Insider’s Guide: John Loveless (Manchester)

Image: Soup Kitchen

As the man behind the ‘no bullshit discotheque’ Work Them, John Loveless is a character who knows a discerning groove or two. The Soup Kitchen based shindig is a weekly outing which offers to flip towards the leftfield choices for the dancefloor, a student friendly party that eschews the conventional.

We assumed (rightly, as the below proves) that that dancefloor nous would translate just as well to what to do in the city he lives in, as  he regales us with the charms of living above a kebab shop, where the find the best weekly comedy and Frisbee etiquette in the city’s parks.

Where do you live and why do you live there?

I live in Manchester City Centre, and aside from a year spent out in Victoria Park in a grotty student house that was beyond cliché (and help), I’ve always lived in M1, including a stint above popular kebab shop Abdul’s. The floor was basically constantly heated and from my bedroom window, I was fortunate enough to witness all of the backstage Abdul’s magic as it happened.

What makes the city so special?

On a solely personal level, I’ve had pretty much the best and most inspiring times of my life in Manchester, so it does have a sort of lifetime pass, but I think the broader appeal of the city is its variety. I think unless you’re straight off the plane or train from New York, Paris or London, you’d be instantly impressed with the range of things to do.

There are very few stately attractions and accompanying tat; the city’s appeal has always seemed to be in music, in gigs and in clubs as well as sport, which mean it has a communal feel and generally moves forward of its own accord. 

Where are your favourite places to eat there?

Jamie Scahill argued last week that the best cheap curry in Manchester can be found at Kabana, but with all due respect, I’d direct you elsewhere in the Northern Quarter and down a nondescript alley to This & That, which feels like a community school canteen but tastes like heaven.

I also really like Katsouris deli on Deansgate, which is a busy, classic deli that covers everything from paella to cupcakes but does it all properly. 

And the best places to go out?

My night, Work Them, is usually at Soup Kitchen, which is good news as the basement there is my favourite current venue in Manchester. It has a very raw feel, but as well as having a staff who are always trying to fine tune it to sound and feel better, there are some great nights there aside from mine, like meandyou and Swing Ting.

For someone about to come to the city for the first time, what are the three things they must do before the year is out in the city?

Visit XS Malarkey, currently at Jabez Clegg, every Tuesday. Quite possibly the UK’s best independent, weekly comedy club, and so beloved that the likes of Stewart Lee and Sarah Millican have been know to drop by with new material alongside other very good, lesser known comics.

Find Angel Meadow on a sunny day, but try and resist taking a frisbee.

Visit Eastern Bloc on a rainy weekday afternoon, read a book and drink fantastic coffee whilst enjoying obscure and atmosphere techno. The coffee's freshly made, but you can take the techno home with you.

What’s the city’s greatest hidden secret?

As soon as I work that out, I promise I’ll sort the tickets exclusively through my good friends at Skiddle.

And finally, what one bit of advice would you give someone hitting the city for the first time?

It sounds trad, but invest in a good waterproof. Seriously.

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