ISSUE 15 July 2025 Printed at STAT HQ in Leigh. One of 250 limited, numbered copies. Rainy Miller is back to Lancs, Bolton’s home to a Romani dance troupe and we’re telling the Hacienda to FAC OFF all in our brand spanking new No. 15. GO GET EM statmagazine.org/shop

IMPRESSIONS OF SPEKE by Luke Charnley A sift through Grandma’s old diaries gives us a glimpse into the mid-century Scouse suburbs. “It’s [Speke] that Joan lived much of her early life, and where the nostalgia of her writing truly starts to flow.“ statmagazine.org/impressions-...

IN A WEEK’S TIME THIS POST WILL BE ILLEGAL. NEVER STOP FIGHTING FOR A FREE PALESTINE. NO ONE IS FREE INTIL EVERYONE IS FREE.

ROY JAY: How An Obscure Northern Comedian Became An Internet Demon An online conspiracy about a relatively unknown Wigan comic reveals how AI has us all paranoid. STAT investigates. statmagazine.org/roy-jay-inte...

THE WOMEN OF HMP FOREST BANK The state’s hand is heavy, but no match for the camaraderie of HMP Forest Bank’s visitors. Rosy Wilson visits the Salford prison. ‘“My son has been inside countless times,” she told me. “It’ll get easier.”’

STOCKPORT RULES: Where is Greater Manchester’s Best Pool Table? Next on the yuppie chopping block, Stockport’s pool tables are under threat. But which is best? Rhys Delany’s done his research. statmagazine.org/stockport-ru...

NORTHERN FACT: The Adam Viaduct in Wigan is among the first examples of a prestressed concrete railway bridge in the World.

MR. MAN-CHEST-HAIR: A CHAT WITH TWH’S AUSTIN COLLINGS “Catch the bus instead of getting an Uber... It’s never not theatrical.” A chinwag with the writer and artistic director behind the North’s best nightclub [@m3_7lw].

OPINION: Preston, Are We Ever Going to Talk About the Cyberdog? by Hannah Browne Preston City Council clings to the success of Wallace & Gromit’s Prestonian creator, but does it support the Nick Parks of today?

ISSUE 14 One of 200 and each complete with a unique rubbing of Preston’s Wallace & Gromit statue, STAT is BACK. Besides Preston, we’re bringing you pool tables, prison visits, and peeking into Martin Scorsese’s dressing room. Grab one while you can.

STAT PRESENTS: Patchwork 7TH MARCH 2025. 6PM — 11PM. STAT HQ, Leigh, WN7 2LB. An exhibition of visual art and performances by artists from across the North West in celebration of STAT’s 14th issue release. TICKETS: buff.ly/4jYYfAe

NORTHERN FACT: The Lancashire town of Accrington is home to the densest and strongest bricks in the world, some of which can be found in the foundations of the Empire State Building.

Happy Valentine’s Day folks x

MINORITIES’ LIVES ARE NOT ENTERTAINMENT Opinion by Manvir Sohal “While minorities' stories were once a rarity in mainstream media, they are now just commodities that the majority can manipulate to further their own careers and cultural capital.” https://statmagazine.org/minorities-lives-are-not-e…

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT Opinion by Mary O’Neill Parents bemoan the death of cool culture — it still exists, they just don’t know about it. Mary O’Neill looks back on her teenage years in St Helens, in those corners no one cared to look.

WIGAN’S FOLK TRADITION IS A FANCY DRESS PISS UP words + photography by Laura Barnes “If costumes and debauchery are emblems of the human spirit, then there is certainly one place where the human spirit is alive and well: Wigan.”

Squatters, George Formby, and Child Trafficking: A Visit to Hulme Hippodrome Armed only with his camera, Blackpool filmmaker Dean Cooper heads to Hulme’s neglected Hippodrome.

LESSONS LEARNED AS A COCAINE DEALER by Guy Lewis “Mine is a predictably cautionary tale, but – if you’ll forgive the cliche – failure is the best teacher. I learnt some terrific life lessons along the way of my career that I’d like to impart to you.” https://statmagazine.org/lessons-learned-as-a-…

Pete’s in Design Week today chatting about our ABOLISH MANCHESTER schtick. Thanks to Laura Havlin for reaching out. “[Manchester’s] too caught up in its own mythologised past, flogging nostalgia in aid of an exploitative and sterile rentier capitalism.” www.designweek.co.uk/how-manchest...

Our new mags were flying like hot cakes over the weekend, and from within the belly of the beast, an’ all. Sold out both days of Bound Art Book Fair!

STAT - ISSUE 13 A smorgasbord of northern delights in ‘ere, our thirteenth issue: squatters, trespassers, and coke dealers among them. Not everything’s criminal though, we’ve social commentary, poetry, and a short story, too. Grab one of only 200 copies.

HAPPY LANCASHIRE DAY

Had the novelty of being quoted in this much-needed article on culture beyond Manchester for @hyphenonline.com on behalf of @statmagazine.org! hyphenonline.com/2024/11/26/c...

Kate Bush Flash Mobs & £3.50 Doubles: A Ramshackle Tour of Lancaster Music Festival “I was to leave the festival spreadsheets to my local-knowledge friends. I’m not a fan of planning.” — Dan Colonna statmagazine.org/lancaster-mu...

NORTHERN FACT: Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (b. 1934) was an avant-garde composer and conductor born in Salford and educated in Leigh. An outspoken critic of New Labour’s “atmosphere of philistinism”, Davies marched against the Iraq War in 2003.

Abolish Manchester innit.