Upcoming Concerts for Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott
See All Concerts
Top Songs By Paul Heaton
Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Paul Heaton
Programming
Jacqui Abbott
Performer
Jonny Lexus
Programming
Dub Phizix
Bass
Sam Maguire
Spoken Word
Doug H Nut
Spoken Word
Roy
Spoken Word
Chimpo
Spoken Word
MC AK51
Spoken Word
Christophe Bride
Spoken Word
Hammond X
Spoken Word
The Old Silhouette Selby Leggings
Spoken Word
Zed Bias
Spoken Word
Tipsy Gent
Spoken Word
Dogger
Spoken Word
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Paul Heaton
Composer
Jonny Lexus
Composer
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Jonny Lexus
Producer
Dub Phizix
Producer
Gaz Hadfield
Recording Engineer
Tim Thomas
Mixing Engineer
Ian Stewart
Assistant Recording Engineer
Tim Debney
Mastering Engineer
Lyrics
It was jar of pickled onion, some cheese and onion crisps
A city in the '70s that no-one would've kissed
Before LGBTQ, it was simply one-off wrist
And that was Manchester calling
It was the hassle of Haçienda entry and stupid acid house
When Johnny Marr's cool outweighed Stephen Patrick's mouth
Before alf 'bleeding' Garnett of Lancashire 'bleeding' South
That was Manchester calling
It was go straight to strangeways, get outta jail free
Then cruising through Rusholme, fat cigar and Ford Capri
It was always 'wrote for luck', never ever let it be'
That was Manchester calling
Back in day, Mancunian was neither fat nor fit
And City and United were both bordering on shit
And eating upmarket was Canadian Charcoal Pit
And that was Manchester calling
It was Emily Pankhurst's grit over Shaun Ryder's teeth
Never was it 'Shameless', certainly not 'cold feet'
It was Bernard Manning spitting bile on Comic relief
That was Manchester calling
Nowadays, the arena and, apparently, the bomb
And tiny worker bee gives folk the strength to carry on
From Summerbee and Whiteside to diving like a swan
That's Manchester calling
Now outside Haçienda flats on Tony Wilson street
Shuffling under skyscraper at least a thousand feet
Growth removed the wings of bee, and honey, that ain't sweet
That's Manchester calling
And that's why folk love Coventry, Dundee, Perth, and Hull
It's a zero lack of sights to see but a total lack of bull
And they don't live in place defined by posh bird it wants to pull
That's Manchester calling
And the largely redundant Irwell, like Thames and Rhine before
Looks up at sky, lets out a sigh, then looks back down to floor
And in Irwellian irony, it's been no use since '84
That's Manchester calling
Industrial Revolution, when workers counted cost
Ancoats down to moss side, where 'boddies' used to waft
Now the gangsters ride on tricycles and the hard men have gone soft
And that's Manchester Calling
Half the size of London, slightly less than Brum
Half the population with head lodged up its bum
Now property developers look down on Northern scum
And that's Manchester calling
As Ian Brown passes on his low rider bike
They're pulling down last building anyone actually liked
Let's throw another tower up with Gary Neville's head on a spike
Name it 'Manchester calling'
Writer(s): Jonathan Ralph Noblett, Paul David Heaton, George Ovens
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com