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.
Tonight: Kyle MacLachlan, star of many a David Lynch collaboration, is in Manchester for his Fictional Selves book tour. His autobiography is out now, and he’ll be discussing his life’s work. Will it include a photo op? No word yet. Tickets are still available. I’ve got mine. There’s a meetup with Manc Mates with… no attendees. Opera House, 7pm.
Wednesday: Deansgate bar Manahatta run their Manahatta Meets event, intent on bringing people together, make friends, and this time, learn to canvas paint. £24 per ticket. I might.
Friday night: Jack Reacher creator Lee Child comes to the Manchester Literature Festival. Theatre Home holds host to the thriller author. Remaining tickets are £33. Again, I might. 7pm.
Saturday Night: ‘Manchester DJ, writer and broadcaster Dave Haslam launches his new book, Creative Journeys. In conversation with acclaimed TV actor John Simm, Joy Division and New Order drummer Stephen Morris, and Sky Arts-Nominated musician, songwriter and singer LoneLady, Dave explores what it really means to build a creative life, navigating success, failure, negativity and resilience, while staying true to your own path.’ Home Theatre holds host to Jip off Human Traffic and that serial killer guy of Crime. Tickets are £36. Very tempted.
Finished a bottle of delicious Spirit of Yorkshire Cream Liqueur. Like Baileys, but artisan, reasonably local, and tastes better. Well recommended.
Revisited the 90 Gangster genre with Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead. Underrated heist movie starring Andy Garcia as Jimmy the Saint, a retired gangster gone straight, called out of retirement for one last job, which predictably goes off the rails. Also making appearances: Christopher Lloyd, who I met last week, William Forsythe, who I met in ‘23 and Treat Williams who died in ‘23.
Dug out blaxploitation gem Coffy, starring Pam Grier, who I met last weekend. When her sister is hooked on heroin, a nurse tracks down the junkie pimps responsible and wipes them out.
Followed this up with Tarantino classic Jackie Brown, also starring Pam Grier in the titular role, as an air stewardess drugs mule caught in the crossfire between the FBI, her bail bondsman (who she falls for), her gangster boss, his pothead girlfriend and a dumb ex-con fresh out of jail. Not seen it in decades. I think for the first time I kinda followed it. Slow burn, well acted, with more depth than his previous 2. Marijuana, alcohol, and lots of raw cash on display.
Next in the pile: Less than Zero, Marek Kanievska’s 1987 adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ debut novel. The book – a rip-roaring, unforgiving portrait of rich late-teen life in LA in the 80s – was an astounding work of short fiction, with no real character arcs and no real purpose either. But the glamour and the pace and the crushing apathy from all the characters keep you hooked on every page.
The film may have the same disillusionment and addiction-prone cut-and-copy characters, but the undeniable soul of the book is sadly lacking in the film. Ironically, Robert Downey Jr predicted his own future by playing a loaded drug addict disappointing everyone. Is there a phrase for when an actor does that? There should be. ‘De ja view?’ ‘The Downey Effect?’
Following this: Ken Russell’s The Devils, the 1971 formerly banned historical tale of French Priest Urbain Grandier, based on the real man of that name, left in charge of the city of Loudon during a time when The King is attempting to consolidate and centralise his power, intending to strip it from said priest.
Complicated scenario enough. But Grandier’s arrival sends the local nuns into mass erotic hysteria, leading to witch-hunts and supposed demonic possession. If you’re ever religiously on the fence, this should push you towards atheism. What follows – prostitution, persecution, prosecution and execution.
How’s that for elocution?
Deep, beautifully shot, horrendously violent for the early 70s and heavily plotted. Recently, film critic Mark Kermode has managed to dig out a few minutes of unseen footage from some movie vault, creating a newer version closer to the now-deceased Russell’s intended film.
We’re all probably at least culturally aware of Brian DePalma’s 1983 crime movie Scarface from 1983. Few are aware it’s a remake, though, of Howard Hawks’ 1932 original with Paul Muni as Tony, importing beer to Chicago during prohibition. At the time of the film’s production, alcohol was still outlawed, making the title cards (‘what are you going to do about it?’) eerily poignant.
A shorter, faster, to-the-point tale of the big hard man reduced to nothing after he betrays everyone who ever helped him, resulting in his eventual downfall. Stunningly executed, impressive almost a century later.
I had to watch the DePalma / Pacino version after this, partly as it’s in theme, but also as I met Steven Bauer who plays Manny last week at Comic Con Liverpool. Any excuse. This time, it’s the early 80s. Tony’s a Cuban refugee, booted out of his jail – and country – by Castro, and has washed up on the shore of Miami. He climbs from Freedomtown thug to head honcho cocaine importer, whose meteoric rise precedes a devastating betrayal and a brutal fall from power.
