105 musicians and entertainers were brought together for the Workers at Play event, providing a wonderful assortment of local artistic talent for the 224 audience members. Feedback from the performers and links to more information about them are provided below.


Tom Hingley is a musician, songwriter and author who has made Manchester his home for the past thirty years. As singer with Inspiral Carpets (1989-2011) he travelled the world with songs that are now football chants.

"The Workers at Play event tonight far outstripped my greatest expectations in terms of the overwhelmingly positive response of both the performers, and the audience. The whole thing really came together in an act of inspiring synergy between the students, library staff, and performers. We cooperatively produced a show of deep resonances with the spirit of the Manchester Wakes exhibition, a spectacle of emotion, culture and the very fire of our human spirit leaping up from the soil of Lancashire... Truly a night to remember." - Tom Hingley

More information: Tom's website
Twitter: @tomhingleymusic




JB Barrington is a performance poet and Amnesty International slam winner from Salford. He is renowned for his searing and satirical poetry and snarling delivery of strong sentiments and sharp rhymes. His sold out show 'Woodchip Anaglypta and Nicotined Artex Ceilings' won the best spoken word award 2014 at the Greater Manchester Fringe. JB's poems are about portraying life as it truly is, through the eyes of the working class and he's a spoken word maestro who provides one of the most powerful performances on the UK scene.


JB Barrington's performance reflected the many theatre and music hall performances that Mancunians would have experienced away from the work place during Wakes Week. Mid-way through the set JB welcomed cellists Sarah Gait and Caitlin Core who had composed original music to accompany 3 poems. This is a partnership that may continue; JB is already in discussions with both cellists about joining him for the Salford Fringe Festival.

"It was brilliant...one of the best things I've ever done...really enjoyed it." - JB Barrington


More information:

Twitter: @JB_Barrington


RNCM Guests

Caitlin Core has been playing the cello since she was nine, and aged sixteen she studied at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester for two years. After this she spent five months in Oslo at the Barratt Due Musikkinstitutt where her teacher was Ole Eirik Ree. She is now a 3rd year undergraduate student at the RNCM where she learns with Gillian Thoday. Her musical interests are broad, ranging from her love of early music and baroque cello to a passion for exploring contemporary repertoire, in particular the music of her peers - both classical and otherwise.

Sarah Gait, originally from North Cumbria, is a third year undergraduate student at the Royal Northern College of Music, studying cello with Peter Dixon. Sarah performs widely as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player in venues such as Birmingham Symphony Hall, as well as abroad. She has performed contemporary works for solo cello/cello and electronics in events such as After the Silence at the Imperial War Museum North, 2014 and the RNCM’s 2014 Open Day, and has subsequently been invited to perform on BBC Radio 3. Sarah plays on a nineteenth-century English cello, purchased with the kind assistance of the Sir John Barbirolli Memorial Foundation and EMI Music Sound Foundation.



Jennifer Reid and Monologue John Bartley

Jennifer and John have been brought together specifically for this event.  Jennifer saw John performing his Song & Story partnership with his late wife Dorothy before she passed away last year and really enjoyed the set.  Taking inspiration from this, Jennifer and John will perform a joint set comprising of stories told by John and related folk ballads sung by Jennifer.

