Hippos Retuned | a Lasting Legacy at Manchester Cathedral

Hippos Retuned put on a legendary night at Manchester Cathedral

On 17th May, something extraordinary happened inside Manchester Cathedral. Beneath its towering arches and centuries-old stained glass, an era of Northern rave culture was resurrected. It stood not as a relic, but as something vital, present and intensely alive. Hippos Retuned is the brainchild of DJ and promoter Jay Wearden, and his partner in crime Rosie Romero — a name often missing from the headlines, but make no mistake, she’s half of the powerhouse that makes it all happen. What they have built over the past decade is a testament to the power behind music. They have built a powerful act of memory, revival, and reverence for a scene that shaped a generation and continues to echo through the artists and audiences of today.

Hippos Retuned is his homage to another iconic venue of that era: Hippos Club in Middleton. In the early ’90s, Hippos was a central node in the Northwest rave circuit. It was what you’d expect, a gritty, electric club brimming with youth in revolt. Retuned isn’t merely a reunion, but a reinterpretation. Jay and Rosie both bring the ethos of that scene into new spaces, with care and craft, reminding audiences both old and new of what it meant and more importantly, what it still means.

Hippodrome in Middleton was demolished in 2007

I didn’t live through those early days, but I grew up in the Manchester they left behind. I’ve heard the stories, I’ve played the records, but that innate, lived connection always felt just out of reach. Until this night. The past didn’t whisper; it lunged forward, full-bodied and undeniable, stopping me cold. I was sat on the cathedral’s stone floor, camera in hand, watching MC Tunes backed by a full orchestra, Rowetta’s voice soaring into the rafters — and suddenly, I got it. This wasn’t just nostalgia. It was legacy, alive and roaring

The people who came weren’t just there to watch, but I quickly found that they were the night. You could feel it in the way they moved, the way they greeted each other like old friends even if they'd only just met. There was joy, sweat, ferocity…and something else too, something unspoken, like a shared understanding that this mattered. It was moving without being heavy, electric without trying. And for someone like me, who never got to feel Hippos the first time around, this felt like the closest thing to stepping inside the memory of it.

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Jay Wearden plays to a Cathedral full of dedicated ravers

Jay Wearden’s name is etched into the very fabric of Manchester’s underground scene. In the late 1980s and early ’90s, he was one of the pivotal figures shaping the city’s rapidly mutating soundscape. His sets at the infamous Thunderdome, which was a no-frills, full-throttle venue, became the stuff of legend. Thunderdome wasn’t pretty, and it definitely wasn’t polished. It was raw, sweaty, and utterly without pretence and quickly became a haven for ravers who yearned for the freedom which the music oozed.

This was a scene built from the ground up, all by working-class kids, DJs, MCs and promoters who carved out spaces where none had existed before. It was a time before health and safety forms and Instagram algorithms. There were few rules, and even fewer expectations and the essence that mattered was connection. Jay and Rosie both understand this better than most and their curation carries a rare honesty, one that you have to live to understand.

What an incredible setting for an amazing night - photo by @lc.visuals_

And there is perhaps no venue more striking for such a reinterpretation than Manchester Cathedral. This is a place rooted in history, dating back to the 15th century, and has long stood as a silent witness to the city’s transformations. Over the decades it’s opened its doors to protest, to celebration, to resistance — and now, to rave. There’s something deeply symbolic in that.

MC Tunes lighting up the stage (as always)

The performances were brilliant, what else can I say. MC Tunes, live with a full orchestra, bridging the space between street poetry and classical arrangement, his voice very much fierce and commanding. Rowetta, as ever, was magnetic. Her vocals imbued with both joy and defiance, as only the Queen of Manchester should do. The atmosphere was charged and not just with nostalgia, but with purpose. Everyone in that room understood they were part of something singular.

Rowetta was beyond incredible on stage

And then there was Joe Bernard — the man behind The 6 Train, a track that, over thirty years on, still pulses through the veins of those who were there. It became the Hippos anthem, the kind of tune that doesn’t just soundtrack a night but defines an era. To see him there, in the flesh, signing an original vinyl of that very record… it was a moment. A quiet one, but full of meaning. And if that wasn’t enough, we caught Mark Archer (of Altern 8) taking to the decks, laying it down with that unmistakable energy. That mix of old heads and new hearts, sharing the same space, is exactly what made the night feel timeless.

Mark Archer of Altern 8 looking incredible mysterious

Jay, throughout the night, was grounded and reflective. Watching him quietly take it all in, you could feel how much it meant. This was more than a show, and it was clearly evident that this was the culmination of years spent not just making music. Both he and Rosie are preserving memories and rebuilding spaces where stories could be told, felt, and passed on. And that matters.

In a city that’s constantly changing with tower blocks rising, venues falling, culture commodified, it’s more important than ever that artists and ravers alike continue to remember. To celebrate what came before, not as some museum piece, but as living, breathing history. Events like Hippos Retuned are proof that Manchester’s spirit isn’t something confined to the past. This right here is something that grows, adapts, and retunes, louder each time.

This one is for all the ravers, and misbehaviours

For those of us who weren’t there the first time round, don’t you worry, this is how we inherit the culture. And for those who were there, this is how the fire keeps burning.

We left the Cathedral changed. Awed. A little overwhelmed. In a side room (possibly the Dean’s office), an enormous painting of Jesus crucified looked down over the night like an accidental metaphor: the past sacrificed, the future born again. Eerie, commanding, unforgettable.

Just like the music.

Thank you to Jay and Rosie who allowed us to come down and film Hippos retuned for our Music Documentary: MADE IN MANCHESTER

We do have footage, but I guess you will just have to follow us and watch out for when it drops next year.

This article is dedicated to all you naughty ravers who just love a proper good time. And as always, we will see you at the front (Thunderdome Rebuilt).

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