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Day: 22 October 2012

Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale – Preview

Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is an upcoming PS3 and PSVita exclusive, unashamedly inspired by Nintendo’s popular franchise Smash Bros. Like that title, All-Stars is a mascot-brawler but instead of sporting Mario, Link, Donkey Kong et al, it brings together past, present and even future icons from Sony’s consoles such as Ratchet and Clank, Nathan Drake, Metal Gear Revengence’s Raidan. As a pretty dedicated Smash Bros fan I met the announcement of All-Stars with mixed emotions. The opportunity of playing this type of game with all my favourite Sony characters, on a HD console, with a real online system was a cause of great excitement. However, moving in directly on Nintendo’s patch has not always proved successful for Sony (See PlayStation Move). Therefore after hours of playing the All-Stars’ beta I was relieved to be tremendously enjoying myself.

What’s really exciting is that the Beta, available for anyone to download off the PlayStation Store until the October 31st, is extremely bare-bones. Only six characters and two stages were playable and the only mode was online free for all matches. Yet despite this lack of diversity, the ‘easy to pick up, difficult to master’ gameplay was completely engrossing.

In All-Stars you fight opponents to gain ‘AP’, earning enough ‘AP’ allows players to use one of three levels of ‘Super’ moves which can be used to defeat opponents and earn points. Each character has different ‘Super’ moves and lots of the fun is learning what these moves are and how best to use them. There is surprising depth of strategy involved as the characters gain ‘AP’ at different rates and their ‘Supers’ have varying degrees of effectiveness. Therefore learning each character and how they suit your play style is essential to dominate online, as you need to decide whether to save up your ‘AP’ for a level three super or fire out several level ones or twos. That’s getting a little technical however; as All-Stars is a broadly appealing game with deliberate Nintendo-esque ‘pickup and play’ ability, with the depth there for those only who seek it.

The Vita version of All-Stars should not be ignored as after my time playing it the best compliment I can give it is that is incredibly similar experience to its PS3 counterpart. Also thanks to Sony’s ‘Cross Buy’ promotion anyone who buys the PS3 version receives Vita version for free.

After my time with this beta I can’t wait to play the full game when it’s released on November 23rd. Don’t be put off by its mouthful of a name, or it’s perhaps cynical origin- Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is a really fun game, and one any PS3 or Vita owner should be excited for.

Locked in emotion

Four Stars out of Five Stars

Michael Crowley is a self proclaimed believer in new historical plays, believing that there are ‘too many grisly realist plays’ in today’s society. However as Cell, his new play shows, this is something that he is incredibly good at. Cell depicts the story of a prison officer who takes Kelly, a young prisoner hostage following the suicide of a new inmate. It later transpires that the inmate who had committed suicide had been a sex offender, bullied relentlessly by those in the cells around him. For Scully, the prison officer, this signals the downhill spiral to ultimately, his mental breakdown and then his suicide.

As a writer-in-residence at a young offender’s institute, Crowley has developed this scene with young offenders and this is echoed in the truthfulness of the lines. ‘Everyone’s a bully in here’, Kelly proclaims, highlighting the brutality of this system. Alongside this, Joe O’ Byrne’s portrayal of Scully’s mental breakdown is terrifying in the scene in which he hurtles props across the stage leaving the audience, for a moment, genuinely worried. Cell is particularly effective in asking the audience to assert their own position on the role of bullying: the physical and mental abuse of sex offenders in prison is something that has long been accepted, and to some extent expected. The scene turns this notion on its head, discussing the fact that in a prison everyone is a bully leading to a vicious self propagating circle. It asks whether bullying can ever be solved with further violence or bullying.

The topic of bullying, Michael Crowley, argues is a difficult one to broach in prison leading to hostility, and defiance. In working through various scenes, however, he was able to encourage them to engage with topic, leading to often unexpected responses. What struck me about this play was the lack of bias regarding the presentation of the prison officers and the prisoners – neither are presented unrealistically favourably or, too heavily criticised. There were moments when I went from being repulsed by the criminal Kelly, to being endeared to him. It is the complexity of the characters that makes Cell such a success.

