Yung Wylin – “Good Energy”
One song I’ve latched readily on to in recent months is by Yung Wylin – “Good Energy”. I play it often and it’s become something of a motif for life in Manchester. You’ve probably heard snippets of it on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok reels but the full YouTube version is here:
I think what is so great about it is not only its sound but its lyrics.
So what has this got to do with a Manchester web designer?
Manchester has good energy, by the bucketload. It’s a place I lived close to from 1987 to 1996, as an English teacher working at Crompton House in Shaw, Oldham; Failsworth School, Manchester and lastly Harper Green School, Farnworth, Bolton.
The last two schools had good energy in abundance, though Crompton House, albeit with lovely students, was a bit right wing and unChristian in its Christian ethos. Isn’t that always the case?
Back then, Manchester was the flame that drew this teaching moth, culturally and morally. It had a vibrancy that saw me catch the train most weekends from Shaw to Victoria, for a day out wandering the shops, visiting The Royal Exchange and eating out. It was a good city in the late 80s and 90s and has improved massively since then.
How Manchester has changed and why?
Many social commentators attribute the stellar growth and high vibe of Manchester to the IRA bombing of 1996, when an explosion rocked the city on Cateaton Street, near the Cathedral. Despite the devastation, remarkably amongst the injuries, there were no deaths. The only fatality attributed to the bombing, I’ve recently read, was that of a worker removing asbestos from the scarred Corn Exchange.
But.
Manchester’s renaissance is in fact, according to seasoned civic analysts, related to an Olympic Games bid (for the year 2000) that thrust the city (or town as natives call it) into a global spotlight.
Grubby, dank Manchester was suddenly talked about in the same breath as Sydney, Beijing and Los Angeles. Sydney won the nomination.
Damian Green, who then worked in John Major’s policy unit and subsequently rose to deputy prime minister under Theresa May, wrote to Major:
“The reason for Manchester’s failure which DoE/DNH [Department of Environment/Department of National Heritage] play down is the obvious one: that no one in their right mind would spend three weeks in Manchester rather than Sydney. It is hard to imagine Manchester ever being successful.”
Typical Tory perhaps, in that Green was wrong, and Manchester has become a leading tourist destination and has since imposed a £1 per night tourist tax.
I returned to Manchester on 23rd December 2022, unsure whether I’d like to live here again. I didn’t choose Shaw some 10 miles away this time, but a tower block apartment in the once unlovely, now rejuvenated, environs of Oldham Road, Miles Platting.
How and why magnificent Manchester exudes good energy
Firstly, despite what the doomsayers mutter, Manchester has changed massively for the better.
Its compact city centre footprint remains largely unchanged: Deansgate is still Deansgate; King Street is still upmarket and pedestrianised; St Ann’s Square is still the same with the Royal Exchange, church and Barton Arcade perched there.
But other parts are defiantly and definitely different – Miles Platting, Ancoats, the Northern Quarter, St Peter’s Square, Castlefield, Spinningfields, Cross Street, the Arndale, Market Street, Piccadilly Gardens, Victoria and Piccadilly stations are all recognisable yet different.
Different as in better too.
Manchester is more multicultural too
One improved distinction for me, coming back, was how much more racially and culturally diverse Manchester is now. Wonderful too. There are 220 languages spoken here, 20% of its population is Asian. Like a mini London, it is tolerant, racially rich and all the better for it.
Its restaurant and café scene is better
I moved from a lovely city, Norwich, to Manchester and it was like switching from 3G to 5G, a Nokia 3410 to an iPhone 15 Pro. It is a massive upgrade on not just Norwich, but most other cities.
The dining scene, here, is nothing short of remarkable.
I am a bit of a caffeine addict, as a recovered alcoholic. Manchester has pubs and bars by the bucket load, but for the flat white and latte chaser, this place is heaven.
