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.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games starts Wednesday 23rd. I’ve got a fitness project that I’m going to do in conjunction with that. More to come.
Saturday: Comic Con Manchester returns to Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester for 2 days of stalls, movie stars, photo ops, Q+A panels and cosplay. I’m looking forward to meeting Carrie Henn – Newt off Aliens – and Bill Duke – Mac off Predator and Cook off Commando. This will be my third attempt to meet him – looks like he’s actually turning up this time. It’s gonna be great.
There’s a meetup with Manc Mates with a couple of people signed up. Saturday has sold out, though, so they’ve either bought their tickets or they haven’t.
Yesterday, England beat Democratic Republic of Congo 2-1 in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup. I was in Manchester when it was on, but not to watch the match. Not a football fan. Just wanted to do some 28-Days-Later-style photography of the desolate streets while everyone was packed in the bars.
I booked today off to write up a Comic Con that I actually ended up not going to. The guests were interesting but not really my thing this time.
But this has meant I can get on with other things. Including this one, I have 3 blog posts to write. Also, expect a recipe review on the blog this Saturday.
But what’s happening in the city? Saturday night: new bar Katie O’Brien’s has opened and is already hugely popular. Manchester Nightlife are headed there Saturday night, first starting on the corner of Peter St in Dirty Martini.
New Meetup group Manchester Whisky Tasting Events opens with a tasting event on the 13th. I’m dieting for an upcoming wedding, but I’ll be all over some whisky tasting after that, depending on their events. I’m a big single malt fan. I went to a couple of tastings in Oldham about 15 years ago, then again in ‘12 and ‘23 in Scotland.
My friend Fay has set up Manchester Woman and Guys Having Fun meetup group (sic). It’s got a bit of everything: coffee meets, fitness, food, drink, movies. Keep an eye on it.
A heads-up for anyone visiting rooftop bar 20 Stories this summer: there’s a £10 door charge which ‘will apply from Saturday 23rd May until Monday 31st August (Bank Holiday) from 5pm onwards.’ I guess if you were the manager and it’s busy season, you may as well make the money.
Daytime Disco returned to Joshua Brooks Saturday 18th. Disco house, headlining DJs, a packed room and no taxi necessary at the end. This time, Michael Gray headlined, whose track ‘The Weekend’ was a top 10 hit in 2004.
I put up a Meetup with Manchester Nightlife, got a couple of attendees, I bought a ticket because they claimed to have done… then they reversed their RSVPs. Did they buy a ticket? I don’t know. Upshot: I went on my own.
Oh well.
The upstairs bar already had a party with a DJ at 5:30pm, but the main event was in the basement. The moment I got in a girl dropped her glasses right in front of me and I inadvertently stepped on them. Awks. She told me not to worry about it. Clientele mostly 30s and 40s, as you’d expect from an event featuring a DJ whose fame was at his height 22 years ago.
Michael Gray himself didn’t come on until 6:30pm but warm-up DJs still offered great disco house. Friendly crowd too. I spoke to someone who, it turned out, knew a couple of friends of mine. By the time Gray was playing, the club was heaving, and stayed that way ‘til 10pm. Superb music.
He was patient and chatted with people at the end, including myself. What a dude.
Once again, For the Love of Horror was an astounding local movie event with some superb guests offering photo ops, autographs, stage discussions and there was even a Blade-style blood rave (that I missed). Find part 1 and part 2 of my writeups.
I got a follow back on Instagram from Finn Carter, Rhonda off Tremors.
Jeff Daniel Phillips, Herman Munster in the Munsters remake, liked my picture of him.
Unfortunately, after paying for a picture with Mekhi Pfifer, he then turned out to be Zionist. Well. Terrifier’s Jenna Kanell liked my pic of her.
Rewatched City of God, the Brazilian gangster movie. Excellent crime drama set in the Rio favelas, taking inspiration from real life, Goodfellas and I expect Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels.
Rewatched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, an outrageous drug-fuelled trip through a police convention, a motorbike race and a desert. So many cameos that I didn’t recognise until this week.
Rewatched Lost Highway, David Lynch’s weird tale of a sax player sentenced over the murder of his wife (an act of which he has no recollection) only for him to disappear in jail and be replaced by another guy who has no recollection of how he got there. So good, but such a headfuck. Not seen it in maybe 20 years. Patricia Arquette, man. Good lord.
Polished off a citrus single malt 5cl bottle from the Chivas Regal blending kit I got Christmas before last. I’ve actually got 2 kits and am tapping through the content. I should try making a blend for the hip flask.
Excess Month ends on Thursday. I’ve read one of the books that I’d pulled out that fit this theme; review to be uploaded at some point.
Lastly, today is Alien Day: 26th April. 4/26. As in LV-426, the planet they land on in Alien.
FC: Tremors bombed on release, then 35 years later it’s remembered. Michael carried the mantel for 6 more movies.
MG: (Lead actor Val) Kevin Bacon felt he was a failure. He walked away.
FC: He said he’d come back now if there’s another.