Both versions are classics. The remake is more fun, but the original more effectively conveys the journey of a man who betrays everyone who ever helped him, ultimately causing all their deaths, and eventually his own.
Little over a week left of this Excess Project. Lots more planned.
A write-up of an incredible convention in Liverpool with some Back to the Future guests.
More updates on this Excess Project that isn’t doing my health any good. Not great when you're on camera.
I’m on leave today to get on top of it all.
I’m going to make another attempt to get this Psychology Social Group moving, this time in Egg & Co on Deansgate, for a chat about psychology books. Thursday night, 6pm. I just want to make new friends and connections away from the bar and club scene. It’s been hard work finding a place that opens in the evenings, doesn’t serve alcohol or junk food, has the space to seat us, and isn’t involved in some horrific practice in the Middle East. This egg-based restaurant seems to do the trick.
5 attendees so far.
Saturday night: Do you like Thai food? Do you want to get drunk while eating it? Or at least have a drink? Come join Manchester Nightlife to Muay Thai Tapas, a new Thai eatery nestled in Ancoats. Spices, cocktails, good chat and maybe a few other Ancoats bars after – that’s the plan for this week’s night out. Come try it. 7pm, Blossom St.
5 of us are coming as of now.
Well, it’s time for another Psychology Saturday update, including anything vaguely psychology-related from this week. Most of this update will involve this absurd ‘Excess Month’ in which I attempt to make space in my cupboard by drinking as much of the alcohol in it as possible.
The last few mls of a bottle of Glen Morangie – that I’ve probably had since 2008 – was the first thing to be emptied out down my gullet this week, followed by the remaining quarter of a 2012 bottle of fine Bacardi that I remember buying in Brighton Pride. Also polished off: the last of the Aldi Ballycastle Peanut Butter variety. Exquisite indulgence.
Finished watching the very weird Twin Peaks series. I’m a big David Lynch fan but I understood none of it. Was I supposed to? Maybe not. The murder mystery remains unsolved after 2 seasons, but there were plenty of other things that were left unexplained, like… all of it. The DVD extras include plot updates that Americans could receive – in the late 80s and early 90s – by phoning a specific number, read out by the actors playing their characters. I still don’t get it. I think the whole point of Lynch’s work is that you absorb the feeling, the dream-like state of the work, without totally getting the narrative. Just breathe it in, like the pinewood air of the fictional rural Washington town.
Next up: Withnail and I, a 1987 Brit classic featuring 2 1960s pisscan out-of-work actors taking a break in Penrith Cumbria. The cottage they’ve inhabited, however, comes with some obstacles – namely the closet gay uncle they’ve borrowed it from.
They drink a lot of alcohol.
As it happens, I met Paul McGann – the titular ‘I’ – at Comic Con Yorkshire in June ‘24.
Revisited a university classic in Old School, featuring Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson and, interestingly, Snoop Dogg and the dude off Mulholland Drive who has a heart attack when he sees the homeless guy. Older guys start an unsanctioned college fraternity, drink a lot, smoke a lot of drugs, and have unwise (and borderline illegal) promiscuous sex. The Dean – that they used to bully in school – is out for revenge.
Still funny, but has perhaps not dated well.
I saw Snoop Dogg at Parklife in 2014.
Watched stand Up Guys, a 2012 crime comedy. Al Pacino gets out of prison, meets up with his old career criminal friend Christopher Walken and decide to party to celebrate freedom. Cue booze, cocaine, prescription drugs, prostitutes, hospital visits, car thefts and fine tailoring. Chaotic fun, needed a bit more umph to make it stand out. Ending is a bit ridiculous.
Chain bar Manahatta seem to be pulling together a varied roster of events. Wednesday: their Friend Dating night kicks off at 7pm. Think speed dating – 4 minute chats with several people – but to find friends. Is that going to work with that minimal time? And how varied would the people be? I dunno. Will I try it? No, because I’m too old. Will you? If you’ve got a free evening and a spare £20 for the ticket.
Saturday sees the return of Comic Con Liverpool, Monopoly Event’s flagship convention, in Exhibition Centre Liverpool. This year’s astounding line-up features cast from Jackie Brown, Dog Soldiers, Back to the Future, Men in Black and Scarface among many others.
