STAT magazine

15/07/2024

Northerners for a Free Palestine 🇵🇸

Encampments, blockades, boycotts and fundraisers. We document some of the actions people are taking across the North-West in opposition to Israel’s Western-backed genocide of the Palestinian people.

“People taking these actions have often taken time away from work, scheduled childcare and taken personal losses of income in support of a free Palestine. These groups form a beautiful cross-section of all ages and faiths: students, workers and pensioners... It would be a great disservice not to join them.”

Thanks to Jacob Turnbull for some brilliant photography of Liverpool's encampment.

"Complicity is everywhere, even in those institutions which we are so often told are bastions of progressivism."

14/07/2024

Introducing…. STAT HQ at Leigh Spinners Mill

We now have our very own space in a former mill in Lancashire (what could be more us eh?) An official headquarters has been a longtime aim of ours, so we’re feeling r**t pleased with ourselves and no longer have to run the mag outta our bedrooms!

We’ve loads planned for this space, we’re talking socials, gigs, film screenings, workshops…. parties. The lot. It’ll be the beating heart of Northern weirdo culture this place, mark my words.

So keep yer eyes peeled for announcements… In the meantime, if you fancy a cuppa and a chat, please do come down, say hello (just DM us and let us know when you’re coming)! And if you’ve any bright ideas for what cool s**t we can put on in this place, or how we might decorate that lovely plasterboard, let us know in the comments…

Our ADDRESS (‼️) is:

STAT MAGAZINE
Unit 5.17 Floor 5
Leigh Spinners Mill
Park Lane
Leigh
WN7 2LB

Love STAT x

11/06/2024

Feature: The Masjid Uncles of the Front Row

Afzal Khan & Saif Khan share photos taken for their zine in this tribute to the masjid uncle.

“I had a questionable idea of photographing old men in local mosques… a part of me knew that there was something more to it than just elderly, retired men“

This was the beginning of what would be a journey of delving into the various mosques of the North-West and beyond...

07/06/2024

Comment if you'd wear this.

07/06/2024

Hello friends !

Apologies for the radio silence on this here website. Lots in the pipeline, might even have a HQ in Leigh very shortly! We're a bit behind on the ol' distribution of our free copies, but should hopefully be back on top soon. Keep your eyes peeled for some more posting on here into the future! Hope you're all doing alright? -Pete

11/02/2024

ISSUE 10

STAT’s tenth mega issue. Loosely centred around Stockport, its birds, bands, people and pyramid. I’ve heard it’s the new Berlin, y’know?

Featuring:

- An interview with up-and-coming band Maruja.
- A eulogy for Fiddler’s Ferry by Maeve Thompson.
- Poetry from Bella Kennedy.
- Prose from Olivia McDermott.
- The finale of ‘The Banquet Below’ by Laeth Quellin.
- A look into Lancashire Luddites by Joe Ronan.
- A recollection of Stockport’s naughty parakeets by Angus Stewart.

As well as artwork by Cillian Mcilvenna & Lili-Mae Moore and reviews of Hyperdawn & Courting’s latest releases.

This one is limited to 50 numbered copies. Hand-bound with white elastic bands and a black “Surely not!” mini-print. Paper all nice, recycled (as far as we know) and staple-less.

50% of each sale will go to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Free Palestine. End Western complicity. 🇵🇸

ABOLISH MANCHESTER. Love you all.

Our tenth mega issue. Limited to 50 numbered copies. Loosely centred around Stockport, its birds, bands, people and pyramids. 68 pages. 100gsm...

19/01/2024

REVIEW: Saltburn is an Anti-Scouse Film
by Ella Fradgley

The hip 00s film is inequality through rose-tinted lenses.

“The real horror was seeing a potential flicker of representation be blown out by a selfish desire to discard difficult conversations in favour of sexualising a stereotypical, Blairite, middle class yearning for riches”

The hip 00s film is inequality through rose-tinted lenses It’s the end of 2023. We’re in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, wealth and regional inequalities in the UK are at an all-time high, an…

19/01/2024

Snugsidies: Free Gigs in Wigan’s Musical Desert

“It’s about getting the town moving.”