MG: There’s a script for ‘Tremors 8’ but it’s in legal limbo. I said to a producer, ‘we’d better do it quick, because we’re getting old.’ I didn’t intend for Burt to be a main character. But the writers fell in love with the character, and when that happens it’s great.
MG: Quite heavy! It was a terrifying scene for me because I knew if I got it wrong, they’d have to take an entire day to reset the wall.
AQ: What was it like seeing the creature for the first time?
FC: I was in a few scenes. It was massive. I got dragged. The director (Ron Underwood) was 5’ (1.5m) tall, and the sweetest man, saying, “it’s getting closer! It’s getting closer! IT’S REALLY SCARY NOW!”
AQ: Did you speak to seizmologists to prepare for the role?
MG: Americans are crazy as you know. We have a president to prove it. We had a survivalist store, and they gave us the basics on booby traps, making a retreat, which I’m a little paranoid about. I took a lot of firearms training. You have to convince the audience that I was an expert. I worked quite a long time with firearms instructors, loading, unloading, to make it look like expertise.
COMPARE: What was your journey into that character, from the audition?
FC: I was doing a play in LA, and my classmates were laughing at this potential movie. Then I got it. But I got time, got just proficient enough (in seismology) to fool you. If experts come in, they’d disagree.
MG: I never wanted anyone down the barrel of my gun. If I put it down, I had to assume someone had touched it. I’d check it. If I hear about mistakes with guns on set, I say, ‘someone screwed up.’ I’m not a gun fan. I love model trains. Burt never points his gun at other people: only the monsters. We don’t fight each other; we come together as a team to fight a common enemy.
FC: When I was running away from the monster in my underwear, there were men under the set moving the ground. Everything you see is being moved by a huge team. On set there were no egos, or conflict. It was the perfect storm. I don’t remember there being any problems.
MG: There were no bad apples on set. No A-holes. Everyone was nice. It was, ‘Let’s try this.’
FC: The only time was when the Director of Photography said, ‘you cannot make that shot! There is no sun!’ In the evenings we partied in the hot tub. When they’re blowing away, that was a great scene. You think, oh my god, these people are prepared. They have a chance. My favourite scene, though, was Kevin Bacon saying ‘let her have blonde hair, big green eyes,’ then I turn around. All my insecurities and lack of confidence gave me the power to carry through Tremors. I’d think, ‘another day of work.’
Horror movie convention For the Love of Horror has landed back in Manchester. It’s Saturday 18th April and I’m looking forward to meeting a Commando actor (someone from the movie, not someone who left their underwear at the hotel). I’m going to try and get a few more photos, and hear what people have to say about their film careers. But first… let’s take a look around Bowlers Exhibition Centre.
The first Q+A Panel: 78-year-old Ken Foree, Peter from Dawn of the Dead (1978), who tells us he has “talents like Ernest Hemingway.” He tells us of his days of acting and writing.
“Have you ever tried to get something published? If you haven’t, I’ll tell you: I was between acting jobs, coaching basketball, little kids. I like to see the lightbulb come on. One of the kids’ dads said ‘let’s write a low budget action film.’ He’s in New Jersey, I’m in California. I had execs come by, they saw it on a coffee table. They said, who wrote this? I said, I’m not the writer. They said, you’re the writer. They pestered me for a call for months. I said okay. What about my family? A month later, the response has been tremendous at this late time in my life. This was about 10 years ago. You know Taxi? There was a series I wrote, ‘Limo 8.’ It was mine, but the same story. I wrote a horror story, called ‘Shadows.’ That got the same response. My 2 leads were in World War II. They were sending the letters. I wanted you to feel sorry for a serial killer character. But, as you know, everyone has challenges in life. I had things going on with family members. I said to my agent, ‘I’ll call you when I’m ready. Don’t call me.’ After turning down 15-20 projects in 20 years, now I’m overwhelmed. I’ve got loads. I’m ‘back.’”
COMPARE: There’s a lot of diversity in your career. Drama, horror, comedy. In Rob Zombie’s Halloween, do you bring fun?
KF: Not always. Joe Grizzly (Foree’s character in Halloween) was the most fun. There were 2 young lads in here today who said, ‘That’s Kenan and Kel’s Mr Rothmore!’
The mic is handed out to the audience queue.
AUDIENCE QUESTION: In Dawn of the Dead, the zombies are slow. These days in films, they’re fast. What do you prefer?
KF: The one where I’m paid! Rob Zombie has great way with words. I don’t have a favourite character or speed. I like a piece of this, a style of directing there.
AQ: What was it like filming the fight scene with Tyler Mane? (In the ‘07 Halloween remake.)
KF: I met Rob Zombie, I said Yeah, I’ll do Devil’s Rejects. I had food with Tyler Mane. Everything was real. We tore up the wall, rebuilt the wall, beat the shit out of that too. Tyler is a very nice gent.
AQ: What was the most memorable moment on Dawn of the Dead?
KF: It was an adventure every time we put on the costumes. The entire film. There was something every night.
To round off, Foree gives us some insight into what to expect next.