So for now it seems that ‘grisly realist plays’ are set to storm the UK theatre scene for some time to come.

 

The Cell ran at The Bolton Octagon Theatre on October 

 

Easy Star All-Stars

On the face of it, joining a tribute band seem like a sure fire way of making a living in music. The songs are already written, fan-base built, just learn the suckers and hit the road – easy, right? Well, not quite and for most the closest they’ll get to Wembley is usually the boozer just around the corner. The same cannot be said for the Easy Star All-Stars – even the label ‘tribute band’ isn’t quite right, not only have they produced their own material, but their arrangements of classic albums offer a completely different perspective to the originals.

And now they’re back with Thrillah, their take on Michael Jackson’s classic, a departure in some senses from their past work. “It was important to make an R&B record after three rock records. I don’t think people realise the influence of R&B on Jamaican music. We need to do albums that have many many great songs, not just one or two, and all the songs on Thriller are diverse and stand on their own.” The album comes out just over year after the death of the legendary performer. “It certainly is a tribute to Michael Jackson, he is one of the most famous musical artists in the world, he is also one of the most underappreciated. The enormity of his fame and his iconic stature obscured his brilliance as a musician. The little things he did, which people now accept as the norm in R&B music, he really created some styles”.

The band is touring America and plays a string of UK dates in November, including Manchester’s Band on the Wall. “We’re always excited to play the UK; we’ve been coming back two or three times a year since 2003. I’m a huge fan of UK reggae and am thankful for its existence.” Not only will fans get to hear the new album, but also tracks from their other acclaimed albums. “We’re able to do a very diverse and interesting show. It’s the only show where you’re going to hear a Radiohead and a Michael Jackson song back to back, but in a cohesive way that makes sense. The response to the Thrillah material has been great so far, and it’s really fun to play”.

The band really took off in 2003 with perhaps their most successful work Dub side of the moon. “I drew up a few arrangements in my home studio and realised, wow! this could really work. We didn’t set out to do a series of these albums; it was just an idea to do a project. But people seemed to like it so much, that’s why we went on to do several albums.” Michael has certain stipulations when devising these covers. “Due to publishing concerns we can’t change the lyrics, but we can add to them. We need to keep the melodies recognisable. My license is in coming up with a different rhythm track and new bass lines that will help define the song on reggae terms. The main component of Dub is the deconstruction of the song, and creating new space by taking out certain parts.”

The band has received extremely positive responses from Radiohead regarding 2006’s Radiodread, and likewise for all their projects, and although MJ won’t be able to pass judgement on Thrillah, the All-Star treatment is something artists do really seem to get excited by. You have to respect the courage of these guys, tackling albums which would be  perceived otherwise as untouchable. But such is the innovativeness and quality of their work; they have gained masive respect from fans and artists alike.

Catch The Easy Star All-Stars@ Band on the wall on November 2nd.

Get their new album Thrillah  http://easystarrecords.shop.musictoday.com/Dept.aspx?cp=115_56275

Check out ‘Bille jean’ from their new album http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCZ9X2zYSfs

 

9 to 5: What a way to spend an evening!

Three Stars out of Five Stars

I’m just going to come out and say it: I really enjoyed it.

The curtains of the beautiful Opera House theatre open and we are greeted by the Queen of Country’s face projected onto a giant flying clock. It really did set the tone. Based on the 1980 film of the same name, the musical follows three female office workers and their plot to turn the tables on misogynistic boss Franklin Hart Jnr.

Dolly Parton is responsible for the music and lyrics, fusing her country routes with a recent music theatre sound reminiscent of Legally Blonde the Musical and Shrek the Musical.  Most of the songs are indistinguishable, with a few exceptions (namely Backwards Barbie and Get Out and Stay Out). Unfortunately, though the cast is no doubt exceptionally talented, too often even the best of efforts are unable to bring the score to life.

