Someone physically makes almost everything.' Salford's DeFelice & Co talk to Northern Soul about their hand-crafted bag ...

Whether they know it or not, Manchester-based readers of Northern Soul are already likely to be familiar with the work of Brian Fell. Serving as the gateway to Trafford Park, his Skyhooks – an ...

The late Irish singer, songwriter and activist Sinéad O’Connor was, and remains, a heroine to many, not least to this show’s director and choreographer, Sonya Tayeh. O’Connor was loved (and loathed by ...

As we approach the end of 2025, we’re looking back at the things that have brought us immense comfort during the year. For the team at Northern Soul, books were once again a source of great joy, and ...

Black Sabbath – The Ballet from Birmingham Royal Ballet brings together classical ballet and the music of Black Sabbath, the pioneering heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1968. It’s an ambitious ...

Manchester Film Festival closes with exactly the right kind of film. Not something inflated for the sake of a finale, but a work that catches hold of one of the festival’s deeper currents. California ...

When Bonnie Raitt was a young girl, she was enthralled by the power and charisma of such blues and folk greats as John Lee Hooker and Sippie Wallace, modelling her own music and guitar-playing on them ...

In the run-up to Christmas 2023, Molly McGuinness came down with tonsillitis. Before long, she was rushed to hospital with chest pains. The infection had developed into a rare case of Lemierre’s ...

In a world brimming with artificial intelligence, the internet is awash with claims that 2026 is the year of ‘going analogue’. But what’s the evidence? Well, sales of physical media have surged (for ...

It’s been 20 years since BBC Three debuted Ideal, the left-field sitcom written by Graham Duff. Made at the Beeb’s (now gone) studios on Manchester’s Oxford Road, for seven series it starred Johnny ...

As I explain the plot of The Pied Piper of Hamelin to my 13-year-old niece, I watch her expression turn to horror. “Well, there’s this piper who is asked to rid a town of a rat infestation. He plays ...

A cult film is a lot like a crush. It shares with infatuation the thrill of discovery, the giddy delusion that the object of your affection has qualities only you can fully discern. The loved one is ...