I’ve got a 12:30pm entrance ticket. 9ams were gone already. When I bought it last week, the timings of photos hadn’t been confirmed, so Ticketquarter advised me just to buy entrance for the moment. I’m looking at spending nearly £400 on photos, provided I can get them at the table. That’s my challenge.
Alan Ford came up 25th from London to Newcastle and got a curry. The city, he tells us, was always known for pretty girls.
I concur. I, on the other hand, got up at 6am on Saturday 26th and drove up, getting to the Utilita Arena just in time for the opening of the doors and the start of Comic Con North East. There was a bit of stress at that point when I realised Ticketquarter hadn’t actually sent me my tickets, but my name was on their system for both entrance and photo, so there were no issues.
83-year-old Ford is possibly best known as cockney hard man Brick Top from Guy Ritchie’s 2000 gangster movie Snatch.
But we’ll get into that.
The compare tells us Newcastle still has that aesthetic reputation (he’s right). Then we dive into Ford’s screen roles.
COMPARE: Between movies and TV, is there a different approach?
AF: No. For stage there is, but not screen.
The mic goes out to the audience, where we start with American Werewolf in London, the 1981 horror comedy.
AF: Good memory! I drive the taxi to Trafalgar Square. The transformation into the werewolf (that David Naughton’s David is subjected to) was the best on film. The director (John Landis) wasn’t known at the time; I just thought it was ‘another film.’
COMPARE: Must be tough.
AF: No, when they’re not offering work, *that’s* tough.
COMPARE: You seem to do a lot of gangster roles.
AF: In theatre I’ve done all sorts, but better to be typecast than not cast. I like doing other stuff. They pay me to be Brick Top. I’m not complaining. Lock Stock and Snatch were next to each other (1998 and 2000 respectively).
An audience member admits he was too young to be watching Lock Stock and Snatch when they first saw it.
AF: Young lads who weren’t born when those films came out, they ask me to swear at them.
COMPARE: Can you do it now?
AF: Thank you for being here, but you’re a cunt. You never know how they’re gonna take it, but they take it well.
Ford has a history of working with Guy Ritchie throughout the late 90s and 00s.
AF: I met Guy Ritchie on Lock Stock, and auditioned for him. He told me to do another scene, so I did, then he changed it again. I said, I can’t be fucked about. So they stuck with the first one. But scene when it had to be on film was going to be 4 hours long.
COMPARE: What is it about the gangster genre that attracts people?
AF: Lock Stock kicked it off, 27 years ago.
(I would argue Reservoir Dogs did 5 years before that.)
AF: I’m still getting a living off it.
COMPARE: You grew up in that (London) world. You knew those characters.
AF: I grew up south of the river (Thames). The Richardson Brothers (rivals to The Kray Twins) were around. The guys you saw had a way of walking and talking.
AUDIENCE QUESTION: Was there any role that you were passed over for?
AF: Fucking thousands of them. I watch stuff thinking, I could have done that!
COMPARE: Was there a role in particular?
AF: I don’t want to fucking think about it! I love doing comedy. I worked with Steve Coogan. I did The Darling Buds of May with David Jason. I’d sold a guy a boat but it was half sank in the canal. I played a dame in pantomime, which is nothing like me. The key is being good at what you’re offered. Once I did Snatch, directors will say ‘do you want to put your own spin on it?’ But on Snatch, every line was written by Guy Ritchie.
AQ: Do you prefer being someone different?
AF: I like being away from myself. I wouldn’t take writing away from someone, even if it’s bad.
COMPARE: With TV, is there less room to manoeuvre?
AF: 2 years ago I was in Eastenders. There, there was less wiggle room. There was an offer that came to me. I did 1 episode in the 80s when it started, with Wendy Richard. I wanted to do a part with Barbara Windsor. I was supposed to be her boyfriend. It was a good thing I didn’t because Lock Stock and Snatch came up. Then I got Eastenders for the role of Billy Mitchell’s dad.
COMPARE: Soaps are like ‘fast movies.’ Which do you prefer?
AF: I’ve grown up with movies, so I prefer the pace. The pace of soaps was too much. I’d come back for a family wedding though.
COMPARE: How does 88-year-old Alan Ford fill his time?
AF: I write. I wrote a novel 20 years ago, based on true events. My favourite time is sitting in the pub with other actors, chatting, who’s sleeping with who. I’ve an idea to write a novel with all these anecdotes, all happening to 1 character.
COMPARE: Any advice for actors?
AF: Don’t have another string to your bow. If you wanna be an actor, be an actor. “I’m doing this. Fuck everything else.”
COMPARE: What’s next?