To show off our fancy new website, here's George Francis Lee's write-up of The Snug Coffee House's first free Early Doors Club event.

Most little towns are comatose on a Friday night. Apart from the pubs and social clubs filled with the old boys who trade turns playing staff and punters, the str**ts are sleeping.But not Atherton.…

27/08/2023

ISSUE 09

Having abolished Manchester, we do not yearn for a Lancashire of the past. In this, our ninth issue, we take a critical look back at former Northern "glories". We recognise the darkness of the mines and quality culture amassed, but challenge both in order to move ourselves forward. We cannot remain contextless.

We’ve gone all-out on this one — a translucent red limited version: grey recycled paper, bound with a black elastic band, inserts: a poem on transparent film, art postcard & stickers.

Get one of only 75 numbered copies here - statmagazine.bigcartel.com/product/stat-issue-09-limited-red

Thank you to all the lovely people that made this issue possible.

Niki Colclough, Tom Kelly, Joseph Makinson, Danny Pearson, Bec Sabbath, Umr Siddique, Laeth Quellin, Megan Walder, George Francis Lee.

ABOLISH MANCHESTER.

21/08/2023

NO. 9 THIS FRIDAY.

09/07/2023

ATHERTON
---
A student working a minimum-wage job and witnessing the slow death of a former mill-town, Adam Lord finds escape in superhero cinema.

Well worth a read, this one.

READ in full here - https://statmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/06/atherton.html

30/06/2023

COAL SEAMS & Q***R DREAMS
---
Stephen Welsh takes a look into the Northern LGBTQ+ histories lost to a homophobic Section 28 and a cultural landscape in which these important stories are now being celebrated.



READ in full in print or online - statmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/06/coal-seams-queer-dreams.html

The Market Gate Pub, Skelmersdale words by Stephen Welsh On any given day you can usually find me on a tram, train, or bus—headed to an ar...

30/04/2023

STAT - ISSUE 08

“People across the North West are working away on projects, events and publications which will never get the recognition they deserve because Manchester hogs the limelight. At STAT we’re swinging that light back, and pointing it over ther’ look...”

This issue features a variety of stories, real and fiction from writers and members of the public in the North West.

featuring the work of …
Mike Blue, Dave Dutton, George Francis Lee, Jacob Longcake, Adam Lord, Megan Traynor, Laeth Quellin, Stephen Welsh & The Voices of the Story Board

edited by
Pete Mercer & George Francis Lee

designed by
Max Coupe & Pete Mercer

GET A COPY / MORE DETAILS here:
https://statmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/04/stat-issue-08.html

17/08/2022

ISSUE 07 FEATURE
- The Building of Leigh Library

2021 marked 50 years since Leigh’s brutalist library first opened. We take an in-pictures look at its freshly poured concrete. See more exclusively in issue 07.

to purchase, visit:
http://statmagazine.bigcartel.com

15/08/2022

live somewhere other than big ol Manchester and wanna write about a friend down the pub, a tree in Bolton or your favourite things about Plank Lane rubbish tip?

if you're in the northwest, get in our inbox.

[email protected]

11/04/2022

🚨 WORK WITH STAT !

we are looking for new team members …

if you’re interested in design work / writing / promotion / distribution, please see details below …!

email: [email protected]

19/03/2022

// ISSUE 07 //

IN THIS ISSUE IS…
Wigan Arts Festival // The Building of Leigh Library The Turnpike // Cross Str**t Arts // Northern Heart Films // Pride in Leigh // Patrick Saint James // Some People Feel The Rain // Really Rubbish Weaving // & more...

READ / BUY -
http://statmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/03/stat-issue-07.html

29/09/2021

UPDATE - next issue:

i'm a couple weeks into my new uni course now and aware it might take a bit longer to produce ISSUE 07.. so might be a week or two late. readers and contributors please do bear with me! patrons you will not be charged in october xx

thank u for understanding...:)

17/09/2021

hiya. soz for the radio silence last few weeks. starting uni again this weekend so bit hectic. plan is i'll keep putting issues together even from uni, but may need to update ya further down the line to see how i'm managing. new issue soon. thx for support as always..

