Northern Soul: Discovering the center of English pop culture

The Beatles (with original drummer Pete Best) at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1961. (Getty Images)
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Updated 13 December 2024
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Northern Soul: Discovering the center of English pop culture

  • Exploring England’s northwestern powerhouses, Manchester and Liverpool

DUBAI: London might be the UK’s capital, and the center of Britain’s financial and political power, but visitors seeking the true heart of England should head to the two great northern cities of Manchester and Liverpool. Here, two of the main pillars of English popular culture — football and music — take center stage. 




Inside Liverpool FC's Anfield stadium. (Supplied)

As part of the British government’s attempts to raise awareness of tourism opportunities outside of London, Arab News went on a press trip in November that delved deep into the rich cultural history of both cities. The two have much in common. Each has two Premier League football teams — one red, one blue — and in each the red team has historically been far more successful (although in Manchester, that gap is narrowing rapidly). And both have been the focus of movements that have changed the face of pop music: the ‘Madchester’ scene of the late Eighties/early Nineties, and the Merseybeat scene of the Sixties, from which emerged the band often hailed as the greatest of all time, The Beatles — four Liverpool lads who grew up within a few miles of each other, three of whom, it turned out, were among the finest songwriters to have ever lived. (The other was Ringo Starr, who, to be fair, was a metronomic and creative drummer crucial to The Beatles’ sound).  




Manchester's Halle Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall. (Photo by Alex Burns)

In Liverpool, our base is the majestic Titanic hotel, named for the ill-fated liner, which was registered in Liverpool. Thankfully, it lives up to that name only in its impressive scale — even the corridors are enormous — and is anything but a disaster for its guests, providing service and accommodation that would be the envy of any luxury cruise ship. 

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It’s part of the regeneration of Liverpool’s docks, and sits just around the corner from Everton’s new stadium, which will be inaugurated at the start of next season (several of our taxi drivers joke that it will be the most impressive stadium in England’s second tier once Everton — Liverpool’s blue team — are relegated this year). But it’s Anfield, home of Liverpool FC, that is globally renowned. We attend the late kick-off against Aston Villa on Nov. 10, and experiencing a game live is the best way to truly understand just how much significance football holds in English culture. While you get a better view of the action watching on television, that’s more than compensated for by the atmosphere — tens of thousands of people gasping, groaning, singing and roaring in unison.  




One of the rooms at the Titanic hotel in Liverpool. (Supplied)

Most English football grounds are now far more welcoming than their reputation suggests — women and children commonly attend, and Liverpool can count many from the Arab world among their supporters thanks to the impact of Egyptian superstar Mo Salah — but the language remains industrial. So if you want to experience a Premier League stadium without the man in the seat in front of you advising the referee exactly where to put his whistle, maybe opt for a tour on a non-matchday. The Anfield one offers a comprehensive journey through Liverpool’s trophy-laden history, right up to the just-ended Jurgen Klopp era, with some great stories from knowledgeable guides and ex-players, visits to the home and away dressing rooms (the away one is considerably less fancy, of course), a pitch-side wander, and a trip to the executive boxes.  

Manchester City’s Etihad stadium tour offers much the same experience, although with more focus on interactive experiences (a press conference with Pep!) — perhaps to compensate for the fact that the team’s history, until the last decade or so, is nothing like as golden as Liverpool’s. It’s an impressive setup though, and probably more fun for kids.  




Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium. (Shutterstock)

Back in Liverpool — and back to music — we visit the world-famous Cavern club, where The Beatles made their name. While it understandably plays up its historic links to the Fab Four, it’s still a thriving venue today, welcoming established international stars, local up-and-comers, and veteran cover bands, and is packed out most nights (mostly with tourists). It’s just one of dozens of bars and clubs in the city center that stage live shows in a city where the music scene continues to flourish.  




The entrance to the Beatles Story on Albert Dock. (Supplied)

To dive deeper into The Beatles’ history, Liver Tours offers a bespoke experience led by incredibly knowledgeable guides who will take you round the major landmarks associated with the band — from their childhood homes, through the church hall where John Lennon and Paul McCartney were first introduced, to places that inspired their songs (Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, and more). It’s an exhaustive venture, highly recommended for Beatles’ lovers, but perhaps a little too much for casual fans, who may prefer the excellent Beatles Story on Albert Dock — a celebration of the band’s rise to world domination, a reminder of just how quickly it all happened (less than eight years between the release of their debut single and their final album), and a statement about how much the band did for their hometown.  




