Swansea Arena House Party: The Fight to Save Grassroots Venues
Grassroots music venues are the lifeblood of our music industry. Without them, would we have our favourite bands, or core memories? Would the UK have its international renown?
The GMV crisis is worsening, and we are losing venues at an unprecedented rate, so it’s vital that we come together to support change.
We’ve had the honour of supporting The Swansea Music Venues Working Group, chaired by Swansea Arena’s Lisa Mart. This is a new collaboration that has enabled the city’s rich music scene to face the industry’s challenges and create opportunities together.
In February, the group which is made up of Swansea Arena, Sin City, The Bunkhouse, Elysium, Hangar 18 and Hippos, held the hugely successful Swansea Arena House Party which fulfilled its aim of raising £10,000 for the Music Venues Trust (MVT) and injected £10,000 back into the region’s creative sector, whilst putting on a banging gig event headlined by Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard with support from fromKikker, The Fiends, PseudoCool, Mojo Jnr., Monet, Grey FLX, and Rainyday Rainbow.
In addition, throughout the day there were creative workshops to support grassroots artists in the city taking in developing a live show, creating pop art album covers, noise makers taster DJ sessions, graffiti lettering, and drumming, as well as an array of stalls from local grassroots music venues, funders and support organisations, creatives including photographers and videographers, plus much, much more.
Now, the organisation is now petitioning the Senedd (Welsh Government) to improve the late-night transport into and out of the city.
Transport is a huge priority as currently, in Swansea and South West Wales, most transport links East currently finish before 23:00, meaning that music fans attending events closing any later have to make the difficult choice to either drive, or miss the last hour of the event and the music venues across the city have joined forces to address the critical situation that the Music Venue Trust (MVT) warns could result in 10% of grassroots music venues closing in the near future.
Currently on just over 5,300 signatures, the Group has until 7th May 2024 to get the petition’s figure to 10,000 and qualify for consideration for debate. Swansea Arena, with support from the local grassroots music venues, has penned this open letter to the government to state their case and is encouraging people from Swansea and beyond to sign.
The Group has put in a lot of hard work to generate momentum and has had media support from music press, music trade outlets and regional titles including Total Production International, Access All Areas, Access All Areas (again), Mixmag, BBC 6 Music, BBC Wales, Wales Online, South Wales Chronicle and Buzz Magazine
You can sign the petition here.
The Irish Nation: Delivered by Irish Mancunian and supported by Wild in Art
Not to be missed! The Irish Nation, a collection of Irish iconography by renowned mosaic artist Mark Kennedy including works featuring George Best, Oscar Wilde, Sinead O’Connor and Shane McGowan, is being exhibited now in cultural and creative venues throughout Manchester City Centre and will be on display ’til 31st March 2024.
Commissioned by Irish Mancunian, an organisation that curates cultural events of Irish interest for Manchester audiences, The Irish Nation has been transformed into a free-to-view art trail with the support of, our good friends at global art producer, Wild in Art (Bee in the City, Gratitude), with each piece placed in a venue carefully selected to provide context to the piece.
Ten years in the making, the project began in 2015, when Mark Kennedy spontaneously created a piece of Samuel Beckett, a piece of work that awakened something within him, reaffirming his deep Irish roots. The stunning collection of original and previously unseen mosaics now portrays seventeen personalities from the worlds of literature, music, sport and history.
To name a few, singer Luke Kelly can be found at Hallé St Peter’s, Manchester United legend George Best at the National Football Museum, music icons Sinead O’Connor and Shane MacGowan at New Century, poet, playwright and wit Oscar Wilde at QueerLit, playwright Samuel Beckett at 53Two, and. John F. Kennedy at the Science and Industry Museum in a nod to the part he played in the moon landings
Sitting alongside the exhibition are QR codes to take you straight to the website to learn more about the fascinating stories behind the art. Ground-breaking architect and furniture designer Eileen Gray, whose mosaic can be seen at Manchester Craft and Design Centre, was overlooked for a long time, as she worked in the male dominated Modernist movement, and boxing phenomenon Katie Taylor, whose portrait can be found at Koffee Pot, broke through the barriers to entry in boxing that meant she had start her career boxing as a boy and is now double World Champion.