- pete xx

14/08/2021

NEW: not the Bruce
by Derek Meins

"I don't really look at it and think of the feudal homage that took place in the great hall, or the massacres along the river banks; or of Queen Elizabeth I, or James IV. When I see that castle, I think of my friend, Robert, not the Bruce; gone but not forgotten."

READ - https://statmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/08/not-bruce.html?spref=tw

first published in STAT - ISSUE 06 words by Derek Meins Norham Castle ranks among the finest sights in the border country. Set high on a gra...

06/08/2021

designers / artists ,
we are looking for someone to design our next issue’s cover. payment of £35. dm if interested!

05/08/2021

NEW: Leigh People's Paper
by Pete Mercer

"...the view of, so-called, ex-‘red-wall’ areas, like Leigh, is that they are brimming with reactionaries. It’s not true, but these preconceptions go unchecked when the people in question have no vehicle for expression."

READ - http://statmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/08/leigh-peoples-paper.html

this article was originally published in STAT - ISSUE 06 words Pete Mercer Making this zine and contemplating the plusses of print over d...

02/08/2021

NEW / REVIEW - Buzzcocks
memories of a fan & a look at a new book

"a kind, generous grin, and off he [Pete] merged, into the crowd, the dim lighting and thick clouds of cigarette smoke"

by Andrew Bromelow

READ - https://statmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/08/buzzcocks.html

image credit - Adrian Boot / urbanimage.tv Memories of a fan & a look at a new book article first published in STAT - ISSUE 06 words by And...

30/07/2021

// ISSUE 06 //

thanks to everyone who contributed...
Harriet Barton // j l blagden // Andrew Bromelow // Ste Kilb // Martyn Lucas // Derek Meins // Joe Millican // Bec Sabbath

cover art - Mons Igneous

READ / BUY here
https://statmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/07/stat-issue-06.html

22/07/2021

FAO: people who like writing / art
we're covering wigan arts festival (starting next Fri)
check out the programme and let us know if you fancy writing up on any events...!

* contributor payment of £30
* ticket costs covered

DM / email for more info
pls share w/ writer friends

✨The Wigan Arts Festival programme is LIVE! ✨

Take a look at the full programme at www.wiganarts.com/whatson and
let us know which events you're coming to!

With over 50 events in multiple venues across the borough, it's going to be a jam packed 2 weeks with something for everyone including music, exhibitions, workshops and outdoor events.



WigLe Dance CIC Wigan STEAM Leigh Film Society Wigan Council The Turnpike Leigh Spinners Mill Community Cross Str**t Arts TheFire Within Lancashire Wildlife Trust The Boulevard - Wigan Haigh Woodland Park The Coffee Stop At Railway Road

21/07/2021

ISSUE 06 // OUT SOON
delighted to reveal full cover artwork by my talented friend, Mons Igneous

19/07/2021

Leyth Bent and Bongs / Leigh People's Paper
volume 3 no. 18 (July 1981)
[replicated with permission from authors]

after a bit of wikipedia-ing, found "Leyth Bent and Bongs" are nicknames of adjacent towns: Leigh, Atherton & Tyldesley (if you didn't already know)

03/07/2021

thanks again to everyone who's sent in poems, pics and music... we'll have a look thru and be in touch soon. issue 06 out, hopefully, by end of July.
..here's peek of 06 cover art by Mons Igneous

28/06/2021

submissions to issue06 closing this Friday
get in touch if you've any questions..!

[email protected]

11/06/2021

Searching for the extra-ordinary, hoping for the ordinary.
- Tom2Trax

"cleared completely of its energetic buzz from bees of all nature, what I saw right there in front of me, truly did imitate the emptiness of my photographs I took years before"

READ> https://statmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/06/searching-for-extra-ordinary-hoping-for.html

words & photography Tom Hodgson In late April 2014, I captured a series of images whilst on a group photography workshop in Stockport. A...