MANCHESTER & LONDON, BARCELONA.

With the Stone Roses reforming to bring loved up harmony back to the baggy trousered masses, it seemed appropriate to pay a visit The Manchester Bar in Plaza Milans, in the Barrio Gotico district.

The Tardis-like venue, much larger inside than the outside suggests, is themed around bands and music from the Mad-chester era.

 

Dominating the bar is a picture of Ian Curtis and the sound system plays back to back baggy anthems, all night, every night.  It is a bit of a celebrity hang out to, with Mani known to drop by and do a shift behind the bar between tours with Primal Scream, The Stone Roses and Freebass.

James says The Mnachester it is a great place to meet ladies

Mani was not in town the night we visited, but James Elliot of cult Belfast alternative popsters, Emily Ryder, was to be found practising his best enigmatic poses by the door. 

So why a Manchester bar in Barcelona. 

Who Knows? And who cares? As Ian Brown (is alleged to have) once said: “It’s not where you are from; it’s where you’re at.”

Things are a bit more easy-going in the London Bar on Carrer Nou de la Rambla, in Raval. 

Originally a haunt for circus performers who would gather there after hours, the bar still stays open until 5am, this historic watering hole became famous as a hangout for artists and writers including Miro, Dali and Ernest Hemingway. 

It is a charmingly unpretentious bar; in part rough and ready, in part historical treasure chest with circus and other memorabilia scattered to be found around the place. 

Popular with the more relaxed type of ex-pat it is one of the few places where locals and visitors seem to mingle comfortably together. There is a great blues duo on Friday nights.