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Month: March 2015

Live: NME Awards Tour

27th February

The Ritz

7/10

Every year to celebrate the NME awards the magazine hosts four of its most treasured bands. This year’s tour started in the stereotypical shambles that plague the music business with The Amazing Snakeheads cancelling their appearance on the eve of the tour starting. Their replacement The Wytches got pulled in just in time for their date at The Ritz, adding to the bill of Slaves, Fat White Family and headliners Palma Violets. These four bands have very little in common in terms of music style, but whilst watching them it felt like the overriding theme of the night was some sort of bizarre dream.

With The Wytches opening, a strange psychedelic grunge descended, giving the room a sense that something wasn’t quite right. Then Slaves followed providing their take on old school punk, with an anger as strong as that of Rotten in his hay day. The band’s simplistic outlook on music fell flat on some tracks with the lyrics sounding at best foolish irony and at worst utter bollocks.

After being dragged kicking and screaming from an uneasy dream to an angry nightmare, Fat White Family came to bring back the strangeness. The band have been NME darlings over the past year since their debut broke, but watching them perform was a little disappointing. Perhaps they’d been told to tone it down for a pre-watershed performance after rumours of them throwing their own excrement at some of their first shows. This resulted in their performance seeming somewhat stale, though they were still able to hold a crowd with the hits from their first album.

Palma Violets brought the gig back to reality producing their chorus heavy brand of indie rock. They were likeable and energetic, but you couldn’t help draw comparisons to The Libertines without the charismatic performances from Carl Bârat and Pete Doherty. This wasn’t helped by lead singer Samuel Fryer wearing a Doherty-esque sun hat.

This mish mash of genres does reflect the eclectic set of music contained within the pages of the NME, but I’m unsure if it translates well to a live audience as the crowd only seemed to come together when headliners Palma Violets took to the stage. That said, it’s hard to deny that each of these bands still has the songs to make for a great evening of music.

Club: Shadow Child @ Sankeys

14th February

Sankeys

6/10

Sankeys was full of party people ready to explode. A younger crowd, 18 to 25 and dressed in an eerily uniform way.

Ryan Croft started by playing his own flavour of minimal with jacking basslines, slow and smooth R’n’B vocal samples and chopped/twisted synths. The melodies stack and build the songs to understated intense points. Three artists that his set bring to mind are Fake Blood, Cyril Hahn & Booka Shade. The samples are few and meticulously placed. This crowd relished this cold, edgy minimal sound. The set went on to feature more tech-house tracks with novel left-field/experimental bass-samples.

Low Steppa’s set was both warmer and faster and the change in tone rallied the crowd. The selection was more varied and samples deftly bridged tracks. All of the modern staples were present: the reversed/splashy hi hat, snare-rolls leading up to choruses & drop leading onto a quick synth melody. Samples from AlunaGeorge and other pop songs did not sounds trashy or out of place in combination with vocal samples saying “shake my ass” and “hit it up” and spoken word reflections on Detroit Techno.

Shadowchild is a world-class DJ. Tracks with dirty, wobbling basslines were blended into a wide range of disco, soul and funky house tracks. Unafraid to cross genres everything felt easy & not at all forced. It just worked. This change in tone was a breath of fresh air compared to the feeling of studied, mass-produced cool in some earlier tracks from previous sets. The crowd enjoyed the basslines and even forgot to pose for a while.

Something that was entirely new and without precedent (in my experience at dance events in Manchester) was the abrasive crowd. There was pushing, aggressive staring and lots of shuffling in white trainers & snapbacks. Some people clearly wanted to be in Sankeys only because it is called Sankeys but not to have a good time with each other or add positively to the atmosphere. Never have I seen so many selfies taken on the dancefloor.

Live: Krill

23th March

Gullivers

8/10

Alright. So what is Krill? Krill are three guys that trigger a longing for bands that we all used to listen to. Those bands before we started digging for hidden gems and striving to be ahead of our time. Krill are distorted guitars, crunchy drums and a slightly reverbed voice: that naturally sounds nice when blended together, it is just one of those universal principles. This resonates an amateurish but charismatic touch in their performance, which makes Krill easy to access. It simply is—forgive me for using this word—authentic.

Gullivers was packed that evening and the crowd agreed secretly on a dress code of flannel shirts and Vans Authentics. Of course everybody was sipping on beer in a gesture of cannot-be-botheredness. You could sense the garage rock was coming.

Eventually the band entered the stage and set up their gear, while one of the Krills shouted “surreal” into the mic. A perfect foreshadowing, as the guys took over the venue the moment they started to shred. The crowd in front went off and the room’s energy level rose. I spotted at least one guy who’d completely lost it and danced like he was falling off a building.

Their songs consist of your usual teenage angst and apathetic attitude lyrics, which is rather dull. Except for their self-addressed hymn ‘Theme for Krill’ that dropped near the end, this saw the climax in terms of audience participation. Probably everyone joined in on the chorus “Krill, Krill, Krill forever,” and shortly afterwards they vanished. It was cool, it was honestly performed, and their records worked so well in the setting of Gullivers.

Some people find Krill lame, some people think they’re brill. Just like puns involving band’s names. The bottom line however is you do not always need a Cthulhu, sometimes a Krill is enough. Or like one girl in the crowd summed it up: “License to Krill.” Yeah.

Waxing lyrical

Female hairlessness has become the norm in society, so much so that when it is not adhered to it seems strange, unnatural even…which does not make any sense at all. For many years there has been endless debate about the methods of hair removal: Creams, razors, waxing, threading, tweezing, and even laser treatment. After all, why wouldn’t any woman want silky smooth legs or her eyebrows ‘on fleek’? I recognise that men increasingly partake in hair removal too, but because of the nature and association of hairlessness and femininity it’s often considered a feminist issue. It’s time we talked about waxing and why, even though there is some method to the madness, ultimately hairlessness is your own individual choice.

The aim of waxing is to remove the hair follicle from the root causing long lasting smoothness along with thinner and slower growth. There are several methods of waxing including: professional, DIY hot wax or using cold wax strips at home. As the warm wax is spread thinly over the chosen area and ripped in the opposite direction of growth, it makes me wonder why many women make a conscious decision to go through a painful and sometimes inconvenient method of hair removal. After all, there is the hassle of growing your hair to a suitable length, resisting the temptation to shave, booking an appointment, being told to ‘relax’ whilst a stranger gets up-close and personal with your intimate areas, enduring the stinging sensation as the hair follicles are ripped away and finally, obeying the aftercare rules.

Exposing your most intimate areas to a beautician can seem a bit daunting at first. But it is the beautician’s duty to act in a professional manner and not be intrusive; in my experience they have understood and respected this.

Pubic hair has always been a controversial topic in the discussion of hair removal with many women arguing that intimate hair removal is simply conforming to the expectations of a patriarchal society. Numerous celebrities have gone public with their decision not to remove pubic hair, such as Lady Gaga when she graced the cover of Candy Magazine Winter 2013 – 14.

Although the beauty industry is constantly growing, and shows no signs of slowing down, this does not mean that you have to keep up. Like many arguments involving feminism, patriarchy, and conformity, I’d argue that waxing is ultimately the decision of the individual.

Interview: Dylan Moran

Dylan Moran is not only a comedian who started his career at the age of 20, but also starred in several well known films such as Notting Hill and Shaun of the Dead. When not touring all over the world and being declared “the greatest comedian, living or dead,” by French newspapers, he lives in Edinburgh with his wife and two children. The Mancunion talked to him about his music taste, his perception of comedy and how the countries he has encountered on his tours have changed his perspective on comedy.

The obligatory question in the beginning—what do you think of Manchester?
I really like Manchester, I’ve been in Manchester a lot of times, I performed in the dancehouse. I had a really good time there and Manchester people are really friendly. It’s weird because I go up and down the country, it’s hard to remember a particular place.

