The renowned Indian spot, which began life behind a curtain in The Wellington Hotel & Pub on Bristol Street before moving into its own premises due to huge demand last year, is set to join the lineup at Saint Paul’s Market.

Operating out of the popular Jewellery Quarter food hall, guests can expect a menu featuring Indian small plates, slow-cooked curries, fragrant rices, naans, sides, plus exclusive dishes cooked over fire on the robata grill.

Joe Schuppler, co-founder of Saint Paul’s Market, said: ‘’We’re so excited for Indian Cafe Racer to bring authentic Indian flavours to the Saint Paul’s Market! We’re always looking to champion brilliant independents that bring something special to Jewellery Quarter’s food scene, and we can’t wait for visitors to discover their food. ’’

Indian Cafe Racer joins the likes of Corner Shop Pizza, Colbeh, Zindiya and Soi at Saint Paul’s Market. Keep an eye on the Saint Paul’s socials for an official opening date.

The post Birmingham favourites Indian Cafe Racer confirm new Jewellery Quarter location appeared first on Birmingham Wire.

Released in February 1997, Texas’ landmark fourth LP, which is certified 6x platinum in the UK, was an immediate hit, embracing the band’s love of soul, trip-hop and more.

As part of their upcoming tour, the Glasgow group will play Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on Sat 30 Oct 2027. Along with a special reissue of the record, Texas have unveiled a brand-new single Another Way To Cry, which you can listen to below.

“It didn’t feel risky because no one at our label gave a shit,” Spiteri recalls of the attitude towards the band in the UK ahead of White On Blonde. “We were in Glasgow, we made the album in my house and I did all the vocals in the coat cupboard. We had nothing to lose, and anyway, I didn’t want to fit in. If everybody’s doing something, I’m always running in the opposite direction and that’s always been the attitude – whether it’s walking on stage at Glastonbury, or with White On Blonde. It’s always been us saying: We will play our own tune. If you want to jump on, great. If you hate us, fine. But this is what we want to do.”

Texas will be joined by special guests Del Amitri on all UK and Ireland dates. Pre-sale begins Wed 28 Oct at 10am, with general sale on Fri 30 Oct, also at 10am.

The post Scottish rock icons Texas are bringing their huge anniversary tour to Birmingham appeared first on Birmingham Wire.

Running from Fri 16 Oct – Sun 1 Nov, Gandey’s K-Pop Demon Circus blends the energy and attitude of K-Pop with jaw-dropping international circus, breathtaking aerial performances, comedy and a mischievously spooky atmosphere.

Created especially for Halloween, charismatic ringmaster Joel will preside over the chaos, leading an international company of extraordinary performers through an evening of thrills, skills and laughs, with a few surprises in store along the way.

Suitable for the entire family, highlights include high-octane gymnastic bar performers and a daring Cloudswing soaring high above the audience in a remarkable display of aerial artistry.

Throughout the production, performances collide with dazzling lighting, costumes and a pounding soundtrack of K-Pop and Western pop anthems.

Gandey’s K-Pop Demon Circus will be at Merry Hill Shopping Centre Fri 16 Oct – Sun 1 Nov. Tickets are on sale now; book yours below.

The post Gandey’s K-Pop Demon Circus brings breathtaking aerial performance to Merry Hill this Halloween appeared first on Birmingham Wire.

Also located within Kings Court, the drinks menu has been created in collaboration with Katie Rouse of Couch in Stirchley, the Birmingham cocktail bar which was named the number one in the UK in the 2026 Top 50 Cocktail Bars List and won Best Cocktail Menu at the CLASS 2026 Awards.

The menu features eight original cocktails alongside a selection of classics, with familiar serves given a twist through ingredients and flavours that Matt loves. Drinks include the Snake Oil Daiquiri, Balanced Grasshopper, Tonka Bean Boulevardier, Freezer Martini, Spicy As Fuck Margarita, XO Spressy T, Rum Punch and Salty Scotch Old Fashioned. Modelo is also available on tap, alongside a secret shot menu.