The audience demographic was largely older females who had come to see ‘our Dolly’ in action, and for them something about Patricia Resnick’s book really clicked. Perhaps it was the nostalgic references to 1970s pop culture, or maybe it was the underpinning feminist commentary, or- more likely- it was the perpetual, unashamed smut that punctuated the dialogue. The lady next to me, who reminded me all too much of my late Grandma, was to be found in hysterics every time the character of Judy referred to her ex-husband Dick.

It was at that point I realised I had to let go of my prejudices towards the blockbuster musical as a culturally-pillaging corporate-funded neo-liberal evil, and I came to understand that it was not really mine to criticise.  9 to 5 made sure everyone got their money’s worth with tight vocal harmony, cutting choreography, clean set changes and a show-stopping performance by Bonnie Langford. Even the moments that dived into the realms of pantomime, the audience lapped up. By the time the curtain call arrived and the song 9 to 5 was performed for the Nth time, I found myself on my feet along with everyone else, boogying away to the beats of Miss Dolly Parton.

Having said this, it cannot be ignored that the musical left a lot to be desired. The set design was at times lazy with the painted lift door looking distinctly amateur, Dolly Parton’s score was often unmemorable and the story itself felt a little hollow, lacking in any real emotional energy.

9 to 5: The Musical runs until 20th October at the Manchester Opera House

Change is needed in football’s fight against racism

There are many injustices in football: contentious penalty decisions, overpriced pints, goal-line incidents. But perhaps the most blatant of them all is the implementation of monetary fines – especially in racially aggravated cases. There seems to be no correlation between offence and amount, and even then the fine is often trivial to the offender.

It’s well documented that Nicklas Bendtner was charged £80,000 for baring his Paddy Power briefs at Euro 2012. Now, it’s easy to understand why UEFA doesn’t want this sort of thing to happen, with multi-million pound advertisement deals at stake. But this fine is ludicrous when compared with fines that players receive for frankly what must be considered much more serious offences. Luis Suarez, for example, was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra last year and was fined just £40,000, half the amount that Bendtner was charged. John Terry, found guilty of the same offence as Suarez (even when found innocent by a court of law) was charged £220,000, over five times the amount of his Premier League counterpart.

Even more noteworthy is the level of wages that top level players receive. The likes of Terry and Suarez reportedly earn six-figure weekly wages, meaning that any such fine is insignificant. How many other jobs could you hope to remain employed in after such an incident?

The oddity of football fines is not restricted to players. The implementation of fines to clubs and football associations across the globe are equally futile. It’s not as though these institutions are cash-strapped. Take the FA for example. For the financial year of 2010, the FA Group reported that their turnover was in excess of £300 million, with a healthy operational profit of £37 million – not too shabby considering the economic climate.

Yet in 2011 the Bulgarian FA was charged just £34,000 for racist chants at English players, while Porto were fined just £16,700 this year when their fans committed the same offence, aimed at Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli.  In order to punish an establishment of such magnitude, fines that are implemented need to be of much greater value. It seems as though the true power of FIFA’s disciplinary action comes through publicly embarrassing the guilty party, with the fine merely an afterthought. In situations where it’s apparent that fans are at fault, it makes no sense to fine the governing body anyway, as the action has very little impact on the offenders.

I think the solution is simple. With both offending players and fans: hit them where it hurts. All footballing governing bodies should take a stand against racism. Enforce games being held behind closed doors – an action which would really influence fans’ behaviour. When it comes to players, ban them from more games, in true proportion to their offence. When Suarez and Terry were charged, it was the match suspensions that were the real talking point, because they’re what matter to the player, and what will modify their behaviour. In the wake of the England under-21 clash with Serbia this week, I’m sure the rest of the footballing world agrees that such a change in policy cannot come soon enough.

Basketball: Serban inspires magnificent comeback

The University of Manchester Men’s basketball first team delivered a superb last-quarter comeback to defeat Bangor University 57-54 on Wednesday night at the Armitage Centre.

After chasing shadows for the first three quarters, Manchester, inspired by number 10 Carol Serban, finally got going in the final quarter to turn around what looked like an insurmountable deficit.