You’ve mentioned in other interviews that you enjoy Manchester music, especially Joy Division.
As a teenager, I listened a lot to the Bootleg Vinyl LP. Sometimes, they were made from concerts and I was completely obsessed with Joy Division when I was fifteen. So I had all of their bootleg stuff on vinyl and I had the band before they were Joy Division called Warsaw, I had their EP which was quite good. I was amazed by them as a fifteen-year old in the country. But I never saw them live, I only saw New Order live.

Does the music you listen to influence you when you’re writing your shows?
I do like listen to music sometimes. It can be very helpful, especially if you don’t want to be too aware of what you’re doing. Because you’re not overthinking what you and I sometimes think of stand up because a lot of stage talk is better, I find anyway, when you play around with different ways rather than to do something that you’re actually doing. It can sometimes freeze you when you think too much about everything. When you’ve got too many ideas and can’t concentrate on them, it sort of helps to organise how to do it rather than to do what you’re doing.

What does normally keep you on track when you’ve got too many ideas for a show?
It is actually quite tricky, you know, because in the end, it’s sort of a surrender, you have to give in to one of them. If you’re constantly trying to find the best idea, it’s like playing chess against yourself because you’re trying to do the next move, but you can skip over the unnecessary moves. Sometimes what happens is that you go directly into a voice, a character voice or a piece of dialogue. You have to stop thinking, that’s the key, you have to stop thinking. Pure rationality is not going to get you there. Even as a mathematician you have to dream and let your mind wander, you have to let go.

How did your perception of comedy change over time?
When I was young, I didn’t analyse or think about comedy. I don’t analyse it too much now either, but I think just being older and watching people talk in a room, at dinner parties or at weddings. What you’re doing is all tribal stuff, you’re sharing stuff with a group, just like one monkey is communicating with another monkey. That’s really it.

Your comedy often exposes people’s beliefs or strong convictions, such as vegetarianism or catholicism in Ireland. What do you believe in or what gives you strength?
I believe in a lot of things. Community and shared values and taking your stance for what you believe in. Wherever you’re from in the world and wherever you go, you have to have a belief in something. As humans, we’re believing machines, believing factories.

Do people often confuse your stage personality with your real personality?
Probably. I don’t worry about it too much. I don’t examine too closely how that works because that would be overthinking it again.

What do you do before you go on stage?
Well, it depends, sometimes I worry or think about it too much. I don’t worry about it, but I try to remember everything and that usually doesn’t work. I usually don’t remember everything I want to remember anyway. Sometimes the best thing is to ignore it and just go on a walk and then suddenly be on stage and you know, all comes out.

Did performing in different countries change the way you perceive comedy?
Absolutely. When I’m in a different country, I try to know a little where I am. I really enjoyed my show in Lithuania, where I just came from. Going into other countries changes my experience on everything. All of your assumptions about other people change and you’re forced into engaging with people you really have to try to understand the people. I always talk to them about who they are and why they are that certain way. It makes you look at what’s going on around you and changes your perception

Dylan Moran will perform at the Lowry at Salford Quays on March the 15th and at the Opera House in Manchester on March the 19th.

University of Manchester eighth best in UK

The University of Manchester is now the 50th most reputable university in the world, placing eighth in the United Kingdom, according to the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2015, revealed on Thursday.

Behind Oxbridge, Imperial College London, UCL, LSE, University of Edinburgh, and King’s College London the University of Manchester has returned to the top 50.

The University of Manchester has climbed up the rankings over the past six years. In 2011 the university was placed in the 61 – 70 range, in 2012 in the 51 – 60 range, and last year dropped back to the 51 – 60 range after a brief stint at 47 in 2013.

The university’s reputation score is now 5.3, which is broken down into 4.5 for teaching reputation and 5.6 for research reputation. The University of Manchester is the last university to be given a place as any institution placed below 50 is only given a range. Any university below 100th place is excluded from the rankings.

Behind the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States, Manchester’s 5.3 score is only marginally behind Georgia Tech’s 5.4. The seventh British university is King’s College London in 31st place with a score of 8.1

Analysis of the rankings shows success across the board for British universities with the University of Bristol entering the rankings for the first time this year in the 91 – 100 range, whilst Durham University and the University of Warwick have move from the 91-100 band to the 81 – 90 grouping.

The United Kingdom is the second best represented country in the rankings, following the US but ahead of Germany. The UK has more universities in the top 50—with eight—than Germany has in the whole top 100, with six.

Oxford and Cambridge have both climbed two places to second and third respectively, remaining behind Harvard, while the University of Edinburgh has climbed 17 places from 46th to 29th but is the only Scottish institution in the top 100.

The top six group of US and UK universities have strengthened their lead over other universities. Despite the shuffling of the top six’s order, the top six universities—Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, MIT, Stanford and UCB—have remained the top six for the past five years.

The largest gap between institutions appears between UCB in sixth with 60.0 and Princeton with 35.0 in seventh place. The rankings are designed so that the institution in first place, this year Harvard University, receives a score of 100 and all others are scored in comparison.

The University of Manchester is celebrating yet another success after rising to 38th in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University rankings this year, which are based upon the number of academic achievements at each university. The Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, however, are a measure of how academics around the world view universities’ teaching and research.

In addition, the university also came 52nd in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings this year with an overall score of 64.5, which made it the eighth-best British university overall in the world this year.

According to the Times Higher Education rankings this year, the University of Manchester is the eighth most reputable and best university in the United Kingdom, but its reputation in the world at 50th is two places higher than its overall score which ranks it at 52nd.

The Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings report points to the century of collaboration between UMIST and the University of Victoria, which combined to form Britain’s largest single university in 2004. It also notes that there are more than 500 degree programmes with more than 39000 students. The University of Manchester also has 25 affiliated Nobel laureates, which makes it the fourth-highest in the United Kingdom and 23rd highest in the world.

A University of Manchester spokesperson said: “We are pleased that academics around the world have ranked The University of Manchester in an improved 50th place.  This is further support for our vision of making our institution one of the top 25 research universities in the world by 2020.”

Students’ Union elections smash turnout records

Over 13264 students have voted in the University of Manchester Students’ Union (UMSU) Executive elections, smashing the national record of 11501 set by the University of Nottingham last year.

Last year, just 5997 University of Manchester students voted in the election, causing some commentators to talk of a crisis of apathy within the UMSU.

This morning, the number of votes cast stood at 9680. Having hit 12000 at 3pm, the decision was taken to extend the voting deadline to 5pm due to a technical fault, meaning that tonight’s final total is likely to be much higher.

This now means that whoever gets elected to the 2015/16 Executive will command the largest mandate ever held by a UMSU sabbatical team.

Reacting to the news, a spokesperson for University of Manchester Students’ Union said: “We are absolutely over the moon with the turnout so far. Manchester students have made history by taking part in the biggest Students’ Union election ever in the UK.

“12000 votes is beyond what we originally hoped for and we couldn’t be prouder of the student body today. The candidates have all worked so incredibly hard over the last few weeks and they should all be congratulated on their amazing efforts.”

Conor McGurran, Campaigns and Citizenship Officer of UMSU, said: “The incredible turnout for this year’s elections is testament to the unbelievable work that the staff at the Union have put in. The Student Voice team in particular have worked tirelessly to get students involved in choosing their representatives for the next year.

“The candidates and their supporters should also be congratulated for running some fantastic campaigns, and the positive tone of this year’s races has been really encouraging.”

He added further: “The impressive turnout is indicative of the direction that the SU is moving in, with a dedicated staff team that strives to empower students to have a stake and a say in their Union.”

Voting is now closed. The Mancunion can reveal that 61.3% of votes were cast in the last two days of voting.