We were delighted to share the news, and facilitate a walking press tour, all of which generated huge interest across the city and some lovely pieces on BBC News Online, MEN, I Love Manchester, Creative Tourist, Manchester Wire, About Manchester, Manchester World and Secret Manchester, in addition to an interview with Irish Mancunian’s Ray Boyle and a full feature on BBC Radio Manchester.
Check it out if you have the chance, you’ll see some incredible artwork in some of Manchester’s best venues 🙂
Find out the locations of each mosaic here.
Sundae x
📸: David Oates
Happy 50th Anniversary to our Friend and Yours, Bagpuss!
On the 12th February, our lovely friend Bagpuss, the most important, the most beautiful, the most magical saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world, celebrated his 50th anniversary.
We were honoured to mark the day, working with our long-standing client, international media group and rights owner, Coolabi, working to place interviews with Emily Firmin, who played Emily in the show and Daniel Postgate, both children of the late Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate, who created the show 50 years ago.
The anniversary was a huge success, with 47 pieces of targeted high- quality coverage via a range of key national, regional, consumer, business and broadcast titles with potential reach of over 430 million.
Highlights included the Radio Times, the Guardian How We Made It, The Times Relative Values, BBC News, ITV News, Channel 5 News, and BBC Radio 6’s Radcliffe and Maconie dedicated an entire show to celebrate.
Just thirteen episodes of the iconic Smallfilms animation were created by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate, which live on in the hearts of the British public, and to this day Bagpuss is considered one of the greatest ever TV shows. The remastered show was re-released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2023 by Fabulous Films, a long standing UK/US distributor specialising in classic and cult television and is available to stream on Britbox and ITVX, plus iTunes, Amazon and more.
To mark the moment, leading distributors of collectable coins and stamps, The Westminster Collection, released a brand new collection of five 50p coins in base metal and sterling silver with quotes from the show.
Guernsey Post will issue a set of four commemorative stamps, on the 25th July, including souvenir sheets, first day covers and a presentation pack. Rainbow Designs, creators of high quality, forever toys, inspired by the beloved characters from children’s literature, has launched a new range of Bagpuss plush toys
Bagpuss – The 50th Anniversary Edition, is a special edition Bagpuss from Steiff, the inventors of the teddy bear, exclusive to Danbury Mint. And Practical Publishing will be releasing a Bagpuss collection available at CraftStash, featuring cutting dies, beautiful printed papers and toppers.
Dedicated news about the products created to commemorate the moment were placed in Skwigly, Total Licensing, Licensing.biz, Animation For Adults, Animation Magazine, License Global and Planet Radio.
The celebrations continue as The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge is hosting The Smallfilms Gallery, renamed in honour of the studio, a family gallery showcasing work by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate, who created their iconic children’s programmes from their studio near Canterbury. The exhibition, created in close conjunction with the Firmin and Postgate families and Dr Chris Pallant, Canterbury Christ Church University features the original Bagpuss, and many of the original film props.
As he enters his 50th year, Bagpuss continues his role as mascot to Hospices of Hope, the only UK charity dedicated to supporting hospice care in South and East Europe.
On The Wings of Mystery Bird
As dusk fell over Eccles, a flock of bright birds swept through the streets and onto the buildings.
Residents of over 50 streets throughout the historic market town welcomed Mystery Bird to their neighbourhood, as the stunning art installation made its way through a five-night outdoors display.
Created for the community by the community, Mystery Bird was part of Salford City Council’s regeneration of Eccles. It featured a striking illuminated bird cage, housing a flock of birds, designed by paper artist Helen Musselwhite, alongside a magical soundscape by vocal artist Jason Singh, video projection artists Illumnios, and more.
Following a hugely popular tour across Peel Green, Barton, Winton and Patricroft, we watched on as the installation created a beautiful pop-up moment at the town’s flagship Saint Mary’s church.