AF: I’ve just had a big disappointment. Some producers were doing an animated comedy on a rough estate. I was the grandmother. The BBC turned it down. I hope it moves on. We’re all a bit sick of BBC, aren’t we?
Yes.
COMPARE: Anything you haven’t done that you’d like to?
AF: I’ve done the dancing, the criminals, Bergerac. I love doing comedy with Steve Coogan.
After the Q+A came the photo op. I was the last in the queue. Ford got us to laugh on cue. What a character!
Small but fun con. I wasn’t familiar with any of the other guests, but here’s what the rest of it looked like…
After February’s convention, Comic Con Sheffield returned to Ponds Forge for another day of celebs, stalls, talks and photo ops. This time, Red Dwarf’s The Cat – Danny John Jules – posed for photos.
DJJ also played Baldy’s Lookout in prison movie Scum – the guy who lets Carlin (Ray Winstone in his breakout role) into the coal room to fight the number 2 guy. I would have liked to ask him about that but there was no Q+A for him.
I’ll tell you who *did* do one, unsurprisingly...
Boom-voiced actor 89-year-old Brian Blessed gave pretty much the same talk that he did in For the Love of Sci Fi back in 2019.
Paul Chuckle of The Chuckle Brothers also made a guest appearance.
A year or so ago I was passing through Holmfirth in Yorkshire and stopped off for a browse in the many charity shops. I came across Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, by Paul M Sammon.
A big, detailed, generous account, FN describes the conception of the idea of adapting the book – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K Dick. It then follows the process through planning, adapting the screenplay, casting, shooting, editing and finally marketing and re-releasing the film several years later. I’ve been dipping in an out of it since then.
Blade Runner is a classic movie of the Cyberpunk genre: dark nights, glassy cityscapes, futuristic vehicles and black, edgy clothing. It’s mainly, though, remembered for its largely impervious, neo-noir plot: a detective assigned with hunting down and ‘retiring’ criminal targets who happen to be replicants – genetically engineered almost-humans created for off-world work. They escape and land on Earth, knowing their lifespan is short, with the intention of extending it. Rick Deckard – the titular ‘blade runner’ – is intent on making sure that doesn’t happen.
It sounds simple enough, until Deckard becomes involved in a target and starts to doubt his own memories and existence. Could he be a replicant too?
There’s a lot in the film that’s hinted at and not properly explained, which makes the film debatable – should a director spell out every idea in his film? Should elements be open to interpretation? Well, certain facets of BR – who’s a replicant, who’s not, the mystery conditions that blight different characters, and yes, what that unicorn is all about – it’s all explained as best as can be by contributors in the book. These include screenwriters Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, director Ridley Scott and other contributors.
Towards the end of the book – published in 1996 - rumours of a sequel swirl long before Blade Runner 2049 is written. The planned story is quite different to the film that arrived in cinemas in 2017.
If you’re a fan of Blade Runner, it’s a valuable companion.
A lot of these films were recorded from TV in the 90s, onto Long Play VHS, then transferred to DVD in around 2006-7. The DVD recorder seemed a little faulty, though, and I didn’t seem to be able to play the discs properly after recording and finalising (almost like ‘locking the door’ on a DVD to stop any more content being recorded onto it, and to allow it to be played on other devices).
Hence, most of these discs stayed in storage under my bed, as they had done for 20 years.
In December ’25 my PC pretty much conked out, so I had to splurge on a new one. Along with presents for family and meals out, I figured I may as well invest more. I’m a tight bastard most of the year, so why not shell out more on a Blu-Ray player? They’re under £100 these days. Not to mention, an old college mate of mine had moved abroad and had left a load of DVDs and Blu-Rays at his dad’s. He kindly donated them to me. I needed something to watch them on.
So, that month I made a purchase; my dad and I wired everything up and I tried out one of the donated Blu-Rays. Brilliant picture quality. Everything worked fine. But what about the DVD+Rs storing all those VHS films?
Turns out, they play too. They even fast forward, rewind and pause, something my old DVD+R recorder didn’t seem to be able to do, to my frustration. I’ve enjoyed revisiting some grainy, low-quality versions of some classic movies. I’ve watched the likes of Videodrome and Psycho, both recorded from TV on Long Play (VHS tape recorded at half speed, meaning you could fit double the video time onto the tape). I find, these days, I understand the plots much more than I did in my late teens and early 20s.
I’ve got a list of old films to revisit and I’ve tapped through a few of them. I have more to watch and am looking forward to immersing myself in some brilliant (and usually little-known) cinema.
