Manchester’s sound: November gig guide

Us Mancunians pride ourselves on the city’s rich musical heritage. From The Smiths to The Stone Roses, an education in Manchester’s cultural history is a right of passage for many. And in 2018, the scene is as vibrant as it’s ever been. As Johnny Marr and The Children of Zeus enjoy sold out shows this […]

Bolton NHS hospital workers celebrate huge pay victory

Guest article from The Salford Star: Bolton Royal Hospital workers are celebrating a massive victory after taking two days of strike action over pay parity in the NHS earlier this month, supported by Salford UNISON and many other trade unionists. The workers, who include cleaners, catering staff, porters and security staff, are employed by Bolton […]

‘Honk if you hate moor fires’: Manchester residents want clean pensions

On Friday afternoon local residents demonstrated outside the Greater Manchester Pension Fund’s annual general meeting in Tameside demanding the fund divest its holdings in fossil fuel companies. Organised by Fossil Free Greater Manchester, a coalition of organisations and individuals, the protesters presented remnants from the recent moorland fires on Saddleworth Moor and Winter Hill to […]

Caoilfhionn Rose: Awaken album review

The perfect companion for a stroll in the park, Awaken celebrates our ties to the natural world. Greatly inspired by one of Manchester’s many green spaces, Fletcher Moss Park in Didsbury, the album explores themes such as humanity, our relationship with the natural world, and how this can impact upon our mental well being. Awaken […]

Henge: Attention Earth! album review

Fresh on the heels of a full summer of festival appearances, local Manchester band Henge release their first album, Attention Earth! How does their frenetic and psychedelic cosmic dross fare when transported from sweaty, heaving festival tents to more placid domestic situations? I sat down with a cup of Valerian Tea to find out… Touchdown The […]

Big Oil stains greenwashed away with science festival funding

The Manchester Science Festival 2018 began yesterday with the ‘Electricity: The spark of life’ exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI), and met with a growing current of fury and opposition to the oil industry funding behind it. Amidst the admirable educational aims of the exhibition, which focuses on the ‘powerful force’ of […]

Play shares a message of HIV positivity

A new play tours Greater Manchester this month, spreading a message of HIV positivity and helping to break down the stigma surrounding the now controllable virus. ‘I Am Because We Are‘ will bring theatre out into the community, using churches, community centres and drop-in centres for refugees and asylum seekers. Seven of the ten boroughs […]

At least 449 people died while homeless in the UK, over the last twelve months

As homelessness and the misery it entails increases across the United Kingdom, a collaboration by local journalists, charities and outreach groups has for the first time recorded the numbers of homeless deaths over a year. A figure which national and local authorities scandalously fail to calculate, collate and publish, despite the growing homelessness crisis. The […]

Save the Salford Star CD released

After 13 years and over 5,000 articles, the Salford Star is in danger of closing for good, as the company will run out of money at the end of November. The Salford Star gets no funding and only exists thanks to donations from readers. Now, the Sounds of Salford radio, which began with a feature […]