The Reach at Piccadilly in Manchester is located just round the corner from the city’s main train station and a short walk from the Northern Quarter. (Supplied)

In Manchester, we stayed in The Reach at Piccadilly, located just round the corner from the city’s main train station and a short walk from the Northern Quarter — home to several great independent shops and cafés and a favorite haunt of many of the city’s most famous musicians over the years; many of them are celebrated, if obliquely, in the area’s pavement art. Despite the Reach’s central location, it’s a very peaceful hotel with friendly staff and fantastic breakfasts.  

Our Manchester music tour is a more scattered affair than the Liverpool one — less-focused on a single band (understandable, given how singular The Beatles are) but exploring the breathtaking array of talent spawned in, or coming to, the city and its suburbs, from the 165-year-old Hallé Orchestra; the Free Trade Hall, where Bob Dylan famously performed in the Sixties and the Sex Pistols infamously performed in the Seventies and inspired a legion of young Mancunians to pick up guitars and form bands of their own; on to Seventies rockers 10CC, Eighties miserabilists Joy Division and The Smiths, as well as the creators of one of the all-time-great debut albums The Stone Roses, and the Nineties Britrock behemoths Oasis (plus dozens of others in between). Our guide from Brit Music Tours, once again, carries a wealth of information in his head and doesn’t just reel off a list of facts, but tells numerous insightful and entertaining anecdotes.  

And despite spending several hours on these tours over three days, it feels like we barely scratched the surface of the two cities’ culture — let alone their vibrant foodie scenes, shopping and nightlife. If you’re planning a trip to the UK and would like somewhere more relaxed than London, but with just as much — if not more — to offer, then head northwest.  


Saudi artist Mohammad Alfaraj’s ‘Seas Are Sweet, Fish Tears Are Salty’ opens in Dubai 

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Saudi artist Mohammad Alfaraj’s ‘Seas Are Sweet, Fish Tears Are Salty’ opens in Dubai 

DHAHRAN: Saudi artist Mohammad Alfaraj, who recently won an Emerging Artists’ Medal at the Art Basel Awards in Switzerland, launches his first institutional solo exhibition this month at Jameel Arts Center in Dubai.  

“Mohammad Alfaraj is part of a new generation of fast-rising artists from the region, deeply attuned to their landscapes, communities and traditions,” Art Jameel’s deputy director and head of exhibitions and programs Nora Razian said in a statement. “His is a practice that is both poetic and critical, and we are incredibly thrilled to host his first institutional solo exhibition, which offers a profound and intimate glimpse into the ways cities, communities and even languages experience change.” 

Saudi artist Mohammad Alfaraj. (Supplied)

“Seas Are Sweet, Fish Tears Are Salty,” which runs until January, consists of multimedia works that often incorporate found objects as well as organic materials indigenous to Alfaraj’s hometown of Al-Ahsa, such as palm fronds and dates.  

Curated by Art Jameel’s Rotana Shaker, the show winds through both the indoor galleries and outdoor courtyards of the center. Themes of environment, community and shared memory emerge — often filtered through humor and tenderness. 

“I’m pretty new to the ‘art world’ but definitely immersed in art itself, whether I choose to be or not,” Alfaraj tells Arab News. “I’m always looking for metaphors and different ways of looking at the world, and trying to piece it together as an enormous complex mosaic that I’m lucky to experience and be part of.” 

The title aptly captures the tone of the exhibition — childlike, poetic and emotionally resonant. 

"What does the water dream of but to burst into flames." (Supplied)

“Imagining, and believing, that what makes the oceans and seas salty is fish’s tears is very childish — and super-empathetic too,” he continues. “To feel and recognize the suffering of the other — whether a human, an animal or any living creature — is absolutely necessary in today’s world, which unfortunately seems to be heading towards more apathy.” 

Alfaraj comes from a family of farmers, and Al-Ahsa — a lush oasis full of palm trees — frequently inspires his work. He often uses nature as both a canvas and a tool, letting organic material shape his artistic language. 

“I’m attracted to a certain material because it matches the concept and the idea of the work; like, to use rice paper to tell stories about the fading rice farming in Al-Ahsa, or making a film about water irrigation while filming it and projecting it at the same angle on water. This way of coupling the medium and concept seems to have a much stronger impact to me — more tactile, engaging and alive,” he says. “Intuition is a wonderful, mysterious compass.” 