Live: Hookworms

2nd March

Sound Control

7/10

The world is ending, and Hookworms are on hand to provide the soundtrack, with an almost post-apocalyptic nature to their sound’s take on psychedelic noise rock. The churning bass lines and futuristic synth pointing to a not too distant future in need of help.

While they make no illusions as to being the band that can provide help, they do make some great tunes to make up for it. Opening their evening at Sound Control with ‘Away/Towards’, the band introduce a heavy build up, edging carefully along slowly, subtly increasing tempo easing the crowd in to the performance. This teasing tempo continues through to their next few songs. Each gradually raises the energy in the room, subtly encouraging the crowd to move with the music, as does the accompaniment of screeching vocals that echo out to perfection and a loud bass that cuts strong through the rest of the sound.

All these elements give their sound a full tone that entrenches each song into a post-apocalyptic cry for help. Throughout the performance they delicately play with the mood of the crowd. Reducing the energy to an almost still silence before once again inching their onlookers back up to high levels of energy. This toying with the crowd only furthers the intensity of each peak and the ferocious nature of the crowd. These Leeds boys have been bashing about for the past five years and know how to get people going, rarely lingering on the same tempo for more than half a song with the crowd riding a rocky wave of high and low tempos.

The end of their performance was marked by a lack of an encore, dispensing with tradition whilst leaving the crowd wanting more. But the band had said all they wanted to say, and no part of it was traditional.

Opinion: “Tonight, Matthew, I’m going to be…”

Being in a tribute band must be a pretty sweet deal. It really doesn’t sound that difficult to create one. There are only two essential requirements: you have to fund the overheads, and you have to incinerate your own artistic ambitions. Spiritually and financially, these are not easy obstacles to overcome. You may also have to throw your dignity onto the fire, since tribute bands are perhaps the most maligned professionals in the music industry.

But once you’ve got that out of the way, it’s plain sailing all the way to the bank. For each show, you can take temporary ownership of a vast pre-existing fan base, enough of whom will always pay to see you, regardless of the legacy of the band you hope to imitate. (For instance, Nickelback have a tribute band.) You get to take a shortcut to deification without the need for the whole ‘being a musical genius’ part. Theoretically, if all goes to plan, you’ll get all the things people start rock bands for: sex, glory, high quality drugs, and zero responsibility. The prospect of modelling your own life on someone else’s is an easier pill to swallow when that ‘someone else’ parties 24/7.

The only catch is that you have to get there first, or else weed out the competition. I’m not sure if there’s even one Steely Dan tribute band yet, but imagine if there were two—they’d be eternal nemeses. Steely Flan would sever the brakes of Steely Scam’s tour van. Steely Scam would spike Steely Flan’s drinks. In the world of tribute bands, competition is minimal in number, but it’s fierce, because your rival is literally going to be exactly the same as you.

You’d think the crowds for tribute shows would be replete with nostalgic old people. You’d be wrong. For one thing, I’ve been to my fair share of tribute shows. Probably more than my fair share, given that I’m only 21. The first gig I ever went to was to see ‘The Bootleg Beatles’. This was against my will—I was 9 years old, and had but a thin grasp on the concept of what music actually was.

I also believed that the four men before me were the actual Beatles. If fooling a 9-year-old is any kind of high water mark for the success of a tribute band (and I think this is a realistic aim), then the ‘The Bootleg Beatles’ were the tits. Having young children and misinformed people believe that you are the genius responsible for the set of songs you’re playing might just be the most gratifying aspect of being a tribute artist.

I also recall going to a Green Day tribute shortly after the release of American Idiot, the band’s commercial heyday. ‘Green Bay’ were living proof that your idols don’t have to be retired or dead before you inherit their identities. This must be an existential minefield: Do ‘Green Bay’ age concurrently with Green Day, or are they frozen in time as the 2003 incarnation? And if ‘Green Bay’ were to totally succeed in their goal of emulating Green Day, wouldn’t that override the ‘Green Bay’ members’ need for their own original personalities? I don’t know. It depends how deep these guys go.

You’d hope these bands were actually nurturing an intense love for their icons, rather than cynically riding someone else’s gravy train to success. I’d also hope to see more than just costume-baked mimicry. I want to see some authentic spiritual commitment in my tribute bands. I want to see a worthwhile duplication of the essence and lifestyle of the original band. When I stumbled across ‘Fleetwood Bac’ at a festival, I remember thinking: I hope these guys are going full method. I hope the fake McVies in ‘Fleetwood Bac’ are getting divorced, and I hope the rest of the fake members are all sleeping with each other.

As it happens, ‘Fleetwood Bac’ were brilliant. I’ve been told that ‘The Bootleg Beatles’ were brilliant, too. At their best, tribute bands are more than glorified karaoke singers: tribute bands are groups of actors submerged in the roles of their heavily studied heroes. They do their homework, and they never break character on stage. In fact, I’d sooner call members of tribute bands highly skilled method actors than musicians.

Regardless of this scant consolation, I can’t help but picture a barren music industry 100 years from now, fresh out of modern icons and perennially stalked by the living ghosts of Paul McCartney and John Lennon touring eerie renditions of ‘Yesterday’.

Live: Pond

26th February

Academy 2

4/10

It’s fair to say that I had high hopes for Pond’s live show; their recent album Man It Feels Like Space Again has been one of the most exciting releases of this year so far. In addition to this, Pond shares several band members with fellow Australian psychedelic band Tame Impala, albeit their sound comes across as a little more rugged and less polished (this has always been part of their charm though). As such, Pond had the potential to perform a great gig, allowing them to expand off their album material (and some of its imperfections) and really play something special.

Disappointingly, their Manchester show felt rather uninspiring. What was hoped would be a blur of psychedelia, with the band expanding from their repertoire or extending their songs, was not to be. Instead the resulting show was a bit jarring and headache inducing. Pond took to the stage and rattled through their set rather sloppily without really adding anything to their material.

To dispel slightly from this pessimism: I’m not saying that this ‘Heroic Shart’ of a gig was a complete failure, as there were some highlights. Newer tracks such as ‘Sitting Up On Our Crane’ and ‘Holding Out For You’ sounded brilliant, and ‘Giant Tortoise’ from Hobo Rocket packed all the energy of its album recording.

The audience was a similarly mixed bag to the set; whilst you could almost sense the disappointment in some swathes of the rather dazed looking crowd, a section in front of the stage were going crazy. Clearly some were enjoying the show.

Personally I loved the softer and more intelligent approach that Pond took on their recent album, and so the jagged and rowdier approach that Pond took at their gig was not for me. Perhaps this was simply due to a case of wrong expectations, but it couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointing none the less.

Live: Years & Years

27th February

Gorilla

5/10

How much electronic music is too much electronic music? After spending three years in Manchester I would’ve thought the trendsetters might’ve abandoned ship and found themselves a new sailboat to jump on. Incorrect. It seems as though electronic is staying firmly fixed for the foreseeable future, especially after a band such as Years & Years continue to tighten their unique grip on it.

The group have garnered critical acclaim for their ‘alternative’ take on electronic music, however if their recent live show is anything to go by it is difficult to see what’s so different about them. What Years & Years offer is a saturated poppy-sounding energy that will probably sell a healthy amount of records and will inevitably capitalise on the direction the industry is currently heading.

The familiar-sounding ‘Desire’ and their new release ‘King’ are radio-friendly, dancefloor-ready hits that encapsulate the energy and essence of the band, and go down well with the crowd (as do most of the songs). After winning BBC’s Sound of 2015 their following has strengthened quite impressively, as is evident by the sold out show and by the huge reception they receive after each and every song.

The prestige of the title has brought along with it a huge pressure which now pushes the band to follow in the footsteps of past winners including Adele, Sam Smith and Jessie J. The lead singer Olly Alexander is visibly overwhelmed by the response, however lacks no confidence in proving his worth.

