Matt Tuckey is a writer from Oldham, England. He covers celebrities, night life, Manchester, fitness, creative writing, social media, psychology and events. Some of this may, in some way, help others. Or maybe it'll just entertain you for a while.
On leave today to catch up on jobs and get through this Tweet for Chaos project.
Late notice meetup: tomorrow night, Manchester jazz club Matt & Phreds host their weekly Tasty Tuesday night. ‘HAPPY HOUR 6-11PM,’ their website shouts. ‘That means buy 2 drinks and get a whole FREE PIZZA or get 2 house cocktails for just £15!’
I’m all over that. Jazz trio Svarc Hanley Longhorn take the stage. Never heard of them, but I like fresh ideas, so here we are!
Nothing planned for the weekend other than a thing with friends. More in the upcoming weeks.
Did
you ever think, when you woke up this morning, that you'd be watching
Scott Thomas (Love Island, brother of Emmerdale's
Adam and Corrie's
Ryan, as was) performing The
Prince of Bel Air?
I
didn't expect to witness this impromptu karaoke performance either,
but when I dropped into the open mic night at Wilmslow's cosy but
tidy Symposium last night I wasn't
sure what to expect- partly because I'd lost the email invitation
from the talented Steph at Ledigo PR and I couldn't remember what it said.
Scott
also busted out some Biggy Smalls and BB King, and to follow this,
Nicole Barber-Lane (Myra McQueen
in Hollyoaks) duetted with Duncan James from boy band
Blue for a rendition of Mustang
Sally.
Providing
the acoustics, and a few covers of their own, were The Mad Hatters.
Great manic music, including a high-speed indie version of Sisquo's
Thong Song.
Duncan James
Nicole Barber-Lane screen left- I forgot who the girl on screen right is! Any ideas?
Scott Thomas
A
great evening, with friendly guests. I found it easy to chat to
people, male and female, verified and unverified, after rolling in solo. I would have jumped
on the karaoke myself, only they had no screen for lyrics. That was
the only thing missing. Get in touch with Ledigo PR to keep up with
their next events!
Urban
Cookie Collective and fellow Mancunian Diane Charlemagne lost a
battle with cancer last Thursday. She was 51.
Ms
Charlemagne was probably best known for The Key The Secret, which
peaked at number 2 in the charts in 1993.
I
was in first year in secondary school when the song came out, and it
always reminds me of school discos- in particular my first one in
secondary school, where someone- presumably a teacher- dressed up as
a snowman and began busting moves on stage to said song. The outfit
looked like some kind of dress, and all the kids in the front row
were drying to reach up onto the stage to lift it up. Weird.
I
personally preferred Feels Like Heaven, an underplayed 90s classic.
I
remember hearing it on what was Kiss 102 in around 1994, back when
dance music wasn't as popular as it is now. Urban Cookie collective
were still very well-loved among teens despite this.
I'm
not normally a Jazz fan, but seeing as Manchester Jazz Festival 2015
is in full swing (pun?) and seeing as a friend suggested it, I dived
into local jazz hub Matt & Phred's
to see Gypsies of Bohemia on Thursday night. I know this is a cliché, but I didn't expect to
enjoy it- I just wanted to see what jazz was about.
I
queued for 50 minutes to get in, but it was surprisingly comfortable
once we'd made it in: a calm atmosphere with mint fragrance and
20-something hipsters with out-of-control facial hair filling the
floor. On the stage: a singer, a pianist, a bassist and a drummer
entertained the crowd with surprising skill. They weren't some bunch
of old schoolmates fresh out of a dad's garage. Each member knew
their instruments well- the singer included- and had obviously spent
years perfecting their craft. As I entered, I didn't recognise the
song that was playing until the melody started to emerge- a cover of something from my
youth, or maybe my 20s. It was fast, and manically-played, and it
took a moment from it to dawn on me I was listening to Britney
Spears' Toxic done on a bass, guitars and a piano.
The
group quickly rolled back the clock, and treated us to a medley of
nineties and naughties hits done in a jazz-stylee, blended seamlessly
aside from a few breaks for water and- presumably- so the pianist
could rest his lightning-speed fingers. Jesus Christ. I've never seen
anything like it.
The
singer- not looking a long way off Jesus Christ with his beard and
robe- displayed surprising range, going from a brilliant rendition of
Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's Boom! Shake the Room through to
nailing Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights. Even the Prodigy's No Good
Start The Dance appeared, mixed into other songs in part, with the
musicians transitioning between tracks in perfect harmony.
I'd
been meaning to try Matt and Phreds for about a decade, when I was
getting ready to finish uni and making plans for what I could do once
I got a steady wage. Hmm. Well, I got there eventually, and I loved
it. Each track came with a penny-drop moment when you realise what
you're listening to, which in itself was funny and unexpected. I'd
never been to a jazz club before but I suppose the dim lighting and
woodwork suits the music and relaxed mood.
Absurdly
enjoyable. Keep your eyes peeled for the Gypsies of Bohemia. I went
to the gig- which I think might actually be my first gig- with
someone I met through Meetup, through the After Works Drinks group.
There was going to be a few of us but, hey, it was a weeknight. This
shows that, for making new friends and seeing more of the city,
Meetup is working.
The
United Kingdom is a powerhouse on the world stage. Our athletes rake
in medals at the Olympics, and in particular our boxers and martial
artists have succeeded brilliantly in recent years- Scots won 7 out
of 29 gold medals for Team GB in the 2012 London Olympics. Their
whisky industry has a £4 billion turnover.
Yet as it stands, the UK is already the 22nd
smallest country in the world.
Our
armed forces are and always have been one of the best in the world.
Losing Scotland would mean losing not a third but HALF of our
military might. Don't boot yourself out of NATO, guys.
Great
Britain is stronger together. Please keep it that way.
