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School of Hard Notts: WGP Lions Spirit

Wrestle Gate Pro (WGP) is an up-and-coming Notts based promotion, fast gaining a reputation for professional set-ups and major signings. Lions Spirit at Rushcliffe arena helped to cement this, bringing the hard hits, electric atmosphere and a huge surprise main event that could headline any Vegas show!

NottsShop: May 2019

The birds are singing, the sun is... ok, well, the sun isn't quite there yet, but there's definitely been a shift towards the summer this month. And what better way to celebrate this than by the latest NottsShop?

Snap Notts: The City Ground

The latest Snap Notts sees our poet and photographer pairing take inspiration from the City Ground on a match day...

Overheard in Notts

Let's see what's been heard on the street by Big Baby this month...

A Referee in Notts

When I first started, ten or twelve years ago, I did it for a bit of cash on the side. Soon, though, I found it gave me another view of the game that I probably didn't get when I was younger. Ten years ago, I never thought I’d be in a position where I’d be still enjoying what I do.

DJ Yoda Smashed It In Notts. Again

DJ Yoda returned to the city for the second year running, much to Caroline Barry's delight...

LGBTQ+ Notts: Feminism and Cabaret

Caroline Barry has been gallivanting around Nottingham for all the incredible gay and gay-adjacent events...

Electronica Producer Max Cooper Will Return to Notts for Wiglex City Festival

Wigflex City Festival is set to be an impressive showcase of the musical talent Nottingham has spawned. One of these names is Max Cooper, an established producer who’s returning to his uni hometown this May. We quizzed Max on the Notts he knew, before he heads back to play...

The Best Cocktails in Notts Presented by GorgeUs

Sam Nahirny sips on some of the best cocktails the city has to offer...

NottsShop: April 2019

Hello! Welcome to the first in a monthly series on the best fashiony bits Notts has to offer. We're putting Nottingham under a style microscope and this month: we're focusing on “The Gram” with, like any good primary school story, a side eye to the who, what, where and when.

Got someone or something that you think we should know about? Drop us a line at anna.murphy@leftlion.co.uk...

Hastings Magpies Bag Charlie Palmer in NCT Showdown

Hastings Magpies have tonight announced that Notts County Legend Charlie Palmer will be coaching them for their Meadow Lane fixture against Nottingham City Transport on May 6th; Palmer joins actor David Easter who will be managing the team. Freddie Place tells us more about how this amazing event came about and what to expect on the day.

Tommy K Events Is Bringing DJ Yoda Back to Notts

 If you saw him last year you’ve probably got a ticket already and if yer didn’t, Caroline Barry explains why you’d be mad to miss out this April…

Snap Notts: Wollaton Park

A Magician in Notts

"If you’ve got a wannabe alpha-male in the group who thinks he’s going to be a clever dick, he won’t like someone else coming in and performing magic."

Overheard in Notts

Big Baby heard some right tripe this month... 

When Notts County Won The FA Cup

With Notts County having spent the majority of the season struggling to avoid relegation to the non-league, it’s easy to forget that things haven’t always been doom and gloom for the Meadow Lane club. In fact, this month marks 125 years since the world’s oldest professional football club won the FA Cup. Despite being one of the greatest moments in the Magpie’s history, it’s a story that ended in tragedy for Jimmy Logan, the striker who scored a hat trick that day…

School of Hard Notts: Face Time with Visage

Meet Visage - Nottingham’s Wrestlin’ Bitch Face. Another House of Pain alumnus building momentum on the UK’s grappling scene Visage is a flamboyant and instantly recognisable character. He’s also proper nails - mock his collection of amazing wigs and he’ll slap the taste out of your mouth. Visage’s blend of humour, innuendo and merciless bludgeoning is an unusual in-ring fusion invoking classic performers like Gorgeous George and Cassandro. We cornered Visage for a chat in a pleasingly kitsch tiki-bar.

Perennial Punks The Stranglers return to Notts

Since their early days as seventies punk rock rabble-rousers, The Stranglers have been mainstays of the British music scene. Now over 45 years on, the lads are still finding the time to hit the road and make music. Back in Nottingham for their latest UK tour this month, we sent our man LP Mills for a chat with guitarist and frontman Baz Warne, to find out what these perennial punks have been up to. 

Snap Notts: Hyson Green

LGBTQ+ Notts: Queer Noise Club and International Women's Day

Caroline Barry has been gallivanting around Nottingham for all the incredible gay and gay-adjacent events...

A UFO Investigator in Notts

"I’m not a crackpot; I’ve been researching this for over thirty years and I’m 100 percent sure that we’ve been visited by aliens."

Overheard In Notts

Big Baby heard some right tripe this month... 

Notts-based Metal Band The Five Hundred on Personal Demons, Moscow and Their Debut Album

Since forming in 2014, devastatingly heavy Notts-based metal outfit The Five Hundred are making their mark on the UK scene, with their unholy blend of crushing eight-string guitar breakdowns, soaring yet haunting vocal melodies and pummelling drums. Following the release of their EP, Mirrors, in 2015 and their debut album, Bleed Red, last year, the band have been picking up some serious momentum. We spoke to bassist Andy Crawford discuss their bleak lyrics, the current Nottingham metal scene and their plans for the future….

A Furniture Upcycler in Notts

"Sometimes I kick pieces over or take a big hammer to them, to add a little more distress. People would think I was crazy if they saw me doing it."

School of Hard Notts: Puro-Vision

Wrestle Gate Pro (WGP) landed in Nottingham in January for their exciting debut show Open Gate an event noticeably influenced by Japanese wrestling. Also known as Puro it’s a relatively realistic, punishing style where wrestlers primarily get over* by displaying their “fighting spirit” i.e. willingness to absorb and subsequently dish-out a beating against any odds. In some ways a style at the other end of the spectrum from traditional UK wrestling were intangible factors like charisma can be as significant as pain threshold or athletic ability - Crabtree, I am looking at you.