“I wanted to create a bar I want to drink in,” says Matt. “Somewhere with great drinks, good music and a relaxed atmosphere. It’s fun, but we take the drinks seriously.”

The interior combines black finishes, neon green, snakeskin, concrete and glass blocks with deliberately unfinished walls. Music is central to the atmosphere, with hip hop playing throughout the week and DJs appearing on selected nights. The bar will also serve a small menu of snacks developed by the PERRO team on Fridays and Saturdays.

Snake Oil will open on Mondays as well as across the weekend, a deliberate decision by Matt to give people working in hospitality somewhere to go on a day when many venues are closed.

The opening marks the first stage of the project, with plans to develop the remaining space into a small kitchen and restaurant next year.

The post Snake Oil: Intimate new cocktail bar from Perro’s Matt Wilden opens doors appeared first on Birmingham Wire.

The news follows University College Birmingham’s announcement of their £15 million investment and acquisition programme, which included The Cube hotel and restaurant, extensive refurbishment to Restaurant at College of Food and the new restaurant at the UCB campus, Beyond.

Harborne has now been revealed as the location for the next new venue, with Brocks set to take over the former site of Harborne Kitchen on the village’s high street.

An open kitchen and bar will lie at the heart of Brocks, which will have space for 60 guests across a mixture of booths and high-top seating, plus a private dining room, which will be located upstairs on the first floor.

Brocks has been named after Richard Brocklesby, a long-running Chef Lecturer at UCB, who taught Michelin-starred chefs Brad Carter and Liam Dillon, plus social media sensation and TV Chef, Poppy O’Toole.

Richard’s specialism in butchery, including fish skills, formed a key part of students’ education and, serendipitously, pays homage to the history of the new restaurant’s building, which once housed the well-known butchers, Walter Smiths Fine Foods. The Brocks team will be working with local butchers, plus community groups and local schools on themed evenings, when the restaurant opens.

Initially open from Wednesday evening for dinner service, the restaurant will serve lunch and dinner from Thursday to Saturday, and open for lunch only on Sunday.

The seasonal menu will offer a mix of small plates, plus mains and sharing dishes, served alongside an extensive wine list and cocktail menu. Meanwhile, guests in the private dining room will be able to experience feasting menus, served family-style.

UCB alumnus, Matt Nicholls, has been appointed as Head Chef at Brocks. A previous winner of the British Culinary Federation’s Young Chef of the Year (2018) and Competition Chef of the Year (2022) competitions, Nicholls storied career has also included a stint at Michelin-starred restaurant Simpsons in Edgbaston and taking up the role of Head Chef at Michelin Guide-listed Cheal’s, which was located in Knowle.

Liam Roe has been appointed as General Manager, which will mark the second time he joins forces with Head Chef Nicholls, after they first worked together at Cheal’s.

Students from University College Birmingham’s College of Food will also join the team, working across the kitchen, bar and front of house, learning under an experienced team and developing the confidence and skills they need for their future hospitality careers.

Richard Brocklesby, namesake of Brocks and former Chef Lecturer at University College Birmingham, said: “I remember starting at University College Birmingham in 1982 as it was the year that Aston Villa won the European Cup. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of helping students turn promise into ability, right up until I hung up my apron in 2024, and it’s been the best feeling I’ve experienced in my life. When I was told about the naming of Brocks, I was shocked but incredibly honoured and humbled. I’m very much looking forward to visiting and to keep supporting UCB students as they embark on their career.”

Matt Nicholls, Head Chef at Brocks and University College Birmingham alumnus, said: “I’m so excited to be rejoining the University College Birmingham family as the Head Chef of Brocks. Harborne is a vibrant village with lots of incredible restaurants and bars and we’re really looking forward to becoming part of the community. We hope to give local people and visitors another space and some fantastic food and drink to enjoy.

