Known for their bass-centric events, Hit & Run has been serving Manchester with the heaviest and filthiest beats for the past 13 years.
Now, with the reputation of being the most well-respected drum and bass promotors in the city, they’ve come up with a new way to continue their legacy – Hit & Run TV.
When it was revealed we could no longer get sweaty together on the dancefloor, Hit & Run’s boss Rich Reason turned to livestreaming, like much of the industry during lockdown.
For the past few months his team has been working on setting up a Twitch channel to continue supplying us with our drum and bass fix.
But just as they were finding their feet, Twitch told them the rules were changing. Now streaming music on the platform isn’t so straightforward.
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Copyright is a big concern with using people’s music on streams and videos. Often, popular sites take down content they deem to be a potential breach.
So, all this got Rich thinking: even though DJs have been streaming sets and keeping the scene alive since Lockdown One, the social media platforms are the ones reaping revenue from the stream’s advertising.
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The team have taken matters into their own hands to remove the middleman. So, they’ve set up their own website, bought a PRS license and booked a load of acts.
And tonight, they launch Hit & Run TV.
With the license, DJs can play the music they want, without the risk of being muted or the stream being pulled down. Every song that’s played is logged this way, meaning artists receive their share too. There’ll be no annoying ads half-way through either. The rave can go on uninterrupted and uncensored. At last!
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Each stream will come live and direct from the Neuron Pro stage and is completely free to watch for one week. After that, a £3 a month subscription will grant you unlimited access to previous streams from the Hit & Run TV library, whenever you like.
Also, there’ll be a monthly draw for subscribers to win a pass to all Hit & Run events for a full year.
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The team reckon they could be the first ones to give this format a go. We can’t wait to see what they do with it.
The first one is tonight. So, if you need a rave, get involved here.
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Pussycat Dolls cancel wave of tour dates due to poor ticket sales
Daisy Jackson
Pussycat Dolls have finally addressed the swirling rumours that they would be cancelling their upcoming PCD Forever world tour.
The girl group announced a major comeback as a trio – Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts – and their biggest international run in years.
The new Pussycat Dolls tour included a significant run of shows in Europe, including a Manchester date at Co-op Live.
But now it appears the rumours of low demand are true, and the group are cancelling an entire leg of their world tour – though thankfully, Manchester appears to have made it through safely.
In an open letter shared with fans, Pussycat Dolls said that they have had to take ‘an honest look’ at the tour and have made ‘the difficult and heartbreaking decision’ to cancel a number of concerts.
The Buttons singers will now play just one of their scheduled dates in North America, which will be the WeHo Pride event in LA, acknowledging the importance of performing at the LGBTQ+ celebration.
Addressing rumours that European dates would also be cancelled, they wrote: “Our UK and European dates are still moving forward as planned, and the response has been incredible, with several shows already sold out.
“We are putting everything into making this show a true celebration of the music and the memories, for the fans who have been with us from the beginning and those discovering us for the first time.
“We’re working hard to create the kind of show we’ve always dreamed of bringing to you. We cannot wait to bring this reunion to Europe and make these nights unforgettable.”
Pussycat Dolls signed off: “Thank you for your love, patience, and support.”
Five Finger Death Punch announce massive anniversary show in Manchester
Danny Jones
Five Finger Death Punch have announced a massive Manchester gig as part of their newly announced 20th anniversary tour.
Still one of our favourite unapologetic band names ever.
The heavy metal outfit is celebrating two whole decades of smashing you in the face with their hard riffs and aggressive vocals, and they’re bringing some other big hitters on the road with them.
Booking Manchester city centre’s AO Arena for the big birthday bash, this is going to be one hard-as-nails show.
Toasting the milestone at the start of 2027, the long-standing Las Vegas outfit will be coming to Manchester for the first time in the best part of a decade.
‘FFDP’, as they’re often abbreviated to, have played several substantial shows here over the years, including arena slots, but fans have had to wait a long time to see them return.
With a new album coming at some point this year – this being their 10th studio LP – we might not have a release date just yet, but you can guarantee die-hards will be snapping up tickets to hear their latest tracks live whenever it does finally drop.
Better still for metalheads, they’ve got not one but TWO popular contemporaries joining them across their extensive EU, UK and IE tour.
In addition to support from Scotland’s very own Bleed From Within, they’ve also got fellow veterans Lamb Of God as another one of their ‘warm-up’ acts.
Yeah, right… This place will be absolutely bouncing by the time the main event makes it to the stage.
Having just dropped their 10th record this year, too, the two heavyweights have plenty of parallels in their increasingly seasoned and successful careers; you could say they’re the perfect touring partners.
Speaking of which, you can see the full list of Five Finger Death Punch dates on the UK leg of their European tour run down below.
Five Finger Death Punch UK show – 2026 tour
16 Jan 2027 – Manchester, AO Arena
17 Jan 2027 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro Arena
19 Jan 2027 – Dublin, 3Arena
22 Jan 2027 – Birmingham, BP Pulse Arena
23 Jan 2027 – London, O2 Arena
As always with the AO, you can enjoy early access if you’re a Three Mobile member, and the band’s official pre-sale will be available via their mailing list from 10am this Wednesday (6 May).
For those simply looking to grab general admission, you can get ready to grab your tickets to see Five Finger Death Punch live in Manchester on from the same time on Friday, 8 May, right HERE.
Hannah Starkie -
20th January 2021 
