Manchester Mosaic outside Afflecks Palace
What a fabulous mosaic.
Some people think they live in the greatest City on the planet. So do I and I'm right.
I think I know who most of these are and why they are on there, so here goes.
From top left, clockwise.
Manchester is the birthplace of one of the greatest and some ( i.e. me) would argue THE greatest band of all time, The Smiths. Fronted by Morrissey, the band comprised Johnny Marr, Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke. The mosaic shows part of the album cover - Meat Is Murder. The first thing anyone who knows nothing about The Smiths says (its always the same bloody thing) is "Ooooh, their songs are really miserable". To which I always say (its always the same bloody thing) is "Just listen to them, actually they're hilariously funny".
Top of the Pops. The music show that ran from 1964 to 2006. The series was first recorded in Rusholme, Manchester in a disused church. The first edition was fronted by the now very much disgraced Sir Jimmy Savile. Given the recent appalling and sordid revelations about his private (or not so private, by the sound of it) life it is probably a good thing they didn't decide to put his gurning mush on here otherwise it would probably need a few tiles rearranging. When I was a kid it seemed like there had been a curfew imposed on the streets of Britain on a Thursday evening for half an hour, because everyone watched it. Parents tutted away saying it was all rubbish and "you can't tell a word they are saying" blah, blah, blah, whilst Dads were keeping one eye peering over the top of the newspaper at the dancers, Pans People. The other one was "Believe me, you'll never have heard of this band in six months time". Funnily enough I still listen to that stuff now. A lot. In fact Metal Guru by T Rex was blasting out in Kpcv Towers this very afternoon.
Now that looks a bit like Bob Dylan to me. I went to see him a few months ago in Manchester at the Arena but I don't think that is the reason he is on a mosiac outside Afflecks. He played The Free Trade Hall back in 1965. It might not be Bob so apologies to all concerned.
Again, not 100% sure on this one. I'm guessing it could be The Englishman In New York, Quentin Crisp, who passed away in the city in the late 90s.
Ah, The Sex Pistols. According to the BBC, their gig in the city at The Lesser Free Trade Hall was one of the most influential concerts of all time. Hilariously there were very few people there on the night but loads of people claim to have been there. Whilst The Smiths are my favourite band, my all time favourite album is by The Pistols. It is like Singalongapunk. I wanna beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee anarcheeeeeeeeeeee etc etc. Which is a bit ironic coming from a middle aged (erm...maybe old) person in a suit driving a car.
The Free Trade Hall - I saw loads of legends there back in the 70s. But not the Pistols, unfortunately. Or maybe I should join the ranks of the 3000 who pretend they were there??
The hirsute chappy on the bottom right is Karl Marx so using my not so great powers of deduction, I'm guessing that must be Friederich Engels whose family had a business in Salford. Marx and Engels spent time in Manchester studying in the city's libraries.
Emmeline Pankhurst - the famous suffragette born in Moss Side and whose former house can be seen on Seymour Grove. I took a photo of the blue plaque outside there a few weeks ago.
Manchester International Festival apparently. I've never heard of it, for some reason.
Granada TV. Is it still called Granada? Dunno - I don't watch much telly. They had something called Granada Studios Tours a few years ago. I was always amazed because it had been open for a while and I'd never spoken to anyone who had been which is quite unusual because if something is worth going to, news usually spreads, So we went and immediately wished we hadn't bothered. Which is probably why it closed.
A nice interesting mosaic - to me anyway.
Manchester Mosaic outside Afflecks Palace
What a fabulous mosaic.
Some people think they live in the greatest City on the planet. So do I and I'm right.
I think I know who most of these are and why they are on there, so here goes.
From top left, clockwise.
Manchester is the birthplace of one of the greatest and some ( i.e. me) would argue THE greatest band of all time, The Smiths. Fronted by Morrissey, the band comprised Johnny Marr, Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke. The mosaic shows part of the album cover - Meat Is Murder. The first thing anyone who knows nothing about The Smiths says (its always the same bloody thing) is "Ooooh, their songs are really miserable". To which I always say (its always the same bloody thing) is "Just listen to them, actually they're hilariously funny".
Top of the Pops. The music show that ran from 1964 to 2006. The series was first recorded in Rusholme, Manchester in a disused church. The first edition was fronted by the now very much disgraced Sir Jimmy Savile. Given the recent appalling and sordid revelations about his private (or not so private, by the sound of it) life it is probably a good thing they didn't decide to put his gurning mush on here otherwise it would probably need a few tiles rearranging. When I was a kid it seemed like there had been a curfew imposed on the streets of Britain on a Thursday evening for half an hour, because everyone watched it. Parents tutted away saying it was all rubbish and "you can't tell a word they are saying" blah, blah, blah, whilst Dads were keeping one eye peering over the top of the newspaper at the dancers, Pans People. The other one was "Believe me, you'll never have heard of this band in six months time". Funnily enough I still listen to that stuff now. A lot. In fact Metal Guru by T Rex was blasting out in Kpcv Towers this very afternoon.
Now that looks a bit like Bob Dylan to me. I went to see him a few months ago in Manchester at the Arena but I don't think that is the reason he is on a mosiac outside Afflecks. He played The Free Trade Hall back in 1965. It might not be Bob so apologies to all concerned.
Again, not 100% sure on this one. I'm guessing it could be The Englishman In New York, Quentin Crisp, who passed away in the city in the late 90s.
Ah, The Sex Pistols. According to the BBC, their gig in the city at The Lesser Free Trade Hall was one of the most influential concerts of all time. Hilariously there were very few people there on the night but loads of people claim to have been there. Whilst The Smiths are my favourite band, my all time favourite album is by The Pistols. It is like Singalongapunk. I wanna beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee anarcheeeeeeeeeeee etc etc. Which is a bit ironic coming from a middle aged (erm...maybe old) person in a suit driving a car.
The Free Trade Hall - I saw loads of legends there back in the 70s. But not the Pistols, unfortunately. Or maybe I should join the ranks of the 3000 who pretend they were there??
The hirsute chappy on the bottom right is Karl Marx so using my not so great powers of deduction, I'm guessing that must be Friederich Engels whose family had a business in Salford. Marx and Engels spent time in Manchester studying in the city's libraries.
Emmeline Pankhurst - the famous suffragette born in Moss Side and whose former house can be seen on Seymour Grove. I took a photo of the blue plaque outside there a few weeks ago.
Manchester International Festival apparently. I've never heard of it, for some reason.
Granada TV. Is it still called Granada? Dunno - I don't watch much telly. They had something called Granada Studios Tours a few years ago. I was always amazed because it had been open for a while and I'd never spoken to anyone who had been which is quite unusual because if something is worth going to, news usually spreads, So we went and immediately wished we hadn't bothered. Which is probably why it closed.
A nice interesting mosaic - to me anyway.