A recent poll has revealed that nearly half of those surveyed think that Manchester is England’s second most important city. Actually, I didn’t find this very surprising. I myself was caught out when I first moved here. Manchester just seems like a more glamourous place. In sports it’s home to one of the world’s biggest football clubs (Manchester United). Birmingham’s got… Aston Villa. Manchester was host of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Birmingham does play host to several “major” sporting events, however none of these come close to something like the Olympics, or the Commonwealth Games. In the music business, Manchester is home to bands such as the Smiths, Oasis, the BeeGees, Doves, and The Stone Roses. Birmingham also has a few big names (Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, UB40, Duran Duran), however they’re well past their peak. Things look a bit better in terms of the “younger generation” music scene: Birmingham has “Air”, a club which plays host to Godskitchen, and the Global Gathering festival is held just down the road near Stratford-upon-Avon.

I guess part of the problem is that Birmingham just doesn’t seem to promote itself very well, and only seems to be in the news for all the wrong reaons (terror arrests, riots, murders, etc.). As Jon Bounds, founder of BirminghamItsNotShit, says “we ought to get out and promote ourselves a little bit more.” If we can start doing that, then perhaps we can start to shift the public’s opinion of this great city!