As the birds were released from the cage and fluttered their luminous wings onto the cityscape, Salford City Council brought a symbol of hope and freedom to people of all ages and abilities.
Born and bred in Eccles, the town holds a special place in our hearts, so taking on the communications campaign for Mystery Bird was a no-brainer.
Our campaign placed broadcast features on ITV Granada News, BBC Radio Manchester, and Unity Radio, alongside key pieces by Manchester Evening News, Manchester’s Finest, The Manc, Secret Manchester, About Manchester, and Manchester Wire.
Helping our local communities is at the core of what we do. Last year we worked alongside our friends at Wild in Art to deliver the communications campaign for We Live Here in Eccles, which saw a series of 23 phenomenal murals dotted around our hometown, encouraging its discovery.
Yet another reason to visit, right?
-Sundae x
📸: Chris Payne
CHANEL Metiers d’Art
If you’d asked me last year who my dream client would be, I probably wouldn’t have said CHANEL, because working with the iconic fashion house was beyond my wildest dreams. So, being invited to work on the CHANEL Metiers d’art show in Manchester was my wake up call to dream bigger, because sometimes they do come true.
Being part of bringing CHANEL to Manchester will forever be a career highlight, and witnessing first hand the meticulous care, consideration and attention to detail the house puts into its work was inspirational. It’s something we’ll take forward into all of our future projects – nothing is ever too much.
After four months of working on the show, and with the excitement in the city reaching fever pitch, being part of such a historic moment felt incredible, but the legacy of the event is as important as the moment itself. People across the globe were learning more about our city, its history, its culture and its vibe, and for the first time for some, seeing past the Madchester stereotype that has perpetuated for decades.
We couldn’t escape the rain, but would we want to? The storm brought an atmosphere to the show that even CHANEL can’t buy, and the rain bouncing on the tarmac catwalk added drama to an already high octane show.
The CHANEL Metiers d’Art delivered in excess of 2000 pieces of coverage across the world, with a value of £100m + and untold social media reach. It will be talked about for years to come and that is a conversation I’ll always be delighted to be part of.
Read more in: AnOther, Vogue, Guardian, Elle, Telegraph, BBC and Harper’s
Fiona x
Women on Screen
Looking back on 2023, it was an honour to have been trusted with the stories of such strong, creative and talented women, all at different stages of their journey on screen.
We’ve worked with Sally Lindsay and Caroline Roberts-Cherry for a number of years now, from their first project together, Emmeline Pankhurst: The Making of a Militant, back in 2018, to where they are now. They have just celebrated the 5th anniversary of their company Saffron Cherry, and the third season of The Madame Blanc Mysteries, created, co-written and starring Sally, is currently airing on Channel 5 to over 2m viewers each week.
Their dedication to improving representation on screen and behind the scenes, for women of all backgrounds, is incredibly refreshing in an industry that just doesn’t need to be as difficult as it sometimes is. It’s been inspiring to share the changes they are making, and there was a huge outpouring of gratitude from women across the industry when Sally spoke about this in her recent The One Show appearance.
Sally already has a brilliant profile, but this year we’ve contributed to campaigns that have seen some huge successes including a cover shoot for Prima, the cover of TV Times and also a blog in Televisual to celebrate 5 years of Saffron Cherry.
Jackie Adedeji is a true force of nature; a whirlwind of positivity who is truly making things happen for herself and other women. We supported her during the release of her first documentary, Untold: My Big Boobs for Channel 4 which resonated with thousands of women across the country, and as a result we were able to place her on Steph’s Packed Lunch, BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Naga Munchetty on BBC Radio 5 Live and a BBC Newsbeat interview aired across BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1Xtra and BBC Asian Network.
We also had the pleasure of working with sex educator Ruby Rare as she made her first foray into presenting, straight in at the deep end as co-host of Sex Rated alongside Rylan Clark on E4. This was a high profile show that garnered a huge amount of attention and we supported Ruby throughout, ensuring she was able to tell her own story and retain her voice in all of the noise. Ruby had features in iNews, The Times and on BBC Newsbeat, plus appeared on podcasts including It Can’t Just Be Me, Sex Talks, Wednesday We Drink Wine, Dirty Mother Pukka, Should I Delete That and The Secret To.
