Fuelling the Manchester Music Scene: Why Everyone Loves Fuel Cafe Bar

It’s fair to say that if you’ve been following GABs for even just a little bit of time, you will have heard of Fuel. The place that does it all: hungry? Fuel. few pints? Fuel. Craving a gig? You guessed it: Fuel. So we thought we’d dive in and discover some of the best memories we have of this cafe/bar/venue, including some anecdotes from two fabulous bands: Catbandcat and Go Chi Minh.

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Upon asking Catbandcat to share a favourite memory they have of Fuel, Mhairi responded by saying one night her and Marla were drinking at the Orion and did the ‘classic move to Fuel at closing time to carry on’. As per usual, the upstairs was full of ‘really cool sounds’ which turned out to be a performance by Norissette. Mhairi said that when they went to go watch the gig they were drawn to the band ‘dancing and singing with a giant box on their head to electronic music which we absolutely loved’. This spurred them to approach Norisette afterwards and ask to play a gig with them which then lead to them playing at Feline Fest 2 in June this year at Night and Day cafe.As with many people, their favourite thing about this bar is that ‘there’s just always something going on, and always lots of super interesting people about, and so it’s easy to end up having a totally unplanned night out, just around the corner from home’, one of many reasons why we love it!

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We then asked Go Chi Minh, a band who have provided many entertaining nights out at fuel with their ‘gimmickcore/prank rock’ music, for their favourite anecdote about the venue. They brought us back to their first ever gig at Fuel which they say ‘still stands as one of our favourite sets we’ve played’. On recalling this particular evening they stated: ‘the place was rammed and the crowd were in the mood for a night of naughtiness! The floor turned into a trampoline and even with us not moving on stage we could feel ourselves bouncing up and down. The owner came upstairs, grabbed the mic and told the crowd to calm down. However, when we played our last song that all went out the window and crowdsurfing and crazy boogying ensued. Long live fuel cafe!’. Go Chi Minh will be performing at fuel once again alongside catbandcat on the 8th of December for those craving a crazy ‘night of naughtiness’.

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So it is safe to say that Fuel holds many good memories for the bands we all know and love and all those there to support them. Gabs has certainly had a fair share of fun times at fuel with the many open mic nights and gigs held there. Ranging from the ‘Once a Month’ charity gig which featured a performance from Mei Mei, Rosie Charles and more, to the ‘Lucky Dip’ talent scouting gigs prior to Cut Loose festival, Fuel is a venue that many upcoming artists can thank for some incredible gigs with an always supportive audience. So as Go Chi Minh say: long live fuel cafe!

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picture credits: what pub.com and https://www.facebook.com/GigsAndBandsMCR/