His vocals are the only unique characteristic of the band, and shine on a trio of new acoustic songs midway through the set. Clearly influenced by contemporary R&B, his tones are reminiscent of an early Justin Timberlake, or the ranges of Michael Jackson on ‘Human Nature’, however the execution on a whole is a little lacklustre.

They certainly have a long way to go before reaching superstardom. However, their lead’s distinct vocals might just keep this steady ship sailing towards higher tides.

Interview: The Subways

It’s almost been 10 years since the release of The Subway’s first album Young For Eternity but a decade further on the band still seems to have the same youthful exuberance and energy that made them so appealing in the first place. The band have come a long way since winning Glastonbury’s unsigned bands competition and making their breakthrough but they have kept their signature sound that made them popular in the first place. Their self-titled fourth effort has been released with some classic rock riffs mixed in with poppy choruses which has given the album a certain kick. And although it has a hard hitting rock sound, the pop influences can be heard: “Songs like ‘Black Letter’ and ‘Twisted Game’—I think they really play with phrasing. We love pop songs and we’re always trying to sneak in a poppy melody here and there in each of our songs but I think, as we were in total control on this album, we allowed the frantic and the crazy to come through,” says Billy.

The album was self-produced which is always a bold step, but it seems to have paid off for the band. “I think we really just wanted to make an album in a situation where we felt comfortable and completely in control. After making three albums with three amazing producers we learned a lot and decided that we wanted to take the reins. It does mean that the album has a rawer quality to it and I think that reflects who we are when we’re onstage,” reflects Billy. The album does seek to reflect on their experiences and ultimately it’s who they are: “The album has a sense of ‘we’re doing this on our own, this is us 100 per cent, loud and proud’ about it. There’s a song called ‘We Get Around’ that talks about how alienated we feel in the music industry, about how we feel separated from all the cliques and fads—I guess that’s an overriding message.”

The album certainly reflects their stage presence. You won’t witness a Subways show that doesn’t feature front man Billy and bassist Charlotte jumping around like lunatics with a real sense of joy in what they’re doing. “Whenever we write our songs in the rehearsal studio, we’re always imagining how they will sound live onstage. We really wanted to get that live feel represented on the album, so hopefully that’ll translate to the stage—it seems to be working so far!”

It’s easy to see how their songs can be converted so well to a stage show since it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to want to bang your head and sing along with songs like ‘I’m In Love And It’s Burning Through My Soul’ and the up-beat ‘Good Times’.

Despite the up-beat tempo and melodies, there is still emotion coming through probably most noticeably in ‘Taking All The Blame’. It’s a song about Billy and Charlotte’s old relationship in which the contrast between Billy’s rough voice and Charlotte’s more lullaby-like vocals makes for a wonderful, pain-riddled pop song. Having the contrast between male and female vocals used sparingly but very effectively is one of the many things that give The Subways uniqueness. “Considering the fact that most bands consist of four or five guys, all clad in leather jackets with slick hairstyles, we are different from the norm. I bet you can name ten bands straight away that consist of all men. There is a horrible overarching patriarchy in the music industry, particularly in rock—sometimes we play festivals and Charlotte is the only female to appear on the stage all weekend—and I think we offer a voice for females, which all-male bands don’t. I really hope girls are seeing Charlotte rock out onstage so that they go home and ask their parents for a musical instrument for their next birthday present. Not enough is made of the fact that rock is dominated by men, who also tend to write songs about lording it over women. Charlotte and I like to play on that with our vocal-sharing.”

With now four albums to their name and an array of big songs, The Subways are about to tour the UK and they will bring their roaring sound to Manchester Academy 3 on the 24th of March.

Interview: Twin Peaks

Many teenage bands, whilst bashing away at instruments in their mum’s basement, desperately dream of leaving their home town behind and getting the adoration that comes from being an international rock band. Most people would say that this is just a pipe dream, that such bands are never going to make it and that if they’re ever going to make it, it won’t be with their childhood friends. If you’re guilty of having this view or have maybe even barked it at a younger sibling, there is a band out there that provides a glimmer of hope for garage rockstars.

Twin Peaks, four 20 – 21-year-olds who met in a Chicago high school, formed a band and are now touring the world together. Starting from humble beginnings bashing out music together, guitarist Cadien Lake James and bassist Jack Dolan both recall having a big influence on one another from an early ages: “Me and Jack were both writing songs in elementary school and I remember I’ve got a broken 8-track CD player that we recorded our first record on. I can’t scroll down enough, it has a broken button but there’s a song that we recorded in 6th grade ‘Just Tonight’.

“I remember he just sang me some words and a melody in a hallway in elementary school and I started out with some chords behind it, and we recorded it at the crib. I can’t get to it now—but yeah, we’ve been showing each other songs since like fucking forever now.” Jack adds, “throughout high school I was putting stuff out under my own shit and Cadien was doing the same thing, and I know Clay was doing the same thing as well. It’s always been an individual thing at first that, y’know, comes together once we put it into the band pool.”

Such humble beginnings are a world away from a band that is now touring the world, living the teenage garage band dream. Their lives are undeniably unique, even from bands in similar positions, due to the youth of everyone involved. Whereas most people their age are at school or still living with their parents, these guys have been out seeing the world, growing up on tour, living out of suitcases and sleeping in buses. They’re the first to recognise this privileged position as Cadien is quick to point out.

“There’s definitely moments in your day where… I mean, the other day we were standing around and I think Clay was like ‘Man, most people our age…’ we don’t really live the same lives as anyone else that is our age, which is something that you don’t really realise while you’re doing it, but you have these moments where its very, like, surreal, like being out here and stuff like that. Most of our friends are in school, or not in school, so it’s interesting for sure.” Cadien is quick to point out that this does also have some unexpected consequences: “Clay was saying that he’s slept with any given one of us more times than he’s slept with any girl ever.”

Growing up in Chicago together the band has clearly had a lot of influence from the local music scene. With the band being mates with the two other local heroes from Chicago, The Smith & Westerns and The Orwells. These guys have grown up with the rock and roll lifestyle affecting their outlook on life, the psychedelic influences of their music being informed by their relationship with drugs. This relationship is born from the romanticised view of drugs presented by music.

As Jack says: “Everyone knows that The Beatles took acid, and Hendrix and stuff. Like, when I think about why I wanted to do that sort of thing I was definitely trying to get creative and stuff like that. But I think it depends on who you are—everyone can have a different experience or response to it.” Cadien adds to this, “for me there’s certainly been trips that have changed my attitude or perspective on life, and that informs the way I talk about things. Before I was even smoking much pot I was writing shit that had some trippy parts just from listening to music with that influence too.”

From meeting these guys it’s easy to see why they’ve been able to go for so long. They’re childhood friends having the time of their life touring the world together—and they don’t seem done yet. They’ve got their eyes on getting bigger and better together and you can’t help but feel a bit jealous of the life that they live together. They’re best mates hanging out together, creating music that they love. And though the road might be hard, they’ve got the right company to face it with.

The harder they fall…

Very recently the nation witnessed an accident. The rise in injury lawyers has made suffering an accident like the one I’m talking about a hugely profitable business.

With that in mind, the 56-year-old victim must have been delighted by the 4.6 million witnesses. The payout for falling backwards down three steps would no doubt cover a trip to the Balearic Islands, or a nice new car. The problem, however, is that the victim, as we all know already, is Madonna, and she is very, very famous.

You see, when a normal woman in her mid-50s falls over in the street, people help her up, in my experience. In the case of Madonna’s dive though, the overwhelming response of the country, myself admittedly included, was to howl with laughter. We condone our laughter with the knowledge that her famous bones, cast in gold, cannot break and her private medical care will cover the cost of any injury.