“As a previous student at the College of Food, I hope I’m able to pass down the knowledge and skills I’ve developed since graduating to the current students. I had the pleasure of learning under Chef Lecturer Richard Brocklesby, so it truly is an honour that I can play a part in his lasting legacy at University College Birmingham.”

Keep an eye on the Brocks social media channels for updates.

Image credits: 2G Design & Build / UCB

The post UCB to launch new Harborne neighbourhood restaurant Brocks appeared first on Birmingham Wire.

Discovering Lisel Haas unearths a previously hidden photo archive and reveals how Haas, a refugee from Nazi Germany, rebuilt her life in 1930s Birmingham.

Haas, born in Mönchengladbach in 1898, had already built a successful photographic career in Germany before she was forced to flee in 1938. She settled in Birmingham with her partner, Grete Bermbach, and re-established herself as a photographer in the city, starting her career again in a new country and a new language.

Credit: Photographer unknown (presumably Grete Bermbach or Lisel Haas), Lisel Haas, Date Unknown

On display until Sat 12 Dec, the exhibition is accompanied by a public programme and cataloguing project at the Library of Birmingham.

The exhibition presents selected material from the Haas archive alongside newly commissioned responses from five contemporary artists: Anu Gamanagari, Gibson Kochanek Studio, George Eksts, Laura Chen and Rebecca Orleans, and is accompanied by a published book of essays and written responses to the archive.

Works include Gamanagari’s photographic portraits of three women who have migrated to Birmingham. Each taken within the sitter’s own domestic space, inspired by Haas’ practice. The portraits are presented with fragments of archival documents, hinting at the bureaucratic language through which migrant lives are processed and assessed.

Elsewhere, Chen, a Dutch image maker, writer and musician who lived and studied in Birmingham, combines photographs from her personal archive with text extracts of letters, film negative sleeves and sketches from Lisel’s archive to create a collage that acts as a postcard to her past self. 

Also amongst these responses is Fragments of Lisel Haas, a poem by Simone ‘Word’ Smith, which was performed live at the exhibition launch, and features within the exhibition as a recording.

Credit: George Eksts, Modern Instances, 2026. Credit: Irina Mackie

Haas’ archive, now held at the Library of Birmingham, includes photographs, letters and documents that connect this personal history with Birmingham’s wider cultural life. It also includes her important work with Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where she photographed productions and performers for more than two decades.

A staircase at Birmingham Rep is still lined with Haas’s images, including photographs of major actors associated with the theatre such as Paul Scofield, Albert Finney, Ian Richardson and Derek Jacobi. The project will bring new attention to a visible but often under-recognised part of the theatre’s own history.

Beyond her work at the Rep, Haas ran a portrait studio in Moseley, photographing local families at a time when professional photography, rather than the personal cameras most people take for granted today, was how important occasions and portraits were captured.

The project is being led by Bertz Associates in partnership with the Library of Birmingham, with public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, The National Archives’ Archives Revealed programme and the John Feeney Charitable Trust.

Iris Bertz, of Bertz Associates, said: “Lisel Haas’s archive has been held in Birmingham for many years, but its full story has not been widely known. This project is about bringing that story into view: not only the photographs themselves, but the life behind them, the people she photographed, and the city she made her home.

“Haas was a professional photographer who came to Birmingham at a time of huge upheaval and rebuilt her career here. Her work connects Birmingham to European history, theatre, migration, women’s lives and the hidden stories that sit inside archives until someone opens the box.”

As part of the project, the archive is being formally catalogued for the first time, with photographic artist and archivist Clare Hewitt leading the work, while a blue plaque is planned for Haas’s former home and studio in Moseley, funded by the John Feeney Charitable Trust.