This proved to be anything but a quiet season opener, with both teams playing at a frenetic pace from the outset.

It was Bangor who came out of the blocks the quicker, and were disappointed to be behind after the first quarter. The hosts committed a number of fouls early on, but Manchester forwards Tom Marks and Freddie Stephenson took advantage of the few chances they were given as Manchester took a fortunate 17-16 lead at the break.

Sofiane Bébert and Jonathan Lake tried manfully to get Manchester moving, but they started the second quarter as sluggishly as the first, allowing the visitors to quickly take control of the game.

Bangor penetrated the home defence time and again and Manchester responded by making wholesale changes. However, they were unable to stem the flow and the visitors boasted a 30-23 lead by the half.

Judging by the Manchester coach’s reaction, the players were likely given the hairdryer treatment in the dressing room, but it seemed to have no effect as Bangor continued the onslaught into the third quarter.

13 points without response looked to have killed Manchester off; they continued to give away cheap fouls and, as frustration began to build, Bangor played some quick incisive basketball to take a 49-29 lead into the final quarter.

However, Manchester came out a completely different team and immediately dominated. The Romanian Serban was at the centre of everything, putting away 17 crucial points in a breathless last 10 minutes.

This brought the crowd to life and seemed to galvanize the home team. Spirited reactions to two-pointers brought a vital response from the Manchester players, who showed tremendous nerve to take their chances.

Bangor began to tire and tempers briefly boiled over, as Bangor’s number 21 inexplicably kicked a folding chair across the court after yet another Manchester break. The visitors, it seemed, were struggling to keep their cool as the tide began to turn in Manchester’s favour.

With four minutes left on the clock, Manchester drew level at 51-51, before the teams exchanged free-throws to make it 53 apiece going into the final minute. Bangor scored again from the free-throw line but Manchester were not to be denied, as two-point plays from Stephenson and then Serban finally broke the Welsh resistance.

It was a wonderful effort from Manchester, who stayed positive despite behind for most of the game. They will now look to build on the excellent spirit they showed on Wednesday night when they travel to Liverpool Hope next week.

Controversy as Newcastle agree Wonga sponsorship deal

This month, loan-shark company Wonga signed a multi-million pound sponsorship deal with Premier League club Newcastle United. The controversial deal, which comes into effect next season, is set to generate over £8 million a year for the club.

At the beginning of last season, many Newcastle fans expressed their frustration at the renaming of St James’ Park. As part of the deal, Wonga have agreed to forgo sponsorship rights to the stadium, allowing the infamous ‘Sports Direct Arena’ to be known by its former name once again.

Critics will argue that this is a cover-up to divert attention away from the fact that Wonga is essentially a legal ‘loan shark’ company who capitalise on vulnerable people in desperate financial trouble, in order to pursue their own financial gain.

Surely Newcastle Unites have a certain social responsibility to their fans and community. Promoting a controversial company such as Wonga could jeopardise its own image and reputation.

To complicate matters, Newcastle’s starting XI includes four practicing Muslims in Demba Ba, Papiss Cissé, Cheik Tioté and Hatem Ben Arfa. Under Sharia law, a Muslim is not allowed to benefit from lending or receiving money from someone, which means that earning interest is not allowed.

Ex-Sevilla striker and Muslim Frédéric Kanouté famously refused to wear the logo of gambling company 888.com on his shirt. His personal decision to not bear the logo quite rightly went unpunished by his club and La Liga.

However, given that over a third of Newcastle’s possible starting XI may choose to boycott the Wonga logo, having it as the official shirt sponsor next season seems absurd.

Lifelong Newcastle fan and Muslim Nurudeen Kyari understands the reservations of Ba, Cisse and co. “I can see why they wouldn’t wear it – the whole world is watching them and they are role models to kids and grown-ups alike.”

He admits, however, that the deal may be a necessary evil for the club. “I guess if the money coming in to the club through Wonga is substantial then I can’t complain. I would still buy the club shirt with Wonga as the sponsor.”