KF: Max Brooks is Mel Brooks’ son. We were having lunch in the US with a music artist. We had lunch every couple of months. We’d have a great time talking. Max did World War Z. He asked, ‘did you write anything on zombies?’ I said, ‘yes, but it was too expensive.’ I sat there, I said, ‘pass me the paper.’ He said, ‘you have to have the zombie thing as a comic book.’ Max thanked me through that. You’ll know more as soon as we have a distributor.
Next to stage: Mekhi Pfifer, Future in Eminem vehicle 8 Mile, and Tyrell Martin in 90s horror I know What you Did Last Summer. He was also Dr Gregory Pratt in medical drama ER.
MP: ER was fast-paced, dealing with other doctors and patients. I try and stay as fit as possible so I can enjoy doing these projects. ER was first for me in TV. We really forged a family atmosphere. We had each other’s backs and had vacations together. We’d spend 14 hrs a day, then go to Lake Tahoe to get food. Everyone was wonderful.
MP: Filming in 90s, I was doing soundtracks when I got the offer to do the music with Brandy and Monica (The titular ‘boy’ in The Boy is Mine.) 30 years later it’s still embedded in people’s memory.
AQ: What was it like filming (Dr Who spin-off) Torchwood in Wales?
MP: It was cold as hell on the beach. It was supposed to be summer, so we had no coats on. It was the coldest I’d ever been. I had no idea John Barrowman was as talented as he is.
AQ: in 8 Mile, who was the biggest joker?
MP: We were all in our 20s. Most people it was our first big movie. Eminem was the biggest joker. He was shy when you first met him.
AQ: Who would you most want to fight on film?
MP: I always wanted to fight Freddy or Jason.
CMPR: Who would you avoid?
MP: Hellraiser’s Pinhead. How’s he walking around with pins in his head?!
AQ: How would you survive the zombie apocalypse?
MP: I’d need a stocked freezer, dried food, weapons, and it takes a little community with doctors and engineers.
MP: Eminem had 3 trailers: a movie trailer, a gym trailer for working out, and a music trailer. He said, ‘I want you to listen to this track.’ Nobody knew Lose Yourself was going to be as big as it was, but it shows we bonded. When it came to the rap battle, director Curtis Hanson, RIP, he was not of the hip hop scene at all; he was a beach bum. He rolled around in a jeep with the top down. He let us have carte blanche. We had a great time.
Mekhi Phifer
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Next to the stage: David Patrick Kelly, Sully the henchman in Commando representing the mercenaries who have taken Arnold Schwarzenegger’s daughter. He also played Luther in The Warriors, T-Bird in The Crow, Howie in K-Pax, Jerry in Twin Peaks and Charlie in John Wick.
COMPARE: Every good guy needs a villain. How did you bring intensity to bad guys?
DPK: There were a group of guys working for Nixon. They ended up on the run, but they were mercenaries. What drove them was money.
COMPARE: What was your journey into performance?
DPK: I was a busker, playing songs. The Beatles came, and played in my hometown (Detroit Michigan). They came after the Kennedy assassination, and they were so joyful, a good break.
COMPARE: What was your first break?
DPK: I was in the musical Hair, on Broadway. I played guitar because of The Beatles. I like to say I’m a precursor to psychedelic music.
COMPARE: Let’s talk The Warriors. These days it’s still such a cultural phenomenon. Were you aware when filming?
DPK: No. Do you have drive in movies?
COMPARE: No. It rains too much.
DPK: It became this cultural phenomenon to see people on screen. The issues were really important in The Warriors, which was my first film. (Director) Walter Hill calls everything ‘a western.’
A queue forms for the audience questions. I’m second in line.
AQ: What was David Lynch like to work with?
(Kelly worked with Lynch on Twin Peaks.)
DPK: David was magical; so revolutionary. The script was like a song. I got a feeling; I knew at the time. I was filming Wild at Heart. He gave me the script. It was something special. You don’t normally see a director leave the camera on a drawing. But you’ve got to remember, Lynch was a painter before he switched to film.
COMPARE: This guy’s come prepared. He’s got a notebook!
DPK: I was attached to a crane by my ankle, like in the cowboys and Indians movies. I was up there for 5 hours! It’s a real rush of blood to the head.
COMPARE: Let’s talk The Crow. My dad showed me movies. When you came on, he’d go, ‘bad guy.’
(Starring lead Brandon Lee was shot when a live was accidentally entered into a chamber of a gun on the set of The Crow in 1993.)
DPK: Brandon’s passing was a huge tragedy. He had a stunt double. We didn’t know if the film would finish. My brother was in London. I went to Stratford and found this copy of Paradise Lost in a bookstore. I managed to get it into the film. I also managed to get It Can’t Rain All the Time into the soundtrack.
AQ: What’s the key to longevity in Hollywood?
DPK: Just stay healthy. So many people are gone because of drugs. I’m not preaching, but you’ve got to stay fit. I love being here, but my passion is Broadway. You gotta keep breathing.
The last question comes from a guy celebrating his birthday, so Kelly encourages all to join in singing Happy Birthday to You. Then he gives us a performance of his own.