Monologues from John:
  • The Lion & Albert by Marriot Edgar
  • Jonah And The Grampus by Marriot Edgar
  • Trip To Morrow - unknown author
Ballads from Jennifer
  • Rawtenstall Annual Fair by RP Weston and Bert Lee - "a bawdy ballad sung by many and enjoyed by even more."
  • Victoria Bridge on a Saturday Night (broadside ballad -no author given - "a ballad about the non-descript bridge at the bottom of Deansgate, that may have started the trend of Saturday night drinking in Manchester."
  • A Trip to Hollingworth Lake (broadside ballad - no author given) - "the summer activities at Hollingworth Lake have not changed, and I'm not talking about pedaloes."
Monologue John Bartley has been performing monologues since the 1970s both as a solo artist and formerly as one half of folk duo Song & Story. Having been described as a folk legend and rightfully acclaimed as probably the best monologuist in the UK, he helps to keep the sadly dying folk tradition of oral history alive. Always fascinating, sometimes moving and frequently cheeky, he delivers his words with passion and a twinkle in the eye. Having performed across the UK at various festivals over the years as well as at folk clubs, venues and open mic events, John is a much loved grandfather of the North West’s folk scene who never fails to entertain.
"I was honoured to be asked to be part of the night and to work alongside so many wonderful people, especially Jennifer who was outstanding, a lovely and talented young woman with such passion for her work and wonderful knowledge of her subject matter. Tom [Hingley] is of course an old friend who I have been fortunate enough to work with previously on numerous occasions when I worked for so many years with Dorothy my late partner in Song and Story. All the artists were superb and I think the event captured the essence of our true Northern spirit with charm and a good dose of cheeky humour. The venue was stunning and offers a beautiful, unique performance space. The whole exhibition is a fascinating trip back to our industrial roots in and around Manchester and I think the event perfectly captured all the essence of our working class heritage. I hope the audience enjoyed the night as much as I did and also that they went away feeling proud to be from up North - some may say it's grim up here, but by golly we know how to have a good night. I would like to thank the organisers and particularly Lucy and Tom for the opportunity to perform for you and for creating such a memorable and special event - I hope to see you again in the future and maybe share some more monologues with you all." - John Bartley

More information: 
Listen to John's Monologues
John on Facebook



Jennifer Reid is a 24 year old Lancashire folk enthusiast, volunteering at Chetham's Library and various other local institutions. She is currently reading for an Advanced Diploma in Local History at Oxford University. Jennifer is currently working with Jeremy Deller and Brighter Sound amongst others, singing broadsides from Manchester's Central Library and Chetham's broadside collections. She has performed at Manchester City Art Gallery, Nottingham Castle Art Gallery, Chetham's Library for a Newsnight segment, the Working Class Movement Library, Wythenshawe Hall, Clayton Hall, Manchester Metropolitan University, Elizabeth Gaskell House, Accrington Library and the Halle St. Peters. Aside from singing Jennifer also enjoys clog dancing and researching dialect. Jennifer has recently been asked to sing at the Venice Biennale in conjunction with Jeremy Deller's exhibition 'All that is solid melts into air' in May 2015.

"I had a great time last night, thank you for asking me to sing! I thought the night was a brilliant mix of all the elements needed for a Wakes Week - music, poetry and singing - perfect cultural elements for relaxation." - Jennifer Reid

More information:
Jennifer's website



NOVARS is a Research Centre started at the University of Manchester in March 2007 with specialisms in areas of Electroacoustic Composition, Performance and Sound-Art. Current research strands include Game-audio, Space in large multichannel systems and Interactive Art. 

About the NOVARS' piece performed at Manchester Wakes: 
"The Sound of Blackpool is a sound installation in which the audience themselves can undertake a metaphorical journey to Blackpool. Sounds of Blackpool beach being tossed, knocked on, hit or stroked act as a sonic foundation of this piece; sounds of the fair; the lively afternoon beach. Contemplating the sounds origin, the audience are lead on an imaginary tour to experience Blackpool through their own ears. However, these sounds are not just heard as they are, but transformed through the electroacoustic repertoire of the composer, resulting in the ascension of rich and suggestive soundscapes inspired by Blackpool. The mechanical and computational transformations of the original, natural sound, not only act as aesthetic polishing, but additionally as a metaphor for the industrial past of Manchester (of machines shaping the natural into something desired by humans), giving the audience an opportunity to reflect both on the city's industrial past and artistic present. Throw in a few pieces of Blackpool rock... and settle in for a sonic journey through time."

NOVARS members who took part in the Workers at Play evening were:

James Bagshaw, Masters Electroacoustic Composition student at the University of Manchester, James focuses on combining temporary music composition with sound design in the fields of film, tv and game composition. researching how our environments shape soundscapes... and how to make guitars and kick drums sound huge.

Guillaume Dujat des Allimes, Masters Electroacoustic Composition student at the University of Manchester, Guillaume Dujat focuses on sound design and sonic transformations. His research includes live electronic performance and fixed media compositions.

