A popular Manchester street party band swapped the instruments for running shoes this weekend, as they braved the heat to join tens of thousands in one of the country’s biggest running events – the Great Manchester Run.
Mr Wilson’s Second Liners, named after Hacienda legend Tony, were running to raise money for the Natalie Kate Moss Trust, a charity co-founded in 2012 by Fiona Moss in memory of her sister, who died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage, aged 26.
I am with @MrWilsonsSecond , who are about to run the #GreatManchesterRun to raise money for the @NKMTrust, aiming for under 50 minutes!! pic.twitter.com/FMq9CKitmK
— Alex Corns (@alexcorns_) May 21, 2023
The band, who perform 90s dance music while dressed as a technicolour New Orleans marching band, have played in France, China, Germany and all across the UK, including Old Trafford – but their usual marching pace would not suffice this time around.
Before the 10km run, band leader and bass saxophonist Will Lenton said: “We’re aiming for under an hour – people on socials have been asking us, ‘Are we playing, have we got our instruments?’ But we’re taking the run a lot more seriously than that – maybe next year!”
Fiona Moss, who had come to Manchester to cheer on the band and other fundraisers, said: “I’m extremely grateful.
“They supported us in our ten year anniversary event and it’s come full circle and they’re here today: a Manchester band supporting a Manchester charity, running the Manchester 10k!”
The most important message for Fiona is that lifestyle measures can help prevent brain haemorrhages.
She said: “A big part of preventing lifestyle-related brain haemorrhages is managing your blood pressure.
“Stroke UK have cited that high blood pressure is the leading cause of lifestyle-related brain haemorrhages, so we want people to be checking their blood pressure – as simple as that.”
According to the British Heart Foundation, on average a third of the population has high blood pressure but 50% of these people are undiagnosed or not receiving treatment.
Fiona added: “If we can get more people to be checking their blood pressure and taking the right course of action after that – managing their stress, sleep, eating well, exercise, all those simple things that we’re told to do – hopefully we can prevent more preventable brain haemorrhages.”
The charity has had a proud partnership with the University of Manchester since 2012, leading to increasing amounts of funding for research into brain haemorrhages and the ways in which they can be treated.
Fiona said: “It’s a partnership that we’re very proud of and it’s one that’s grown over the last decade, eleven years really, and I think this is only the beginning and I think what’s really amazing is that we’re putting Manchester on the map for this particular area of research as well.”
Mr Wilson’s performed at the charity’s 10-year anniversary event last year, and shortly afterwards the charity got in touch and asked if the band would be interested in running the Manchester 10k to raise money for them.
With a cheeky smile, Will said: “We are athletes, we train every day, hard… it was a natural thing to sign up for!”
Of course, the band did the Natalie Kate Moss Trust proud, with all of them finishing within the hour as planned.
The one word all four used to describe the 10km run through the perhaps uncharacteristically sunny streets of Manchester? “Hot.”
And with that, it was time for Mr Wilson’s Second Liners to march again – not, this time, with instruments in tow, but instead in the direction of the nearest pub for an indisputably well-earned pint.
(Picture of band performing at NKMT 10th anniversary event: NKMT)
