The Mancunian Way: Council skies

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Hello,

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds have released a new single today - a pretty, jangly number called Council Skies.

“All the dreams I had as a youth were underneath council skies,” reflects Noel in a press release.

The song is accompanied by a music video that premiered at 6pm tonight showing the band performing inside the historic New Century Hall and promising a cameo from another ‘Manc legend’.

Part of the video was also filmed in Collyhurst and Monsall, according to Councillor Pat Karney, who wonders if Noel visited the area for the shoot. You can clearly see a tower block and the derelict shops of Eastford Square as a young couple amble past the inner-city spots.

It’s a nice video featuring some local landmarks and colourful smoke bombs, but I do wonder why it was filmed in East Manchester, which is about five miles up the road from the Burnage estate Noel and Liam grew up on. Did the distinct lack of tower blocks in the south Manchester suburb hinder the video’s aesthetic?

Anyway, the video also features the unique William Mitchell concrete sculpture which faces Hamerton Road and is due to be relocated as the shops are demolished. Coun Karney says it will be moved to the front of the estate and the kids from Savior C of E Primary School will be looking after it.

“Now Noel’s got a love affair with Collyhurst we’d love him to pop down and unveil it for us when he’s back in Manchester in June,” he told this newsletter.

Speaking of the Gallagher brothers, Liam has - in his