The proposed deal is set bring in around £24 million in total, making it the most lucrative sponsorship deal in the club’s history. Wonga have also agreed to invest heavily in the Newcastle’s academy, in the hope of achieving Mike Ashley’s goal of regular Champions League football.

It’s clear, however, that the owners face a task in convincing fans that the sponsorship is appropriate for a high profile club.

Many fans would put the brand into the same category as alcohol and gambling companies. Newcastle, however, might like to draw on other examples of clubs such as Blackpool and Heart of Midlothian, who have sported the Wonga logo without any backlash in popular opinion.

It might also be noted that none of the Newcastle players have a problem with sporting the logo of Virgin Money, the club’s current shirt sponsor.

The Premier League is a competitive financial market, with the top six becoming increasingly distanced from the rest. One thing is for sure: if Newcastle United are continue to challenge for top four spot, they must match the ambition (and more importantly, the spending power) of those above them. Moral responsibility aside, the owners will argue that this was just too good an opportunity to miss.

Opening day victory for Manchester table tennis

University of Manchester’s Men’s table tennis team recorded a convincing 11-6 win in their opening fixture against the University of Liverpool.

Despite this, the series of matches, in which every player from each team played each other once, was even to begin with. Both Adrian and Kenny of UoM emerged victorious from their opening fixtures. However, the score was soon level at 2-2 with Liverpool’s Geoff and Yan Xin winning their respective matches.

The stalemate continued to 4-4, and it wasn’t until the fifth set of games that the deadlock was broken. An impressive win over Liverpool’s hard-hitting Yan Xin from Adrian and a comfortable three-set victory for Oscar set the tone for things to come and advanced the score to 6-4 in UoM’s favour.

The sixth set was key for both teams, as for Liverpool it would level the scores if they won, whereas for UoM it would put the series and match out of reach. The importance of the two games was reflected in the scores. Although UoM’s Kenny won his match over Liverpool’s Cherngloin by two sets to one, he was pushed all the way with the scores being 11-8/ 9-11/ 12-10. A similar pattern could be seen in Manchester player Bryan’s match with Geoff as he was pushed into a fourth set by the Liverpool man, with the final scores at 12-10/12-14/11-8/11-5, leaving Bryan an overall winner by three sets to one and making the score 8-4 to UoM.

The fixture was finally put out of reach by UoM’s Oscar who, despite being 2-0 down at one point, defeated Liverpool’s Geoff to making the score 10-4. Yan Xiu reduced the deficit with a convincing three-set win over Kenny to reduce the deficit to 10-5. The comeback was short lived though, as Adrian went onto defeat Cherngloin, for the score of 11-5 to UoM.

The last match of the day was then a doubles match between UoM’s Kenny and Adrian and Liverpool’s Yan Xin and Geoff, in which the visitors triumphed leaving the final score at 11-6 to UoM.

After the match, Committee Chairman Den Chuang seemed encouraged by the start the club had made saying “We are short of match practice, and I think that showed by the earlier results. However, once we got going we did very well.”

When asked about the clubs aspirations for the season, he responded “Last season we were the third-largest points scorers (for BUSC rankings) from any team in the university, so we hope to build on that, as well as maintain our ranking as the fourth-best team in the country.”

In the other matches played during the day, the UoM Men’s second team lost out to Liverpool’s seconds, whereas the UoM Women’s first team recorded an impressive victory over the University of Newcastle Women’s first team.

 

“Lance Armstrong is a disgrace and brings cycling into disrepute”

The United States Anti-doping Authorities’ damning 1,000-page dossier has rightfully left cycling’s biggest celebrity, Lance Armstrong’s reputation in tatters, and has left a bitter taste in the mouths of most in the cycling world.

His journey from promising cyclist cut down with cancer with a 50/50 chance of survival to seven-time winner of the Tour de France inspired millions. It is a terrible shame that the story was built on deceit and lies.

