The PINS Guide To Manchester

How would you describe Manchester to someone who's never been?

I love Manchester, and wherever I end up it’ll always be my home. It’s a familiar city but there’s always something new popping up - it’s the birthplace of the suffragettes, Factory Records, the inspiration behind Winterfell, and cotton. It’s not a massive city, but we pack it in, and there’s plenty of art and music, and most people will say hello and give you a smile.

Who are the best local musicians/bands/artists?

Well Manchester is great for music, Joy Division are amazing and my favourite Manchester band are The Fall, but for newer bands there’s Bernard + Edith, MONEY, Kyogen, Monk, Locean, Water, Witch Fever, Duds, Peace and Love Barbershop Muhammed Ali, Lake of Snakes, Gnod, Mother, Aldous RH, Francis Lung. There are some great local record labels too - Sways, Sacred Tapes, Tombed Visions - and promoters like Now Wave and Sarambeta.

There’s loads of great artists and designers in Manchester; a few would be Aliyah Hussain and John Powell-Jones. I really like Joe Fletcher-Orr (he’s from Liverpool but it’s near enough). There’s also a great outdoor art project on Stevenson Square called Outhouse - where different artists come every few months and redesign three monoliths in the middle of the square.

What's the best venue to watch live music?

Lucky for us there are a lot: The White Hotel, Islington Mill, Deaf Institute, The Castle, Gullivers, The Eagle, Soup Kitchen...

There’s one of my favourite festivals in the world that’s hosted by Islington Mill in Salford and uses loads of the venues on Chapel Street, it’s called Sounds From The Other City and you have to go.

What's the best club?

The White Hotel for sure. If you’ve been, you know.

Where's the best record store?

Piccadilly Records! It’s right in the centre of town and sells records/tapes from local bands as well the big boys. There used to be a great one in north Manchester called Vibes, but it’s not there anymore. Also Endless Music sells all sorts of weird stuff as well as millions of records. I’ve seen their basement and it’s plentiful.

Where's the best places to eat?

We’re all vegan or vegetarian, and we love V-Rev in the Northern Quarter. They have all-vegan diner-style hot dogs and burgers which they make themselves in house, and it’s amazing (my favourite is the Hellvis Presley). They also have a mean dessert menu. Dough and Rudy’s do amazing pizza too, Rudy’s is pretty casual and they also serve Campari and crisps. Whenever we’re in Liverpool we always go to a place called Leaf, it’s really chilled and does great breakfasts - and now we have one in Manchester too! Oh, and Bundobust is pretty tasty.

Best places to drink?

Our default pub is probably The Castle, but Gullivers and Temple are also brilliant. Temple is an old public toilet transformed into a tiny dive bar - we filmed our "Bad Thing" video there.

Who are the local heroes?

Mark E. Smith is sometimes floating about. Everyone also knows the Piccadilly Rats, a band that play on Piccadilly wearing rat masks. I heard they were going on X Factor, but I don’t watch it so I don’t know if it’s true.

Favourite urban legend?

The Pendle Witch Trials. Everyone has a story about how every street corner used to be where they hanged people - in the olden days.

What are the best sights to see and places to visit?

There’s an underground tour you can do, probably more potential hanging sites down there. If you can get up high and see the city from that perspective it's great; there’s a few rooftop bars so you can kill two birds with one stone. You can also visit Emmeline Pankhurst's home, which is a sort of museum now and actually made me a bit emotional last time we went. I wish I could shake their hands.

Where is the best place to relax? To take a walk?

I live in north Manchester which is pretty leafy and has a bit more room. I like it up there. Heaton Park is pretty nice and massive, and there’s some cute animals that live there too. They do big outdoor shows and festivals there - Oasis and Stone Roses have played. You know when something is on 'cause there’s loads of muddy lads in bucket hats looking a bit lost. If I’m honest I don’t spend much time relaxing, but I like going to the Lake District when I do.

What's the worst thing about Manchester?

The Rain.

What's the best thing about Manchester?

The Rain. And the people. And the music and nightlife.

There’s loads of artists and musicians that collaborate together to make sure interesting things are always going on, and we have lots of people travel to the city which always brings in new influences and scenes. And that it’s kind of in the middle of everywhere so in five hours you can get to London or Glasgow and it’s no big deal. I love how close we are to Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, etc. which means you can travel for shows pretty easily, and go on day trips whenever you feel. Did you know there’s a great COUM transmissions exhibition on in Hull?