I could reel off 30 cafés that I could recommend – away from the turgid chains of Starbucks, Costa and Café Nero, but the stand outs for me here are:
- Ezra & Gil (Peter Street and Hilton Street – both with wonderful energy)
- Foley’s (Quay Street) in the wonderful ABC Buildings
- Siphon NQ (Newton Street)
- Michaels (Royal Exchange Arcade)
- New Century Hall (near NOMA)
- Waterstones (yes really, on Deansgate)
- House of Books and Friends (King Street)
All are dog and laptop friendly, all serve great coffee and all are welcoming and inclusive.
House of Books and Friends
The final one is a recent find – House of Books and Friends – epitomises Manchester. It is ostensibly a book shop with café but it has an important, transparent mission on its website – to tackle loneliness and social isolation.
It does that too.
You enter this grand building in the former banking district, opposite the splendid Hotel Gotham, turn left and are greeted by lovely staff, comfy sofas, a café and an annexed panelled room with circular tables, where laptop work is positively encouraged. What strikes me is that this is a co-working space without the fees, without any pressure to buy a drink, and it even has tokens for £3 to buy. These allow someone who can’t afford a drink or snack to take from the jar to pay from other’s kindness. This place is Manchester in a nutshell – kind, inclusive, welcoming. Go there if you haven’t already. It even has free sanitary products in its gender-neutral toilets and the most friendly staff, like Alice and others.
I love the place, as does Cassie.
The restaurant scene
You can eat any cuisine you fancy in Manchester, it seems to me. The list of places I love is infinite but some standouts for me are:
- Pizza Express (gluten free paradise – the HomeMcr one is my favourite as the staff – Magda, Toni, Cat, Fabio and others – are delightful here)
- Chips @ No 8 Prestwich – the best fish and chips I’ve ever eaten, bar none
- Pho No 1 on Oldham Road, near home
- Chappati Corner and Kabana on Cheetham Hill Road, close to where I work for an energy consultancy
- Sweet Mandarin, off the High Street, Northern Quarter – run by coeliac Helen and Colin
- Ezra & Gil again – it has great gluten free choices
- Purezza – vegan, dog-friendly and gluten free in the Northern Quarter, close to the Arndale
I’ve written before about these here.
Tolerance running through Manchester’s veins
I think though that along with a fantastic retail and restaurant scene, tolerance and diversity is what appeals to me about Manchester. It is a city that is politically left-wing, culturally different and accepting of all who live and visit.
Jews first settled in Red Bank, and then Cheetham Hill, in 1798. Moravians came to Droylsden at a similar time. South Asians settled in Manchester in the 1950s with the cotton mill boom. It even has a heritage month in August for South Asians. Manchester has the biggest Chinese population, too, outside London.
I love the city and the people here.
Manchester and good energy
Manchester has a welcoming and enterprising spirit. It also has a no fucks given mentality I think, that I witness daily after 13 months of living here.
It has a contagious energy, that makes you feel safe, happy and relaxed around them. Manchester is welcoming, outward-looking and warm. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve met some mood hoovers here, I’ve come across bigotry, homophobia and superiority from a handful of people.
But.
In a city of 900,000 people, percentage wise, 3 or 4 people is not really a worrying tally.
Yung Wylin was probably not referring to Manchester, but I’m sure he’d feel his lyrics here:
All I need is good energy, high-frequencyGive me that 528, 963Light up the sage, smellin’ like hickoryTryna heal scars, I got different type of injuriesHolistic medicine, different type of remediesHuman but I’m feeling like a different type of entityDancing ’round the bonfire like AboriginesLookin’ at the stars, fascinated by the symmetryVibin’ with the tribe, I can feel the synergyAll this shit is real, what you thought it was a mysteryManifested everything around me, literallyIf I want It, then I got it, tell you what I really needI really need that.
Come visit, wander its streets, chat with the people and feel, really feel, that Manchester good energy.
It’s contagious and life-affirming.
There is no place, I’d rather be.