There can be no denying he was an incredible cyclist. As much as one likes to think so, no amount of blood doping is likely to ever turn me into a tour winning machine. Some will argue that this Armstrong-branded ‘Witch Hunt’ is singling out one man from a peloton that was predominantly using the same performance enhancing drugs as he was; his use simply levelled the playing field which he then dominated.  As much as this argument may hold some weight, it doesn’t make it acceptable or right.

Since its inception there has always been the impression that to even complete the Tour de France was near impossible without the aid of drugs. It begun with recreational drugs as competitors looked at ways to provide energy and a pain buffer. Britain’s very own Tom Simpson died on the climb up the Col du Galibier in 1967 having pumped himself full of amphetamines, whereas other competitors were known to have used speed. With the emergence of Armstrong it seemed as if cycling finally had someone it could believe in as a clean winner.

There appears to be disbelief at the sheer quantity of evidence gather against the Texan, with both Team Sky’s Principle Dave Brailsford and Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins having commented on being overwhelmed by it.  There is much to be overwhelmed by, bearing in mind that this is a man who has never failed a drug test in the 500-plus he had been subjected to in his career. To discover that Armstrong’s victories were earned through cheating and deception is shocking.

People forget that as much as the USADA revelations center on one man, it also affects the lives of 11 other cyclists who all lost out as a result of the investigation into doping.

Fair play to these 11 riders, all former teammates of Armstrong, for coming out and giving the evidence which also incriminated themselves. Some would argue that they were obliged to by law, yet most had been denying it for the whole of their careers and had a lot to lose from confessing. Some were Armstrong’s most loyal servants; George Hincapie, for example, was there on all seven editions of the Tour in which Armstrong finished first.

One of the most shocking revelations of the report, given Armstrong’s clean image, seems to be the portrayal of him as a bully, bending people to his will and forcing them to dope. Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis, while both disgraced riders themselves, were the first to publicly claim that they had doped with Armstrong – brave, considering that Armstrong had previously caused French rider Christophe Bassons to leave the 1999 tour in tears by isolating him from the rest of the peloton for remarking on the need for change regarding the drugs culture.

Asked why he had said these things, Bassons claimed he wanted to change things for the future generation. It seems that most of the riders who confessed in the USADA report have voiced their desire to change things for the younger generation of riders coming through.  This is what cycling as whole should be focusing on now that the truth has come out.

The current director of the Tour, Christian Prudhomme, has called for there to be no winner of the Tour de France for the Lance Armstrong years when the International Cycling Union (French: Union Cycliste Internationale) ratify the USADA findings. A line must be written under it, not forgotten but remembered as part of cycling’s dirty past – a place to which it should never return.

Cycling has changed massively over the last decade, yet we still see big names being pulled up for drug use, which suggest that while cleaner, drug use is still prominent. It is always suggested that the anti-doping authorities are always having to play catch up to the cheats. While hugely damaging for the sport, the cycling world can turn the revelations of the last few months into a force for positive change within the sport.

Armstrong will still remain a legend, but for very different reasons. A few months ago he was a legend for winning seven consecutive Tours. Now his legend is that of the best sporting conman ever. At the victory ceremony of his seventh victory he said “I’ll say to the people who don’t believe, the cynics and the sceptics – I’m sorry for you. I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles.” Well, Lance, you’ve certainly made it that bit harder to believe in miracles again.

Live: …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead at Club Academy

11th October 2012

8/10

Few bands inspire quite the same sort of devotion that Texas’ genre-bending stalwarts …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Theirs is a turbulent story; rising to prominence in the late nineties and releasing their magnum opus, Source Tags and Codes, in 2001 to a rapturous critical and commercial reception, only to be subsequently written off and largely ignored on both fronts in the eleven years since. And yet to those that kept the faith, their power has never really waned, as demonstrated at Club Academy this evening.

Given the Trail’s formidable live reputation, most supports would be quaking at the prospect of having to open for them. But Maybeshewill are perhaps the perfect choice given their ability to create emotive instrumental soundscapes that appeal without demanding familiarity. Their performance is astonishingly tight, showcasing their trademark dynamic of sweeping piano-led uplift followed by monolithic crush and steadily drawing in punters from the venue’s margins.