Speaking about the collection, Clare says: “Cataloguing an archive is not simply an administrative process. It is a way of making material visible, searchable and meaningful. With the Lisel Haas archive, we are uncovering a body of work that tells us about a photographer, her subjects and the cultural world she documented.

“The exhibition gives the public a chance to see part of that work, but the wider project is also about understanding what the archive contains and why it matters now.”

Credit: Irina Mackie

Exhibition curator, Jen Wilbur, shares more about compiling the collection: “The story of these two incredibly resilient women is told through the photographs they took and the letters and documents they kept, which now make up the archive held at the Library of Birmingham. The exhibition is curated around the themes that appear in the collection: Lisel and Grete’s personal life, their professional life, photographic processes, and different types of photography. The interpretation of the material has been informed by conversations we’ve had with local community groups, ensuring the contemporary relevance of the project.”

“The Lisel Haas story is remarkable. Haas was a German-Jewish lesbian photographer who, at the age of 40, escaped persecution and was forced to restart her career in a foreign country. The community she found in Birmingham saw her talent and rallied around her. After she passed, the importance of her story was recognised and preserved, but only now is it being remembered.”

Jen will be leading a series of Curator Talks over the coming months for those who want to delve further into the story of Lisel Haas and works on display. You can find all the upcoming dates here.

Discovering Lisel Haas is open now and free to visit at the Library of Birmingham and runs until Sat 12 Dec. You can read more about the project here.

The post Discovering Lisel Haas spotlights pioneering German-Jewish photographer who made Brum home appeared first on Birmingham Wire.

Free to the public and running until May 2027, From Around Here: Creative Responses to the Culture and Community of Birmingham’s Southside presents original work by students from the Department of Fashion and Jewellery at Birmingham City University (BCU).

The vibrant and varied collection is inspired by the area surrounding the Back to Backs – Birmingham’s last surviving example of the “back-to-back” houses. The exhibition features rings, garments, textiles, illustration, photography, digital media, and wallpaper created in response to Southside’s rich identity and evolving culture.

The collaboration between the National Trust and BCU began in 2023 when students first visited the Back to Backs to explore the work of master tailor George Saunders, who arrived in Britain from St Kitts in 1958 as part of the Windrush generation.

In 2024, the project expanded to focus more broadly on Birmingham’s Southside. More than 150 students have since participated, responding to a live heritage brief that encouraged hands-on engagement with local history, people, and place.

Their work reflects a wide range of disciplines, perspectives, and personal experiences, demonstrating how Birmingham’s communities continue to inspire new creative practices. Students also collaborated with local figures, including drag artist, costume maker, and LGBTQ+ cultural icon Twiggy, celebrating the voices and personalities that shape Southside today.

Working in partnership, the Back to Backs and BCU developed a shared colour palette inspired by Southside’s streets, spaces, and communities. Running throughout the display, the palette visually connects the work while reflecting the character and diversity of the area itself.

Louise Martin, Senior Lecturer in Fashion and Textiles at BCU, said: “This project has given students the opportunity to engage directly with Birmingham’s communities, histories, and creative identities in a meaningful and collaborative way.

“From fashion and jewellery to textiles and digital media, the work reflects not only the diversity of Southside itself, but also the creativity and individuality of the students responding to it.”

Sabra Khan, General Manager for the National Trust Back to Backs, said: “We’re very pleased to be hosting this exhibition from the Fashion and Jewellery students at BCU.

“They’re such a talented group of young people and our team has thoroughly enjoyed working with them. It’s been fascinating to see how the local area has inspired their creativity.

“The Back to Backs are so much more than historic buildings. They give us an insight into our social history and how the city evolved into what we know today.

“All of this is reflected in the work of the students in the exhibition. Through working together, we hope the history and stories we share will to inspire the next generation.”

From Around Here: Creative Responses to the Culture and Community of Birmingham’s Southside is open now. Find out more here.

Image credit: BCU

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The British Art Show, which is now in its landmark tenth edition, will tour across the UK, has launched across several Coventry venues.