As we head into 2024 we are inspired to continue this journey, helping interesting, creative and talented people tell their stories in their own way.
📸: Scott Kershaw, Katie Silvester
Happy First Birthday, Salvi’s Deansgate Square!
Authentic Italian food and drink, classic gelato, a sunny soundtrack and top Manchester press and content creators – sounds like a Salvi’s birthday party! We’ve just arrived home after a huge Italian knees-up celebrating a year of the Deansgate Square site, where we took care of all things press and socials. Let’s dive in!
Maurizio Cecco’s brainchild has grown into a go-to hot spot not only for residents of the luxury development, but also for anyone craving a slice of Italy right in the heart of Manchester, so celebrating the very first birthday had to be a grande family affair, done the Salvi’s way.
In the lead up to the event, we worked with the team at Salvi’s to build awareness across press and socials, followed by capturing some live social media content on the day.
We filled Salvi’s private dining space with over 30 of the city’s leading media and content creators who were delighted to try Maurizio’s exclusive brand-new specials. Our campaign resulted in some excellent pieces of coverage with main Manchester outlets like The Manc, Manchester’s Finest, Creative Tourist, About Manchester, Secret Manchester and Manchester World all covering the big birthday bash.
The content creators also immersed their audiences into the sapore d’Italia (the taste of Italy) with a series of stunning posts, reels, and over 40 live stories capturing the fiery spirit of the party, Salvi’s style.
Loyal customers were welcomed to the festa-a-la-Salvi’s as a “thank you” from the family behind Manchester’s favourite Italian restaurant.
One of the highlights of the night was an exciting new collaboration between Salvi’s and luxury ice-cream parlour Grandpa Greene’s – another local family-owned business, which delivered a special birthday gelato flavour. We revealed the big news via Salvi’s social media channels right before the event, building into the anticipation.
This is not our first rodeo with the Ceccos, as we look after the press and socials for all three of their venues. Most recently, we also announced the return of Festa Italiana 2023 – UK’s biggest Italian festival delivered by none other than Salvi’s. Bringing some of the very best local Italian food, drink, and entertainment together, the Festa will take place between 25th-27th August in Manchester’s Cathedral Gardens and, honestly, we couldn’t be more thrilled to work on it for the third year in a row.
This was definitely one to remember for both Salvi’s and us. Saluti to many more in the future!
Evelina x
Russell Maliphant Dance Company Presents ‘Vortex’
Last night was the press night for Russell Maliphant’s ground breaking project Vortex at the iconic Sadler’s Wells Theatre and we were delighted to welcome a host of national, cultural, and specialist dance press including The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, The Financial Times, Culture Whisper, Bachtrack, British Theatre Guide, Broadway World and Dance International.
It was wonderful to see the internationally acclaimed dance company grace the stage for the first of three consecutive nights as we have had the joy of working with the Russell Maliphant Dance Company throughout its UK national Vortex tour, which comes to a close this June.
The production itself was sublime and an utter escapism from reality. The performance sparks a variety of emotions triggered by the production’s astounding composition and lighting – at times the production is beautifully intense, at other times it is peaceful, gentle and serene. The dancers of RMDC were nothing short of remarkable, and it was a privilege to watch the performance in such an esteemed setting.
Our close relationship with RMDC stretches right back to 2018 and in five successful years, in addition to Vortex, we have worked with the simply incredible team on the award-winning Maliphantworks and looked after the entire press campaign for the UK national tour of the critically acclaimed Silent Lines (either side of the pandemic!).
The audience absolutely loved last night’s performance; there was a certain energy in the room that only Russell’s work can generate, and we cannot wait for the rest of the tour.
Sundae x
Images by: Roswitha Chesher
With Love, Spinningfields x
Working on Spinningfields’ ultimate Valentine’s Day celebration at Hardman Square ‘With love, Spinningfields x’ has been a beautiful experience for us here at Sundae; as we arrived in the office after Christmas, those January blues were quickly given the old heave-ho by the happiest, joy-filled project to start the year with a flutter.