Trail of Dead’s performance, in typical style, is much more chaotic. This is the dynamic they have built their reputation upon, and while their performance this evening is full of their well-established bluster, thankfully there’s no evidence of the former cracks that would lead to full-blown fights onstage. Instead their energy is perfectly channelled into rousing and infectious singalongs interspersed with stretched-out psychedelic jams which feed off the crowd rather than becoming self-indulgent.

Material from the forthcoming Lost Songs sits well amongst classics such as ‘Caterwaul’, which has the room bouncing in unison and proves to be the catalyst for a heightened level of kinetic energy for the remainder of the set. The most gleeful of moshpits opens up in appreciation, and by the time the band’s signature track, ‘Another Morning Stoner’, rings out as the evening’s closer, the latest in a long line of Manchester appearances for Trail of Dead has served only to further enhance their live credentials.

From the vault: Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation

Originally released: October 1988

Enigma Records

Whilst the quality and inventiveness of Sonic Youth’s output has begun to dwindle in more recent years, their towering influence over present-day rock music remains as strong as ever. The jewel in the band’s considerable crown, 1988’s Daydream Nation, became one of the pioneering albums of the alternative rock movement. It blended the band’s trademark harsh, scuzzy guitars with pop sensibilities to create songs that were simultaneously both catchy and complex, providing a genuine alternative to those disillusioned with a musical scene in thrall to the hard rock posturing of Guns n’ Roses. Despite the record’s sprawling length – it was originally released on four sides of vinyl – it never lacks urgency or experimentation, and as such never loses the listener’s interest. From the spectacular opening gambit of Teen Age Riot – a hypnotic, guitar-driven epic that foreshadowed the pending grunge explosion – to the audacious three-part closer, Trilogy, Daydream Nation calls upon the band’s hat-trick of vocal talents, with contributions from Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Kim Gordon all underpinned by the former pair’s unconventional, innovative guitar work, often resulting in a trademark collage of noise. Over twenty years on, Daydream Nation continues to be imitated, but the perfect marriage between the record’s trailblazing instrumentation and provocative lyrical content makes for an atmospheric opus likely never to be repeated.

£1m restaurant to open on curry mile

A former Manchester Metropolitan student is opening a £1 million restaurant on the Curry Mile, hoping to attract new people to the area.

The restaurant, called Malai, will seat 120 diners over two floors and offer valet parking as well as business club deals to transport corporate customers between the restaurant and Manchester city centre.

Jaf Siddiqi, now 30, spoke about his time studying at MMU: “I didn’t have a specific career path in mind, which is why I stuck with Business Studies and kept things general.

“While I was studying I was funding my way by working in bars and restaurants, and that’s how I got involved in this industry.

“I think with regards to business management, business strategy and accounting, Business Studies really helped me moving forwards. But the greatest thing was the experience that I got through actually working during the last 12 years.”

He said that he hoped that his restaurant would improve the current state of the Curry Mile: “I remember as a kid going there and it was always exciting. It’s always had that sort of electric atmosphere.

“Unfortunately now there’s an increasing number of takeaways and shisha bars, which is really detrimental to the restaurant industry.

“In the restaurants and the takeaways that are there, the quality of food in my opinion in so bad, it’s not authentic.

“Since we’ve gone on site there and the project was publicised, a number of adjacent outlets have put some significant investment back into their businesses as well. It seems to be going in the right direction.”

Shabir Mughal, chairman of the Rusholme Traders Association, which represents restaurants on Curry Mile, said: “When we heard about and looked into his proposal, it seemed good for the other businesses because he would be attracting some new clientele to the area.

“It’s going to be a very high-end, posh restaurant, so it will be corporate people and celebrities.”

But Mr Siddiqi said that he is “not pitching out to celebrities”, instead focusing on attracting “business clientele who don’t currently visit the Curry Mile”.

Mr Mughal continued: “We’re totally behind him because if he hadn’t come then some shisha bar could have taken over.

“We’d much rather have him than the shisha bars and he’ll bring some new spark into the area.”