It doesn’t matter that it’s an actual woman on the stage, because as far as we are concerned, it may as well have not even been a real human.

What her fall evidenced to me, after I had composed myself, was that we love a celebrity to fall from grace so much that it overrides any sense of human decency.

This says a lot more about us than the famous. We want our celebrities to fulfil two incompatible roles in our lives; we apparently want role models who never break character, but also dehumanised actors in a 24/7 human zoo. So if any A to C listers happen to pick up this edition, something like that would be perfect.

A perfect example of this can be seen in this week’s edition, or any edition, of The Daily Mail. The headline, ‘David Walliams looks forlorn as he is pictured for the first time leaving his London home following ‘split from model wife Lara Stone”, personifies all that I have just said. Ramming a camera into the face of a recently estranged man is absolutely fine; it’s all just good entertainment.

My flippant use of ‘man’ there illustrates my point. David Walliams is not a man as far as we care, he is a specimen to be investigated. If we recognized him as a human being we wouldn’t need to be told that he ‘looks forlorn’. Of course he does. He might well be heartbroken. It’s as if the nation needs reminding that he is sad because they’re waiting for him to deliver a classic catchphrase.

It is easy to attribute this to The Daily Mail in isolation. It is true that it is a newspaper that thrives on the dehumanisation of the famous. However, it also sells in its millions and that is because the Great British public can overlook their morals in favour of catharsis like this. The truth is that the bigger they come, the harder they fall, and we just love tuning in to watch.

Catharsis is exactly what it seems to be. It is as if we have been sold a lifestyle we can’t be a part of. Excluded from the realm of the rich and famous we sit back comfortable and wait. We bide our time. Then, when they make a mistake, we pounce, pursue, and dissect every square inch of their lives.

We’ve had to invent new platforms to fulfil our ravenous appetite for embarrassment and weakness. Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor, in fact all ‘get famous quick’ programmes, are a conveyer belt of faceless people to shred to pieces. We now devour celebrities so quickly that we have turned inwards, to the non-famous seeking entry to the club, in order to boost our supplies of subjects. We reel out the bewildered, and we don’t need to know their backstory, just like we don’t need David Walliams’.

Perhaps the bigger they come, the harder they fall just isn’t true. If they are big names that we are exploiting, that is all the better, but if not then everybody is becoming fair game.

Perhaps one aspect of solace for those that we ridicule however is that we have a two minute memory. Like a goldfish eternally surprised by its fishbowl, we lap up public humiliation and spit it out before moving onto the next unsuspecting victim. What one day is a front-page scandal is, in truth, lining litter trays the next.

Remember when Prince Harry dressed as a Nazi, or Sir David Attenborough called the Queen a fascist tax dodger? Me neither. The first is long forgotten and the second never happened. The difficulty distinguishing between what is a scandal of national importance one day and what is fictitious nonsense illustrates the danger of investing in scandal. Similarly what at one point was an issue billed to destabilise the monarchy’s public approval, is confined to being a dinner party reference nobody remembers or laughs at.

It works both ways. Michael Sheen is currently being lauded for a viral video depicting his impassioned speech on the NHS. For a week he will be a hero of the left. After that, unless he cultivates this moment, he will once again be an actor like any other.

Whether it is positive or negative press, our obsession with celebrities runs deep within us, but is wholly superficial. It is like the fast food of entertainment. Quick, disposable, and deeply damaging to both us and them. Us and Them is a binary that serves to dehumanise people who are in fact pursued non-stop and to exhaustive lengths in order to fulfil our demand for stories. The effect on us is to forget both ourselves and our morals more and more.

We like to think we are all just indulging ourselves a bit. That sound benign. A glance to the internet following Madonna’s fall,  a look at the vitriolic laughter, however, says different.

Sluts, bitches, and the LGBT+ community

If you’ve ever taken the time out of your week to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race (you should), been to Canal Street, or spent time with the LGBT+ community, then you will have noticed the issue of the gendered slur.

In our modern society, gendered slurs have completely lost all form of acceptability they once had. A slur has never been acceptable but gendered slurs have been tolerated more than others for a long time. We luckily live in a world where there is a marked decrease in the use of these terms because of their use to marginalise women.

Unfortunately, something odd seems to have happened in the LGBT+ community. In the LGBT+ community, gendered slurs seem to have lost their gender. It’s common to hear self-identifying men calling each other bitches, sluts, and whores within the community—it’s not even strange to hear a man calling another man ‘butch’ derogatively. Some may say that the loss of gender in these slurs is a good thing and it’s perfectly fine to have slurs that can apply to everyone and, indeed, men can be slutty bitchy whores.

It’s quite rare though that you would hear a member of the LGBT+ community calling a straight man—other than a very close friend—a gendered slur. Perhaps it’s because of the potential to get a punch from an emasculated man. Yet you would hear it being used against a woman.

Herein lies the major issue of degendered slurs in the LGBT+ community—they may seem progressive and perhaps they are—but the issue is that they’re not degendered outside of the LGBT+ community.

Calling a man a bitch is emasculating because he is inferring from the slur that he is being called a woman too. Calling a woman a slut is offensive because it supposes that a woman’s sexual promiscuity is somehow worse than that of a man—so much so that it does in fact deserve a separate word.

It’s not a problem with a close or an ideal solution, in fact it’s more of a question: Is the use of degendered slurs in the LGBT+ community marginalising to women? I would say that it probably still is marginalising, merely because of the fact that outside the LGBT+ world, the words carry marginalising weight. But then I ask myself where does progress start?

I suspect that the innate ability of LGBT+ people to avoid calling straight cis-men whores and sluts should also be innately extended to doing so with straight cis-women. Yet, LGBT+ people often do call women sluts and dykes and I think this evidences the fact that we’re subconsciously still aware of the gendered nature of these slurs, and it is only within LGBT+ safe spaces that they have lost that.

‘Jihadi John’ and The pull factors of terrorism and the push factors of Western society

We all agree that terrorism is wrong, but few question the causes of terrorism and whether external factors are to blame. If the ‘world is our oyster’ here in the UK, why is it that British citizens are turning to extremism to find purpose and fulfilment?

The UK has a counter-terrorism strategy–CONTEST–and part of this is the ‘Prevent’ strand. This involves trying to stop individuals from becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism. Considering that it’s estimated that IS gained around 6000 new recruits since the US and UK began drone strikes in Iraq and Syria, it’s evident that there are faults in our strategy.

Mohammed Emwazi, or as the media have titled him, “Jihadi John,” is the Kuwaiti-born Briton believed to have taken part in the brutal murders of hostages by IS. He was actually educated at the Quintin Kynaston Community Academy in North London, and then furthered his studies, graduating from the University of Westminster in 2009 with a degree in computing. The school stated that Emwazi was “never suspected of being radicalised at school”.

Most people believe in teaching their children and those they have influence over about the rights and wrongs of society from a young age. Whilst giving children freedom to explore their opinions and determine as young adults what they think about the world, parents and teachers should be educating their children about real issues.

Emwazi’s parents said they had no knowledge of their son’s radicalisation and last heard from him in September 2013 when he said he was partaking in humanitarian work in Syria. By no means am I saying they’re to blame, as I recognise that young people are influenced by their environment, but generally I think those recognising they have role model status in a young person’s life–whether that be a parent, a teacher, a friend or social worker–should make an effort to contribute to their development.

I remember as a young girl in 2001 watching the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York, and being completely astounded as  to who would do such a thing and why. Terrorism and its causes had never crossed my mind. I’m not suggesting that parents should give their children nightmares about IS beheading innocent people, but giving information on such atrocities would surely play a part in discouraging radicalisation.

