Artistic Convictions - a new book is out now. Chris Wallis reflects on the work of an artist he first met 60 years ago.

She promptly conjured up the era-defining songs Doin’ the Do and Where Are You Baby? – still thrilling blasts of pure fizzy ...

It is often said that La Bohéme is the perfect ‘first opera’ to see. The Lowry’s website recommends it to seasoned ...

There’s a new kid on the block. The meteoric rise of Skof has been a phenomenon in itself. Opened in May 2024, Tom Barnes’ new Manchester gaff has already won a slew of awards. It received a Michelin ...

Black Sabbath – The Ballet from Birmingham Royal Ballet brings together classical ballet and the music of Black Sabbath, the pioneering heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1968. It’s an ambitious ...

To misquote Jane Austen: ‘Prizes are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.’ The prose stylist against whom all who have come after must measure ...

It’s July 2025, the hottest day of the year, and I’m clearing out my desk in the OperaWatch office at Northern Soul Towers. After 12 years as Northern Soul’s Opera Correspondent, I’m stepping down.

As a man who, throughout my teens and student years in Manchester, argued passionately that The Who were simply the best live band in the world and that their 70s’ albums were pretty close to perfect ...

Grace Darling was the lighthouse keeper’s daughter on Longstone, one of the Farne Islands off the stunning Northumberland coast. One September morning in 1838, she and her father rowed out to rescue ...

Ah, autumn! Blackberries picked, apples harvested, Keats consulted, barely-bronzed legs hidden till spring, and folk across the land are surprised and flattened by the forgotten weight of their high ...

I usually write theatre reviews the minute I walk through the door. It’s all still there in my head, sharp and bright, every detail could make it into the copy. This time, however, I had to decompress ...

It smells the same, but looks different. The famous Power Hall at Manchester’s Science & Industry Museum – that warehouse of steam-powered engines, heaving hydraulics and giant trains – has reopened, ...