There are currently only 12 sit-down restaurants left on the Curry Mile; half the number there were three years ago. Many have been replaced by shisha bars, which now number 28.

An NHS campaign was launched last week with Manchester City Council to highlight the dangers of smoking shisha and the laws concerning it.

One shisha bar was recently fined over £2,000 for allowing people to smoke inside the café area during five separate inspections by police officers, council inspectors and HM Revenue and Customs staff.

Top high street clothing companies to blame for ‘horrors of Italian sweatshops’

Top high street clothing companies have been blamed for the “horrors of Italian sweatshops” in a report published by a University of Manchester researcher.

Dr Jerónimo Montero’s report alleges the existence of sweatshops making garments for high street giant Zara in Buenos Aires and Prato, Italy.

The report claims that workers spend months locked away, work for 17 hours a day, and sleep where they work – all to earn as little as £240 a month.

Dr Montero spoke to two sources in putting together the report that confirmed the sweatshop process – an officer in the Labour Inspectorate, a central government body, and members of La Alameda, a neighbourhood assembly who aim to solve local problems in public life.

A spokesperson for Zara’s parent company, Inditex, labelled the claims “unspecific allegations.”

“Our audit system allows us to guarantee that working conditions in the Inditex supply chain in Italy and Argentina, as in the rest of the world, are appropriate,” said the spokesperson. “Any incompliance is immediately detected and corrected in the shortest term.”

Dr Montero’s report goes on to say Zara’s demands for “permanent rotation of designs and models, and cheap prices” – can “only be met by sweatshops.”

“Let me point out that [Inditex] started its activities as a textile manufacturer prior to enter [sic] retail”, the Zara spokesperson continued. “Our 12 self-owned factories in Spain are responsible of a very significant part of production and directly connected with a relevant proportion of proximity production in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, representing 65% of total product traded by Inditex.”

“Zara’s statements are the usual rhetoric used by companies when accused of sweatshop practices,” Dr Montero said.

He continued: “The type of marketing strategy that the company has developed necessitates production of a significant amount of its garment in informal inner-city sweatshops in proximity to the markets, as well as in sweatshops abroad.”

The report also claims that the Swedish high street giant H&M are “expanding by following the Zara model.”

Chloe Bowers, a spokesperson for H&M, denied the claims, “H&M does not own any factories, our goods are bought from almost 700 independent suppliers, primarily in Asia.

“The company’s Code of Conduct was drawn up in 1997. Compliance with the requirements of the Code is monitored through our Full Audit Programme (FAP).”

“To defend themselves from these accusations, companies repeatedly state that it is impossible for them to control the whole subcontracting chain,” stated Dr. Montero. “However, the prices they offer to some subcontractors can only be met by small and medium manufacturers exploiting their workers in sweatshop conditions.”

Manchester well above average in alcohol-related deaths and hospital trips

Alcohol-related deaths in Manchester are far above the regional average, and alcohol-related hospital admissions are almost double – but students are not to blame.

Deaths caused by alcohol in Manchester were over one and a half times the regional average, with 184 people dying from alcohol abuse compared to the average North West figure of 112.

Despite the stereotype of the drunken student, the figures, released by Alcohol Concern, show that the 16-24 age group had far less hospital admissions related to alcohol last year than any other group.

The 25-54 year old age group had 6,543 admissions, 55-74 year olds accounted for 5,347, and people 75 years old and above had 2,512 hospital admissions related to alcohol.

16-24 year olds, the age bracket that would encompass the vast majority of university students, had a comparatively low admission rate of 904.

“It is the common perception that young people are responsible for the increasing cost of alcohol misuse,” said Alcohol Concern Chief Executive Eric Appleby, “but our findings show that in reality this is not the case.”

“It is the middle-aged, and often middle class drinker, regularly drinking above recommended limits, who are actually requiring complex and expensive NHS care.”

There were 120,815 overall hospital admissions related to alcohol this year, almost double the North West average of 62,441.

These admissions cost each adult in Manchester £95, almost £10 more than the average adult in the North West pays.