I don’t know how someone with an aspiration to engage in horrific acts of terrorism can conceal such a desire to the point that noone suspects radicalisation. I do not believe that his particular place of education is solely responsible for Emwazi’s choice to promote violent extremism, but education generally and the lack of personal and one-to-one development with staff and students surely plays a part when such decisions go unnoticed. Individual, as well as collective, development in education should thus be encouraged by the government.

Terrorist communication and advancements of networks is a consequence of the increasing growth of the virtual world, and despite liberty advocates claiming there’s a ‘security state’ being created, this is an important window of opportunity that has opened up for terrorist groups to interconnect globally. A virtual world where like-minded people can be influenced into thinking terrorism gives their life a true purpose is something the government should actively discourage through highlighting the endless positive and fulfilling opportunities individuals can do to contribute to society.

It’s worrying that British citizens see the ‘pull factor’ in groups such as IS, but equally it’s of paramount importance to consider ‘push factors’ out of Western society for minorities. Emwazi claims to have been ‘harassed’ by security services in the UK (as he has been on their watch-list for some time, apparently) and if this is a contributing factor then as The Guardian reports, the agency must answer some ‘serious questions.’

One of the statements made by an IS terrorist last year said that the group “love death more than life”. This is contrary to everything the West apparently stands for. Britain, home to one of the most long-standing democracies in the world and somewhere which actively promotes equality and human rights, is also somewhere which has allowed intelligent young people with promising futures to join a perfectionist group which hates everything about the West.

Many will say this is brainwashing and denotes problems with Islam in general. IS do not represent Islam, and I dismay when people make these uninformed and offensive arguments against the whole faith. Of course, what terrorists think they are doing is the will of Allah, but most would argue that true religion is never about violence; therefore, criticising Muslims for the acts of one group is just like criticising all Christians because of the one extremist who massacred 91 people in Norway in 2011 (which most would find absurd).

What astounds me is how someone described a relatively hard-working individual, who was intelligent enough to gain a degree, has ended up being recruited by a terrorist group. The media hammers down our throats that terrorism is wrong and that terrorism is a real threat to UK citizens, but if we really want to see change, we should question whether our culture encourages radicalisation.

In conclusion, I don’t know what went on in this man’s mind, but as well as condemning his actions, we should also look at the causes, and ensure that people are well-educated on the issues surrounding terrorism; that efforts are made to include and help to integrate suppressed minorities in society; and that our government and security services doesn’t operate in a way which acts as a ‘push factor’ for those most prone to radicalisation.

2015 Union Executive elections: The candidates

Following the Student’s Union’s Hustings which was held last week, The Mancunion have profiled every candidate by their five-point manifestos submitted to the Student’s Union website. Make your decisions for voting before tomorrow from the profiles below:

General Secretary

Naa Acquah

1. Future of Union Expansion: Making sure students are behind every decision.

2. Introduce Gen Sec surgeries, a monthly meeting in different parts of campus to talk to me about any issues students have.

3. Co-ordinate a ‘Check Your Finances’ campaign: Budget workshops, a part-time job assessment centre, and more bursaries for postgraduates to cover living expenses.

4. Student safety workshops: Run more self-defence classes, every student given an attack alarm, and warn students not to rent houses without key safety features.

5. Make your extracurricular activities available on your transcript.

 

Joe Baines-Holmes

1. Promote the effective running of the Exec Team to ensure that we have the best possible engagement with students.

2. Improve and foster the campaigns for the liberation of BME, LGBT+, and women students.

3. Campaign and educate for the need for free and accessible education for all students.

4. Support and improve funding for student societies.

5. Ensure students have a democratic role in their courses, university and Union.

 

Tim Bradford

Slogan: “Vote for Tim, vote for good enough.”

 

Joseph ‘Eggs Eggs Eggs Eggs Eggs’ Clough

1. Fight my number 1 priority: Save the veggie café.

2. Union to have a pro-egg policy. Every student gets a free chocolate egg on their birthday.

3. Lobby Morrison’s to start selling Irn Bru again.

4. Lobby bus companies to be free between at least the city centre and Fallowfield.

5. Continue the fight for student-only ambulance services and astroturfs for all halls.

 

Tessy Maritim

1. Engage everyone through increasing our visibility across campus and creating a better understanding of the Union’s political role.

2. Challenge curriculum through lobbying the university to review course curriculums and allow students to have influence over what and how we learn.

3. STOP STUDENT SUFFERING through ensuring students are aware of available funds and addressing student poverty remains a priority of the university.

4. SECURING SPACE for students to be able to book rooms independently of societies, and amenities such as prayer and meditation rooms exist within the Union and wider campus.

 

Ellen ‘Mighty’ McLaughlin

1. Affordable accommodation

2. A robust and fair room booking system.

3. ‘Love to lobby’

4. Protection of bursaries and a more accessible hardship fund.

5. Budgeting advice and guidance.

 

Activities and Development Officer

Ramin Taghizada

Slogan: “you will never walk alone (Liverpool)”

 

Joel Smith

1. Student involvement in the Union extension, ensuring that it becomes the campus ‘living room’.

2. Ensuring Pangaea becomes more student-led and represents all students and that each event is totally unique.

3. New Union website and app with focus on creating a platform for societies and students that is unparalleled.

4. More events in the Union, continuing pushing external promoters and a graduation ball

5. Points-based Welcome Week to give more flexibility for people to go on day trips and other non-alcoholic activities and make friends from day one.

 

Peter Rwatschew

1. Ensure that the planned building work to the SU has a minimal impact on how it is used and the future Pangaea festivals.

2. Pursue a greater SU presence in Fallowfield.

3. Diversify the entertainment at Pangaea.

4. Create a platform for societies to advertise themselves to prospective students.

5. Develop a centralised calendar for societies, which would be available through MyManchester.

 

Astrid Kitchen

Slogan: “Especially in light of the increase in fees, getting the most out of university is more important than ever.”

 

Joseph ‘Eggs Eggs Eggs Eggs Eggs’ Clough

1. Fight my number 1 priority: Save the veggie café.

2. Union to have a pro-egg policy. Every student gets a free chocolate egg on their birthday.

3. Lobby Morrison’s to start selling Irn Bru again.

4. Lobby bus companies to be free between at least the city centre and Fallowfield.

5. Continue the fight for student-only ambulance services and astroturfs for all halls.

 

Campaigns and Citizenship Officer

Naomi Wilkins

1. Free Education—no ideas to bursaries or course closures, more support for international students, and end to the marketisation of education. No fees, no cuts, no debt.

2. Fossil Free—redirect university investment from fossil fuels to renewables for the sake of our futures, and more ethical employers at careers events.

3. Safer cycling—more segregated cycle paths so students can travel safer, healthier and cheaper.

4. Campaign networking—events for student campaigners to network with successful campaigns in other universities.

5. New campaigns, new campaigners—make student campaigns approachable to all, with better publicity around campus—campaigning is for everyone!

 

Hannah ‘Han Solo’ McCarthy

1. Fighting cuts to bursaries and fighting for a Living Wage across campus and Greater Manchester.

2. Creating a network to fight for international students! Oppose the anti-immigration rhetoric that dominates society, as well as against PREVENT, uncapped international fees, current student Visa policy, and Non-EU NHS fees!

3. Hold a Campaigning and Volunteering Festival, get Skills for Change onto the curriculum, and create a new Campaigning and Volunteering MyManchester portal!

4. Working with the Community Officer to create a campaign across Greater Manchester to fight against students being charged rip-off rents!

5. Making the role of campaigning more visible: ‘Wake Up Manchester Uni’ events, promote campaigning with street art and and open mic night.