For “Seas Are Sweet, Fish Tears Are Salty,” Alfaraj and Shaker sifted through the artist’s archives to try and understand the different ways in which he expressed his work through various mediums.  

“(Alfaraj) is an artist whose practice doesn’t really fit rigid definitions; it’s very fluid, oftentimes using found or natural materials,” Shaker tells Arab News. “It was a fun process to spend time with Mohammad and understand all these different facets of his practice, to pull out prints and drawings from his stacks of papers in his studio in Al-Ahsa, or to go through his hundreds and hundreds of photographs that he’s digitized, as well as to think playfully about what it is that he wants to intervene in within the exhibition space.  

“The experience was a balancing act between finding moments we can create impactful presence within the space, while at the same time allowing for in-situ interventions, which are very much characteristic of Mohammad’s practice,” Shaker continues. 

Several new commissions were also developed specifically for this show. 

“He came (to Dubai from Al-Ahsa) with a suitcase of papers and drawings,” Shaker says. “I found a note amongst his papers where he had scribbled an idea and it was a great opportunity for us to bring this to life.” 

The show offers a contemplative and immersive encounter with a world shaped by memory, landscape and imagination; inviting viewers to take a deep breath, listen deeply, and trace the intricate connections between place, language and time. 

On the exhibition’s opening night, June 25, Alfaraj and Shaker will discuss the show and the real and imagined worlds they evoked within. That will be followed by a 10-minute reflective performance by Alfaraj titled “The Missing Piece.” 

And the artist is hopeful that his show will inspire change in its viewers.  

“To make them feel — to inspire them to be more kind, to be more caring and more sensitive,” he says. “That would be more than I could ever wish for.” 


Kneecap ‘welcome’ at Glastonbury

Updated 25 June 2025
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Kneecap ‘welcome’ at Glastonbury

  • Irish hip-hop trio have publicly spoken out against Israel’s war on Gaza
  • Some UK politicians, including PM, want group to be axed from iconic festival

LONDON: Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap are “welcome” at the Glastonbury music festival despite objections by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the event’s co-organizer has said.

The band, which have publicly spoken out against Israel’s war on Gaza, are scheduled to play at the iconic British festival this week.

Member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, 27, was charged with a terrorism offense last year after allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a show in London. The band said the charge was a “distraction.”

Some politicians, including opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, have called for the trio’s performance at Glastonbury — set for Saturday — to be axed. Starmer this week said Kneecap’s presence at the event would not be “appropriate.”

Emily Eavis, Glastonbury’s co-organizer, told the BBC: “We’re just focusing on bringing the best festival to the people who want to come here … We remain a platform for many, many artists from all over the world and … everyone is welcome here.”

Kneecap responded to Starmer in a social media post, saying: “You know what’s ‘not appropriate’ Keir?! Arming a f***ing genocide.”


Review: A cinematic dining experience at Munchies in Safwa

Updated 25 June 2025
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Review: A cinematic dining experience at Munchies in Safwa

  • With dim lighting, cozy seating, and attention to music and mood, the ambiance supports the food without overshadowing it
  • Menu offers variety, with more than 50 items ranging from Italian comfort dishes to bistro classics

SAFWA: Munchies in Safwa city, Qatif governorate, may not catch your eye at first. There are no flashy signs or strong online presence to draw you in. But those who visit will find a unique dining experience.

Ahmed Al-Quraish opened the restaurant in 2023. It operates on a reservation basis and relies mostly on word of mouth.

The low-key approach continues inside, where the interior feels more like a carefully designed set than a typical restaurant.

With dim lighting, cozy seating, and attention to music and mood, the ambiance supports the food without overshadowing it.

The menu offers variety, with more than 50 items ranging from Italian comfort dishes to bistro classics.

A recent visit started with a crispy Caesar salad, generous in size and flavor, followed by hot arancini with a molten center. Both had a good balance of texture and temperature.

The main dishes were well prepared. The wagyu steak arrived cooked as requested, served with creamy mashed potatoes. It was tender, well seasoned and satisfying.

The pasta was rich and silky with a proper bite, and the fish and chips were golden and crisp.

The dessert menu focuses on enjoyable flavors. The chocolate cake was fudgy, the choux pastries flavorful, and the vibrancy and refreshing nature of the passion fruit cake stood out.

Munchies occasionally offers live music or themed events, but at its core are thoughtful food and atmospheric surroundings, creating a welcoming atmosphere.

Munchies is open from 3:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. This spot delivers consistent quality and ambiance.

The overall experience is worth making a reservation for. Check their Instagram, @munchiesksa, for more details.