This blog passed the 3 million hit mark yesterday. I’ve been running it since 2008. I hit 1 million in April ‘23 and 2 million in April this year. Either people are suddenly interested in my random nights out and amateur psychological musings, or there’s a whole lot of bot traffic out there. I suspect the latter.
Peter Cullen died, yet another person I could have met at one convention or another, but didn’t. I'm sure he was booked to attend at something local. He voiced the titular Predator, Eeyore the donkey from Whinnie the Pooh and Optimus Prime in the 1984 animated Transformers: The Movie.
It’s a bank holiday tomorrow and I predictably have put up a last minute meetup for tonight: drinks on Deansgate, if that floats your boat. I always forget when it’s a bank holiday, and no other organiser on Meetup seems to put much up either. There’s a women’s cinema trip, a live music acoustic set in a pub, a bouldering session and a 70s disco night – great if that’s your thing – but not much else. I guess it’s down to me. 9pm, Slug and Lettuce Deansgate, 9pm.
Last Saturday I described this insane diet basted on Christian Bale’s efforts to prepare for his role in The Machinist.
The problem with a diet like this is that we all have food in our cupboards, fridges and freezers, and there’s no point it going off. So you might as well eat it. And that’s what I’ve been doing: with one meal per day, munching through the eggs, bread and other perishables. I also had made a huge pan of vegetable soup. I had some ingredients for a recipe, so I bought the remaining goods and cooked that too. I’ve actually got loads of non-tuna-and-pineapple stuff still to go. Furthermore, my mum – who doesn’t yet know I’m doing this project – invited me round for a curry. This absolutely stuffed me. When you're only eating one meal a day, it takes a long time to use up.
Soon, though, it will be just a can of tuna and an apple as a daily meal - as confirmed by the director below...
I watched The Machinist, and understood it a lot better this time. I’ve also watched the commentary track, in which director Brad Anderson clears up a few of the more confusing plot points. I totally forgot Michael Ironside and Jennifer Jason Leigh were in this.
I started this at 86.2, went down to 83.2 and am currently back up at 85.9. Teething problems. I’m steadily skipping it off. Watch what happens this next week.
Discussed Magic Eye pictures with Aisha Katya. I’d swear that is a chicken.
Bill Duke – Mac in Predator - liked my photo of us.
Saw the solar eclipse on Wednesday, from Hartshead Pike. If you missed it, there’s another in 12 months.
Went out for a few birthday drinks in Freemount Northern Quarter last night. Behind Closed Doors turned me away because I was in shorts. You’d think a bar with S&M befitted mannequins wouldn’t have that strict a dress code in 2026, but here we are. Moved to Voyuer, a new edgy bar with risque-sounding cocktails (mine was called ‘Delusions of Grandeur,’ so make of that what you will), where a trans waiter served us Baby Godfather shots, a caramel liqueur. Turned out BCD and Voyuer are part of the same company. We finished the night off in Guilty By Association. I managed to get the bus back. Good night in all.
I mentioned on Friday that one of my Meetup attendees came out to Joshua Brooks then sacked us off to White Hotel, some competitor house music club. I’ve met up with him again last night, along with many other Meetup folk. I wanted to do some birthday drinks, and Meetup people are literally the ONLY people available to come out. So I put up an event with Manchester Nightlife (which, by the way, has now passed 1000 members. Only taken 2 years).
8 people RSVPd. Most of them showed up in meeting spot Flok, including White Castle Guy. (Turns out he’d left JB’s last week because he’d had a run-in with a member of staff.) Some other people I knew from previous events attended, and some new folk.
From Flok we moved to Lost in Tokyo, Japanese themed cocktail bar, then to Soup. For some reason I was absurdly overdressed for a warm summer’s night in hipstery Northern Quarter, wearing the blue 3-piece suit I got for a recent wedding. Soup’s doormen said they had a ‘no suit policy,’ that it wasn’t that vibe, but when they found out it was my birthday they made an exception. Fair play.
People dropped off as the night went on, until it was just myself, White Castle Guy and a Chinese Guy who’s English was so rudimentary he was getting by with Google Translate on his phone. It was before midnight when the 3 of us were stood on the street and White Castle Guy started ranting about COVID conspiracies, vaccines and Fauci (who doesn’t even have any authority in this country).
One thing you should know about me. I worked in social care during the pandemic as an essential worker. Loads of my clients died. I have clinically vulnerable relatives who were fortunate to make it through those years. I have no patience for anti-vaxx bullshit.
Furthermore, at the end of the night, I had no energy to argue. I just went home. This morning I blocked White Castle Guy. Hmm. Of course he’s got a bible verse on his Insta.
