Free condoms, the Manchester supergroup and the nutty professor: Friday 4 January

FREE CONDOMS are to be given to children aged 15 and above across Manchester. The scheme has been set up by Manchester City Council in a bid to reduce the high teenage pregnancy rates in the city. Teenagers will be able to visit the ‘young person friendly’ centres, which may also include schools, to undergo an interview to see if they’re entitled to the free contraception.

LIAM GALLAGHER is to front a Manchester supergroup. He will be joined by former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown, former Smiths star Andy Rourke, New Order's Peter Hook and Primal Scream's Gary 'Mani' Mounfield for the Manchester Versus Cancer charity concert on February 23. The show at Manchester’s MEN is expected to be one of the musical events of the year.

A MUSIC PROFFESOR from the University of Manchester has completed a 10 year quest to publish what he believes to be a definitive version of Beethoven’s 35 sonatas. Barry Cooper has spent the last decade putting together the works which he believes are a reproduction of what Beethoven wrote and what he meant to write. The revised manuscripts include a 150,000 word commentary.

SVEN-GORAN ERIKKSON is keeping schtum over January transfer window speculation. He told mcfc.co.uk: “We have been in touch with a lot of agents and from this week you can also speak to players. I don’t want to make any comments, but we have three or four options, we will not take four players – maybe one more after Castillo – maybe two.”