manchester academy.net/index.html
Three university venues, varying in size from toilet to hangar. Host a good 50 per cent of the many bands coming through Manchester, so you’d better get used to them!
Klondyke Bowls Club
Burnage Range, Levenshulme, M19 2HQtel: 0870 444 5556;
www.helpyourselfmanchester.org
Bizarre working men’s club that caters for more experimental tastes.
Big Fish Rehearsal Rooms
Beehive Mill, Jersey Street, Ancoats, M4 6JGtel: 0161 950 4250
www.bigfishcorporation. com
Manchester’s most popular rehearsal spaces by some distance. Totally OK. Everyone comes here.
Dawsons
30 Portland Street, M1 4GSwww.dawsonsonline.com
This is an attractive, but fairly overpriced, music shop, with a good selection of pianos (not that you’ll have the money, time or space for one), amps and drums.
Cutting Rooms
Abraham Moss Centre, Crescent Road, M8 5UF tel: 0161 740 9438www.citycol.com/cuttingrooms
This well-equipped contemporary studio has generous reductions on rates for students.
Lee Gale, The Longcut
“Like a lot of people all I ever wanted was to be in a band, I just needed to find the right people, and university gave me that opportunity. It didn’t happen immediately, so be patient. Manchester’s such a musical city. Think back and so many big bands have come out of there – Oasis, New Order, The Stone Roses – the list just goes on, and it’s still producing great new music. Britpop was still in full swing when I was studying up there, which was brilliant; there is an amazing musical feel about the place. The student community really mucks in and gets involved too, which is important. Student Direct, the uni newspaper, tries to support bands on their way up, they helped us when we started out. So my advice – just get stuck in.”
“A really cool pub/club, you never know who you’re gonna bump into there. Ideal for your post-Academy nights out.”
“Cracking for shopping, it’s basically a northern Camden Market but under one roof. You can even get your hair cut there.”
“Great for rarities, I’ve spend a lot of time, and even more money at this place.”
“Not actually a mile but a whole stretch of great curry houses in Rusholme, shop along for the best/cheapest/ stupidest deals.”
“Depending on your red or blue blood, both worth a visit, although I hate Man United so I wouldn’t go there.”