Falk Morawitz, a postgraduate electroacoustic composer at the Universiy of Manchester who also holds a degree in analytical and medicinal chemistry. His interest lies in the amalgamation of science, art and music composition, and working on creative ways to make the unseen (chemical) worlds around us perceivable.
"Amazing evening, very well done! I really enjoyed it all the way through with a great mix of events taking place! I hope the University will encourage those kind of multi-disciplinary projects more often in the future, I would certainly be up for it!" - Falk Morawitz
More Information: 
NOVARS website



The Choirs


Kadenza women’s choir and Bolton Clarion Choir, led by Moira Hill have come together for this event. Both choirs reach out to all ages and backgrounds in our communities and sing songs that are local and from around the world that reflect our lives.

More Information:  
Kadenza
Clarion Choir



The Cosmo Singers is an auditioned mixed-voice choir connected with the University of Manchester Chorus. It was set up in September 2010 to provide greater opportunity for Chorus members and other members of MUMS (Manchester University Music Society) to perform a wide and exciting range of repertoire at a high standard. It has also provided opportunity for young conductors in MUMS to develop their directing skills, and is entirely student run.



More Information: 
University Chorus website 
Cosmo Singers on Facebook  



Levy Uke Up is a Levenshulme based Ukulele jam. It was established three years ago by Levenshulme based musician Lou Armer and is now run by Ed Sprake and Mike Byrne. Levy Uke Up play a wide range of music, covering all periods from the 1920s up to the current day, and covering all genres including blues, jazz, pop, rock, ska, reggae and even punk and a smattering of Northern Soul. The Uke Up group has had a number of performances including an appearance at the Blackthorn festival in 2014. The Uke Up meet on the 2nd and last Sundays of the month at the Kingsway Pub in Levenshulme and everyone is welcome to come and join them (they can even find spare ukuleles if required). 

Uke Up performed a number of classic songs which inspired the audience to participate and sing along. Their setlist included:
  • Crawdad (Traditional)
  • I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate by Clarence Williams & Armand Piron
  • Facing West by The Staves
  • My Guy by Mary Wells
  • I Want To Marry A Lighthouse Keeper by Erika Eigen
  • Wonderful Word by Sam Cooke
  • I’m a Believer by Neil Diamond. Recorded by The Monkees in 1966
  • Mister Sandman by Pat Ballard
  • Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys
More information:
Levi Uke Up! Blog
Levi Uke Up! on Facebook
Twitter: @LevyUkeUp


Master Magician, Jez Mansfield continues to push the boundaries in the field of close-up magic and the impossible with an ever growing list of high profile clients and events under his belt and a natural ability to engage any audience. Having performed in hundreds of venues ranging from small intimate restaurant settings to large corporate events, Jez provides the best blend of entertainment for all ages, enhancing the atmosphere in any arena with his ‘stand out from the crowd’ style of magic and sleight of hand skills to give your event what he calls ‘that extra little bit of magic’.

"Performing at your event with the connection to Blackpool is kind of what MAGIC is all about. So many different styles of performance together in one place is a rare treat these days. Everybody seemed to really enjoy themselves and the Magic seemed to go down well. From poetry to singing, magic to ukuleles, folk to choirs. An absolute treat celebrating in the same style, the very reason we were there. It's not often I perform high energy Magic and comedy to moody church choir style classics straight after the traditional 'Rawtenstall Annual Fair' folk classic, but VARIETY is the spice of life and there was absolutely lots of that. Perhaps the traditional Wakes week would not be out of place in this modern age after all." - Jez Mansfield
More Information:
Jez's website
Jez on Facebook


The Oldham Youth Wind Ensemble has been in existence for over thirty years and is an integral part of the Music Centre Youth Orchestra.  The group is comprised of talented young musicians from all over the borough who have worked their way up through the various levels at the Oldham Music Centre, playing in other bands, ensembles and orchestras to become members of this ‘flagship’ group. During Manchester Wakes, The Oldham Youth Wind Ensemble performed a mixture of seaside and oceanic themed music including:
  • La Grenouvillere  form The Monet Collection arranged by Pam Wedgewood
  • Bobby Shafto by Gordon Jacob
  • Three Shanties First Movement by Malcolm Arnold
  • Boulevard By Jim Parker  'Street Band' & 'Three Cheers for the Band'
  • Tico Tico Bird in the Cornmeal - by Abreu
  • Danny Boy arranged by Ron Geese
  • Gimme 5 by John Reeman
More Information:
Oldham Youth Groups