Nora Fatehi, Amina Muaddi attend Louis Vuitton’s star-studded Paris Fashion Week show

Updated 25 June 2025
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Nora Fatehi, Amina Muaddi attend Louis Vuitton’s star-studded Paris Fashion Week show

PARIS/DUBAI: Paris Fashion Week kicked off with a bang — a Louis Vuitton show unveiling the French brand’s Menswear Spring/Summer 2026 collection.

The front row was packed with A-list stars, including Beyonce, Jay-Z, Steve Harvey, Bradley Cooper, J-Hope, Karol G, PinkPantheress, Future, Pusha T, Jackson Wang, Bambam, Mason Thames, Miles Caton, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Malcolm Washington, Jalen Ramsey, and A$AP Nast.

Part-Arab guests also made an appearance, including Moroccan Canadian singer, actress and model Nora Fatehi, as well as Romanian Jordanian designer Amina Muaddi.

Part-Arab guests attended the show, including Moroccan Canadian singer, actress and model Nora Fatehi. (Getty Images)

Fatehi attended the show in a taupe double-breasted suit featuring a structured blazer with wide lapels, metallic buttons and flap pockets. She paired the blazer with loose, pleated wide-leg trousers in a matching fabric. She layered the suit over a white shirt and a white tie.

Meanwhile, Muaddi opted for a structured brown jacket with oversized flap pockets and a contrasting dark collar. Underneath, she wore a black knee-length leather skirt and a white top.

In this collection Pharrell Williams — half showman, half pop impresario — staged a cultural passage from Paris to Mumbai, fusing Indian tradition and modern dandyism into a punchy, sunstruck vision of the Vuitton man in 2026.

Muaddi opted for a structured brown jacket with oversized flap pockets and a contrasting dark collar. (Instagram)

The Pompidou’s iconic colored pipes served as a sci-fi backdrop for a set dreamed up with Studio Mumbai architect Bijoy Jain: a life size “Snakes and Ladders” board, alluding to both the child’s game and the adult risks of fashion’s global game. 

The models walked the runway in Indian-style chunky sandals, striped boxy shorts and blue preppy shirts with sleeves billowing like monsoon sails. Silken cargo pants shimmered in the sun; pin-striped puffers added a louche, almost Bollywood-kitsch edge. 

Cricket jerseys appeared with jeweled collars or, in some cases, a puffy hood covered in rhinestones. Blue pearlescent leather bombers flirted with the bling of Mumbai’s film sets, while pin-striped tailoring riffed on both the British Raj and Parisian boulevardiers.

Of course, with Vuitton, accessories make the man — and this season’s bags, jeweled sandals, and bold, hardware-heavy necklaces delivered Instagram bait. It’s maximalist, yes, but not just for the TikTok crowd. The craftsmanship — from sun-faded fabrics to hand-loomed stripes — rewards anyone who takes a closer look.


Rachel Zegler stands by support for Gaza despite backlash

Updated 25 June 2025
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Rachel Zegler stands by support for Gaza despite backlash

DUBAI: US actress Rachel Zegler has responded to the backlash she received for speaking out in support of Palestine, saying, “Nothing is worth innocent lives.”

The “West Side Story” star, who played the lead in Disney’s 2025 live-action remake of “Snow White,” came under fire during the film’s press tour for her political posts about the war in Gaza. In a new interview with i-D, she addressed the vitriol she faced — not just for her stance on Palestine, but also the widespread online narrative blaming her for the film’s poor box office performance.

Zegler pushed back against the idea that actors should stay silent on humanitarian issues for fear of professional fallout.

“I can really only echo Hannah Einbinder in saying that a platform becomes a responsibility, and that responsibility is ours to use as we please,” Zegler said, referencing the “Hacks” actor’s powerful remarks at a Human Rights Campaign dinner earlier this year, in which Einbinder criticized Israel’s assault on Gaza and emphasized the need for public figures to speak up.

“My compassion has no boundaries, is really what it is, and my support for one cause does not denounce any others. That’s always been at the core of who I am as a person. It’s the way I was raised,” Zegler continued.

“There are obviously things that are at stake by being outspoken, but nothing is worth innocent lives. My heart doesn’t have a fence around it, and if that is considered my downfall? There are worse things.”

In August 2023, “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” actor expressed support for Palestine when she shared the first official “Snow White” trailer on X. She thanked her fans for their support, before adding in a separate post: “And always remember, free Palestine.”