Developed and produced by Hayward Gallery Touring, which is part of the Southbank Centre, British Art Show has been showcasing the best in contemporary British art since 1979.

Held every five years, it has introduced millions to artists who go on to shape the national and international art scene. Past editions have featured David Hockney, Tracey Emin, Anish Kapoor, and Sonia Boyce.

The major presentation in Coventry will be held across Mead Gallery at Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum and Coventry University, before touring to Swansea, Bristol, Sheffield and Newcastle Gateshead.

Jack O’Brien [Cue the Cue 2025, Kestner-Gesellschaft] Photo by VolkerCrone

Sarah Shalgosky, Principal Curator at the University of Warwick, said: “We’re delighted that Mead Gallery at Warwick Arts Centre will play such a central role in launching British Art Show 10. It’s a fantastic opportunity to connect audiences in Coventry and the wider region with the most exciting contemporary art being made in the UK today. This is a moment of national significance – and we’re thrilled that it begins here at Warwick.”

Titled British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers, this year’s edition is curated by Ekow Eshun, one of the UK’s most influential cultural figures. His past exhibitions include In the Black Fantastic at Hayward Gallery and The Time is Always Now at the National Portrait Gallery. For British Art Show 10, he will bring together artists whose work speaks to the social, political and cultural issues shaping Britain today.

Ekow Eshun, Curator of British Art Show 10, said: “It is a great honour to be appointed curator of the British Art Show, an exhibition that has long played a pivotal role in shaping and reflecting the discourse of contemporary art in the UK. I am thrilled by the opportunity to engage with artists whose practices speak powerfully to our time, and to craft a show that invites reflection, provokes dialogue, and expands the ways we engage with art in Britain today.”

British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers comes to Coventry Fri 2 Oct – Sun 10 Jan. You can find more information here.

Featured image credit: Osman-Yousefzada [When Will We Be Good Enough, The Box, Plymouth] photo by Dom-Moore.

The post West Midlands to host landmark edition of the British Art Show appeared first on Birmingham Wire.

With his raucous new poetry collection, HAVE IT, set for release on Thu 1 Oct, Clarke swings by the Town Hall on Sat 24 Oct.

Last year saw Dr John Cooper Clarke achieve historical feats as he became the first poet to headline a UK arena – the biggest indoor arena in Europe, Manchester’s Co-op Live. The celebrated poet also received the prestigious 2025 Northern Music Award in recognition of his phenomenal influence in the music world

The tour will see Clarke introducing this new body of work alongside his beloved, hilarious and classic fan-favourites.

Book your tickets to Dr John Cooper Clarke at Birmingham Town Hall below.

Featured image credit: Jody Hartley

The post Dr John Cooper Clarke heads to Birmingham Town Hall this month appeared first on Birmingham Wire.

Happening on Thu 29 Oct, the adults-only evening promises a cosmic night of live performances, interactive games and late-night access to the museum’s galleries and exhibitions.

Leading the evening’s fun, renowned Manchester drag artist Anna Phylactic will deliver an electric, eclectic cabaret with live vocals and a Halloween-inspired soundtrack.

Elsewhere, the Robotic Man will be dancing his way around the museum, delivering an unforgettable performance, and guests can take on a giant UFO game and supersized laser obstacle course.

The night includes access to the museum’s latest blockbuster exhibition, Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos, offering plenty of galactic photo opportunities, while Power Up provides the perfect excuse to rediscover childhood favourites, with more than 150 era-spanning consoles available for multiplayer battles and high-score challenges.

The museum’s permanent galleries will also remain open, from the mighty machinery of Power Hall and the Textiles Gallery to the technological stories of Revolution Manchester and the hands-on thrills of Experiment.

Food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be available to purchase throughout the night. Tickets are on sale now, book yours below.

The post Days away: Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum hosts an after-hours special appeared first on Birmingham Wire.