 

Joseph ‘Eggs Eggs Eggs Eggs Eggs’ Clough

1. Fight my number 1 priority: Save the veggie café.

2. Union to have a pro-egg policy. Every student gets a free chocolate egg on their birthday.

3. Lobby Morrison’s to start selling Irn Bru again.

4. Lobby bus companies to be free between at least the city centre and Fallowfield.

5. Continue the fight for student-only ambulance services and astroturfs for all halls.

 

Javairia A. Bilal

1. Be a lynchpin between students and Executive Office.

2. Working for a fair, impartial, and easily accessible education.

3. Increasing integration of international students to avoid marginalisation.

4. Make students aware of global issues that we need to tackle in the 21st century.

 

Community Officer

Joseph Clough

1. Fight my number 1 priority: Save the veggie café.

2. Union to have a pro-egg policy. Every student gets a free chocolate egg on their birthday.

3. Lobby Morrison’s to start selling Irn Bru again.

4. Lobby bus companies to be free between at least the city centre and Fallowfield.

5. Continue the fight for student-only ambulance services and astroturfs for all halls.

 

Russell Devine

1. Promoting the ‘Manchester as Home’ idea.

2. Encouraging engagement within Greater Manchester.

3. Creating community safety and harmony through student dialogue.

4. Helping you find a decent landlord.

5. Making sure every student, including those in halls, have a say in community matters.

 

Jazz Le Goff

1. Maintain Home Sweet Home campaign and try for houses to only be released after January exams.

2. Working closely with other Execs to ensure students feel safe. Workshops and awareness of assault and crimes for both students and residents.

3. Add victim support for those who have been burgled. Counselling, signposting, and insurance advice.

4. Enable more local voluntary work/experience, work with local businesses/charities to ensure our students receive better opportunities.

5. Make the SU more approachable and explain its roles. More opportunity to meet the Execs and encourage communication so that student ideas are considered and acted on.

 

Harriet ‘Ha Pee’ Pugh

1. Campaigning and liberation outreach with local schools, colleges and youth centres to foster a positive campaigning community.

2. More creative community events with local organisations and campaigning collectives.

3. More prayer space on campus and in the Students’ Union.

4. Support Women’s campaign, to improve policing strategy by tackling ongoing victim-blaming and ensuring our streets are safe for students.

5. Further our Union’s policy to oppose PREVENT by ensuring that our students are not criminalised for their religious or political expression.

 

Ed Sherriff

1. Pressuring police to increase patrols in student populated areas to reduce ridiculously high rape rates.

2. Promoting non-Oxford Road cycle routes for those that are worried about accidents.

3. Making it easier to report dodgy landlords so that they can’t keep providing a poor service.

4. Exec position-wide drop-in sessions for any issue that you feel needs dealing with.

5. Free workshops on how to find a good house for people (particularly 1st years) who are unsure of the process.

 

Diversity Officer

Natasha Maria Brooks

1. I would lobby the university to ensure that every student that enrols at the University of Manchester begins their journey here feeling included.

2. It’s important that we work together to celebrate our diversity.

3. One of our primary collaborative tasks of the diversity forum would be to create ‘Diversity Diary’, a monthly publication.

4. Campaigning will be fundamental within the role for Diversity Officer.

5. I would ensure that workshops and other events were held at appropriate times and published online to ensure they were accessible for all.

 

Claudia Carvell

1. Campaigning for recognition and respect for non-binary and trans* identities, including more gender-neutral toilets.

2. Maintaining and and creating specific safe spaces/discussion rooms/drop-in advice sessions for minority groups.

3. Working with the univeristy’s Equality and Diversity Department to ensure events across the year cater to the requests of students, are inclusive and accessible, and aim to create a unified student body.

4. Providing better support for new, international, and mature students, especially with regards to extra-curricular issues, such as setting up an English bank account, finding accommodation, sorting phone contracts and finding/accessing local services.

5. Working with the careers service to ensure they can provide specific advice, information and support regarding a more diverse range of careers.

 

Joseph Clough

1. Fight my number 1 priority: Save the veggie café.

2. Union to have a pro-egg policy. Every student gets a free chocolate egg on their birthday.

3. Lobby Morrison’s to start selling Irn Bru again.

4. Lobby bus companies to be free between at least the city centre and Fallowfield.

5. Continue the fight for student-only ambulance services and astroturfs for all halls.

 

Tanisha ‘Sharkisha’ Douglas

1. Diversity training for staff and students.

2. Regular liaison with all liberation reps to ensure they are supported and needs are met.

3. Let’s fête! Black History Month, LGBT+ History Month and Inter-Faith Month.

4. Work with other Exec to address concerns identified in student officer role, i.e. BME attainment gap and mental health.

5. Maintain community and inter-university connections.

 

Jenny Edem-Hotah

1. Raising awareness and celebrating diversity.

2. Networking for postgraduates within the Students’ Union.

3. Maximise the Manchester experience for international students.

4. Building on diversity campaigns.

 

Nadir Mohammad

1. Increase student activities for disabled students.

2. Ensure the SU acts as a voice for those disabled students who require extra support from the university in their studies.

3. Organise events that will promote cultural diversity and inter-faith/no-faith harmony on campus.

4. To make sure that the voices of each and every minority group is heard and work towards achieving their goals.

5. Dedicated campaigns in the calendar to celebrate cultural diversity.

 

Hasan Mumtaz

1. Ensuring every student have equal access to the placements.

2. Extra effort to provide disabled friendly accommodation for disabled students.

3. Organising cultural events in periodic intervals in order to ensure healthy interactions by promoting diverse cultures.

4. Developing systems for reporting any incidents of discrimination among students.

5. Organising free UK tours for international students to get an insight of British cultures.

 

HanSong Pang

Slogan: “Employing best staffs is what I committed.”

 

Education Officer

Sid Kanoija

1. Setting up an active placement cell emphasising more on international students.

2. An effort to subsidise the fees of every course.

3. Promoting the practical approaches to courses rather than theoretical approach.

4. Promoting well-equipped accommodation for students.

5. Promoting providing the digitisation of courses including podcasts of every lecture.

 

Ilyas Nagdee

1. Expand work on free education.

2. Stand up for international students.

3. Liberate our curriculum.

4. Close the BME gap.

5. Empower reps to hold their department to account.

 

Jordan Paterson

1. To take decisive but fair action regarding academic issues that students report.

2. To research what academic issues are relevant to students and to reach solutions.

3. Accurately and fairly report student opinions on academic issues.

4. Reinforce the importance of student and faculty representation.

5. Create a network for representatives to discuss academic issues, share ideas and support each other.

 

Joseph Clough

1. Fight my number 1 priority: Save the veggie café.

2. Union to have a pro-egg policy. Every student gets a free chocolate egg on their birthday.

3. Lobby Morrison’s to start selling Irn Bru again.

4. Lobby bus companies to be free between at least the city centre and Fallowfield.

5. Continue the fight for student-only ambulance services and astroturfs for all halls.

 

Abhay Sikri

Slogan: “I have always been always been a good listener and presenter.”

 

Andrew Robinson

1. I aim to reduce the amount of mistakes in examination questions.

2. I aim to make poor invigilator conduct, such as invigilators not following university exam regulations, a thing of the past.