This fully interactive, love, art and music infused, memory creating journey was as much for the Gals and the Pals as it was for the Vals, so all you had to do was pick a partner and head along for the romantic (or not!) ride.
And head along people did! From minute one, the celebration was hugely popular with everyone from the fine folk of Spinningfields, to those passing through on a shopping trip, to those who had grabbed their fave person and embarked upon a specific love-fueled mission.
A huge neon sign illuminated the area with the little, well known, mix of five words that mean something different to everyone: ‘Shout Out to my Ex’ and provided the perfect picture backdrop… which, needless to say, was well and truly taken advantage of.
Those in attendance were welcomed by a very special host and guided to the starting point located under a Heart Arch (AKA: Harch) where they were given the opportunity to pick an envelope containing a surprise song from a secret selection of popular tracks, which would then be played in their honour by a simply stunning string quartet.
Following the serenade, it was time to visit a storyteller extraordinaire who skillfully extracted some relationship based facts from the pair in question, to create a fitting finale in the form of a bespoke love story for the ages.
Sundae delivered both communications and social media for ‘With Love, Spinningfields x’ and in doing so achieved high-quality media coverage across a range of key national and regional outlets, ensuring cut through into listings, news stories and features, with high quality coverage appearing in Manchester Evening News, About Manchester, Manchester World, Creative Tourist, I Love Manchester, Your Mcr, Student Life (MMU), What’s On Manchester, Unlock MCR, Secret Manchester, and Hitched, amongst others.
The social media campaign we put together was really engaging, informative, and hard-working; running through Spinningfields’ channels, we designed a consistent, recognisable brand style to reflect the feel of the celebration, and while on-site, we worked with members of the public to create reels that told their true, heartwarming, and often hilarious love tales.
We also launched an interactive online poll, asking a targeted audience which love songs they would like to have featured within the experience, and the results reaffirmed two things that we already knew: our city knows good music, and it definitely knows how to have a good laugh!
So, did we enjoy ourselves? Don’t be Cupid! Of course we did! But, as with all good things, ‘With love, Spinningfields x’ had to come to an end, though it will forever be… no YOU’RE crying!
Sundae x
Canyon Del Muerto
Just last night, we attended and managed press and social media for the very special advance, exclusive screening of brand-new feature film Canyon Del Muerto, directed by Coerte Voorhees, starring Tom Felton (Harry Potter) and BAFTA winner Abigail Lawrie (The Crown), which also featured a Q&A with the cast and director.
Canyon Del Muerto is a stunning historical epic and the important true story of Ann Axtell Morris, North America’s first female archaeologist who worked with her husband Earl Morris (the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character created by George Lucas) and the Navajo in the 1920s, to uncover America’s first civilization – the Anasazi.
Ann struggled to prove herself in a male-dominated profession, but she was overshadowed by her husband’s accomplishments and virtually left out of the history books.
Their trek across the magnificent Southwestern United States was fraught with danger as their Navajo guides discouraged them from their descent into the canyon, which they believed was cursed.
The incredible supporting cast includes Hanako Footman (The Crown), Academy Award Winner Wes Studi (Dances with wolves, Last of the Mohicans), Academy Award Nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), James Hillier (The Crown), and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit, How They Run).
With the importance and type of subject matter, and the advanced and exclusive nature of the screening, we spoke to a very targeted selection of media and generated interest within a very specific sector. In the audience, we had The Express, The Guardian, New Scientist, Current World Archaeology, Minerva, and British Archaeology, with an in-depth feature on the Q&A running in The Express just a couple of days later.
We looked after the press in attendance and made sure they got what they needed from the evening, and in addition we devised and managed birth of the Canyon Del Muerto official Instagram account, as well as the gathering of all social media content inclusive of all cast and director interviews and audience vox-pops before and after the screening.
It has been a brilliant journey working with the Canyon Del Muerto team and we cannot wait to see what’s next for this hugely important story.
Tom x
Pictures by: Shoib Ahmad and Olivia Ross