3. I aim to improve coursework feedback; ending the practice of it being copied and pasted between students.

4. I aim to ensure that personal tutors are able to provide better support on issues relating to student welfare.

5. To actively campaign against government policy regarding university tuition fees.

 

Michael Spence

1. Reverse cuts to bursaries at Manchester.

2. More study space and facilities.

3. Campaign against PREVENT

4. Campaign for the introduction of living grants.

5. Ending additional course costs.

 

Wellbeing Officer

Bis Choudhury

1. Work towards safety and security of our students and call for an enhanced university security policy.

2. Better quality of services provided in student halls. Value for money. Better wellbeing activities within halls.

3. Better food in campus cafeterias that is healthy, tasty and cheap.

4. Better advice and counselling services to provide support for financial, housing and wellbeing issues.

5. Promote a homely atmosphere within the Union and the university to encourage more student participation.

 

Joseph ‘Eggs Eggs Eggs Eggs Eggs’ Clough

1. Fight my number 1 priority: Save the veggie café.

2. Union to have a pro-egg policy. Every student gets a free chocolate egg on their birthday.

3. Lobby Morrison’s to start selling Irn Bru again.

4. Lobby bus companies to be free between at least the city centre and Fallowfield.

5. Continue the fight for student-only ambulance services and astroturfs for all halls.

 

Becky Fox

1. STUDENT SAFETY AT NIGHT! Volunteers to walk people home, attack alarms, police presence.

2. IMPROVE COUNSELLING SERVICE! Shorter waiting times, more staff training.

3. SMASH THE STIGMA AROUND MENTAL HEALTH! Time to talk, advertise support, buddy system.

4. SEXUAL HEALTH DROP-IN CLINIC! Free condoms, STD testing, femidoms, dental dams, the lot!

5. INCREDIBLE WELLBEING ROOMS! Relaxing, inviting, comfortable, with tea/coffee making facilities.

 

Lucy Hallam

1. Raising awareness of the support systems available and ensuring easy access.

2. Identifying areas where support is lacking, and improving or creating new initiatives where needed.

3. Improving student safety.

4. Cheaper food on campus and more healthy options.

5. Free exercise classes and cheaper gym memberships.

 

Chris Humba

1. Fight to maintain support for disabled students.

2. Work to shorten and improve the communication between the student support services.

3. Will organise a dry bar night event for students who don’t drink but would still like to socialise.

4. Set up a free shuttle service for students on a night out to get back safely.

5. Set up an anonymous reporting service for students to be able to report any hate crime incidents.

 

Hannah Jewell

1. Create a Wellbeing Forum to strengthen links between wellbeing services and students.

2. Fight cuts to bursaries and disabled students allowance.

3. Improve the counselling services by making it more accessible and shortening waiting times.

4. Introduce a second Global Week to welcome international students.

5. Bring in reimbursement for doctor’s notes costs for mitigating circumstances across all Schools.

 

Shourya Khanna

1. Create more learning spaces resembling the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons.

2. Encourage students to have a positive attitude.

3. Encourage students to have mentors.

4. Make student counselling more interactive and enjoyable.

5. Organise more social gatherings for students to connect more.

 

Women’s Officer

Jennifer Jones

1. Free sanitary products for all female students in campus toilets—condoms are free, tampons should be!

2. Sex support groups for pregnancy, contraceptive and peer pressure worries.

3. Support for student mothers, particularly mature students returning to education.

4. Further emphasise the ‘We Get It!’ pledge and take a stand against sexual harassment.

5. Lead campaign against government tax on sanitary products as ‘non-essential luxuries’. Periods are essential, drop the tax!

 

Jess Lishak

1. A subsidised  student shuttle bus throughout the night taking people from campus to their doors cheaply.

2. Promoting zero tolerance to sexual harassment in our local bars and clubs.

3. Fighting the cuts to women’s services (domestic and sexual violence services) and raising money through more productions of The Vagina Monologues.

4. Continue to make Manchester the home of the biggest (and best) Reclaim the Night march in the country and lobby the university for better support services for students who have experienced sexual violence.

5. Holding events to amplify women’s voices in arenas where we are underrepresented, with speaker events for careers and social nights with women performers (DJs, comedians, musicians, poets).

 

Ellis Quinn

 

1. RECLAIM OUR AREA—improve safety within the Fallowfield area.

2. MEN MATTER TOO—introduce events and campaigns that are entirely inclusive and give everyone a platform to speak out against gender inequality.

3. EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION—develop gender equality workshops in schools and community groups to create a real social change.

4. SUPPORT OUR WOMEN—campaign and fundraise for vital local women’s charities which are being adversely affected by the cuts.

 

 

 

NB: Candidates are ordered in their respective sections by the randomised order on the University of Manchester Students’ Union website. Colours were chosen in keeping with the design of the page and candidates had no say in the choice. Candidates’ names and photos were those available on the Students’ Union website at the time. Other photos were not accepted. The Union asked all candidates for five main aims which are listed on the Students’ Union and used here. For those who did not submit this, the first five points from their manifesto were picked; and for those candidates without a manifesto, their campaign slogans were used instead.

Do you agree with the policies of the candidates? Comment below.

Live: Jaws

6th March

Academy 3

6/10

One of the latest acts to emerge from the B-Town indie scene, Jaws is the brainchild of Birmingham native Connor Schofield, who assembled the band after he decided it was time to take his songwriting from his bedroom to the stage. Their latest tour, promoting their debut full-length Be Slowly, saw them headline some of the largest venues to date, including Manchester’s own Academy 3, and proved once and for all that their sunny indie pop deserved to make that transition.

After nonchalantly wandering on stage to the sound of Jay Z and Kanye West’s ‘Niggas In Paris’—which sent the alarming number of underage girls in the crowd ape-shit crazy, for the first of many times that evening—the band opened with ‘Donut’ from their Milkshake EP, though it was the second song of the set, the synth-heavy ‘Surround You’, that really got the show going. The band’s lush sound came alive and sounds more forceful in a live setting; though the show suffered from some dodgy mixing that made the more densely-layered tracks sound flat and claustrophic, they certainly hit more than the miss, with the slinky bass groove of ‘Time’, the euphoric ‘Swim’ and the The 1975-esque ‘Think Too Much, Feel Too Little’, all sounding even more energetic than their studio counterparts.

A couple of new songs also got an airing, the former an unusually grungy affair for the band and the latter, apparently named ‘Simplicity’, a more typically jangly number, both of which were received with polite applause though felt slightly unnecessary given their debut has barely been out six months. A stripped-down ‘Stay In’ made an appearance towards the end, prompting huge crowd participation on its quietly anthemic chorus, followed by the album’s title track—a perfect three-minute pop song in the vein of The Cure’s ‘Just Like Heaven’—which was the show’s clear high point. After highlighting the pointlessness of planned encores (“what’s the point in walking there,” Schofield remarked, gesturing to the side of the stage, “to come straight back here?”) they concluded with ‘Gold’, a favourite of the band and fans alike, ending the short and sweet forty-five minute set in raucous fashion.

Live: The Charlatans

5th March

Albert Hall

8.5/10

With their mix of baggy grooves, jangly guitar pop and swirling psychedelia, The Charlatans always sounded—not to mention behaved—like the best band to never come out of Manchester. It’s fitting, therefore, that their latest tour should see them performing not one, but two sold out shows at the Albert Hall, an establishment that is fast becoming one of the city’s most exciting venues for live music. And, with disco ball intact, the setting proved to be a perfect match for the band’s trademark brand of danceable indie rock.

Opening with hypnotic, bass-heavy ‘Forever’, the four-piece powered through a lengthy, career-spanning set, whilst paying special attention to their latest offering Modern Nature, their most well-received record in over a decade, and one that has served as something of a comeback for the band. Frontman Tim Burgess, the 90s’ perennially spaced-out answer to Mick Jagger, spent the evening swanning around the stage under the strobe lights, shaking his bleach blonde Ramones-cut hair, all the while never missing a note and keeping the crowd on their feet. The drum seat, meanwhile, was occupied by ex-Verve member Peter Salisbury, who’s shuffling rhythms and tasteful flourishes gave old school hits such as ‘The Only One I Know’ and ‘Weirdo’ a renewed sense of urgency.

Though the pace lagged a little in the middle due to too many sprawling, mid-paced numbers being played back to back, the band’s ability to maintain a vibrant party atmosphere whilst keeping a tight-knit groove meant the two hours seemed to fly by—and by the time the sing-along tracks like the raucous ‘How High’ and the vaguely Doors-y ‘Come Home Baby’ came round towards the end, it felt like both the band and crowd could have gone on all night.