Marking its second incarnation, Homobloc will form once again to bring its legendary gay utopia to Mayfield Depot this November.
It’s a big moment for the organisers, who also run Manchester club night Homoelectric, having spent the past year (and then some) unable to host an events due to covid restrictions.
First born in lesbian nightclub Follies 23 years ago, today Homoelectric ight has a huge cult following: having spent the past two decades throwing some of the most hedonistic, wild and extravagant dances going in the city.
Homobloc
2019 saw the collective host their first-ever sell-out music festival at 10,000 capacity venue Mayfield Depot – a night, it was firmly agreed by all who attended, that shone more brightly than any other on 2019’s Warehouse Project calendar.
Now, they’ve back for another session – and the date is set for Saturday, 6th November.
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“No words can say how excited we are. Finally we’re coming home,” said the team in a statement.
The line-up is still currently being kept under wraps, but today organisers have teased out their first launch video.
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Homobloc
Backed by a soundtrack of Moby’s Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad, it depicts digital creator Aaron James as a solitary raver steadfastly making their way to the dance – slowly stripping off their red and black checkered coat to reveal a sheer thong bodysuit underneath that reads “j’adore hardcore’ as they pass fellow Homobloc ravers, like Luke Unabomber and Meme Gold.
It’s certainly got us excited for the night itself.
Tickets go on sale this Friday 18th June at 10am, initially to the Homoelectric family and those who attended the inaugural Homobloc show in 2019 before being opened up to the general public.
For more information, head to the Homobloc website here.
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Catfish and the Bottlemen at Heaton Park, Manchester – support acts, stage times and more
Danny Jones
One of the most momentous live music weekends in Manchester is fast approaching, as even before Parklife 2025 gets underway, we must first prepare to welcome Catfish and the Bottlemen.
The Welsh indie rock band remains one of Britain’s biggest and best contemporary exports, even with a fairly substantial hiatus; the proof is in the pudding too, with their huge Heaton Park headline gig selling out and the fandom not fading even one iota in the time between their last album and now.
Are there tickets left for Catfish at Heaton Park?
We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but unsurprisingly, Catfish’s Heaton Park – their first Manchester headline gig in many years – sold out very quickly.
On the other hand, you’ll be glad to hear that there are some official resale tickets and VIP packages listed on Ticketmaster.
You can grab your tickets HERE and, of course, you can always keep your eye out for spares on trusted resellers like Twickets and TwicketSwap. Proceed with caution, though, and don’t risk getting stung.
Support acts
Now, for those who don’t know who is supporting Catfish and the Bottlemen at Heaton Park, you’re in for an absolute treat, because this is a great little lineup that includes a much-loved Manchester band.
As well as a set from London-based DJ and producer Katie Owen to kick off the day, local legends and fellow indie rock favourites James are the main warm-up act.
In terms of when you can expect the action to get underway, Katie Owen is expected to get underway right from doors at 5pm until approximately 7:05pm; there will then be a roughly 25-minute interval before James take to the stage at 7:30pm.
Following a slightly longer break in play, the main event kicks into gear at 9pm, with Catfish expected to play a roughly 1h30m set.
Curfew is at 11pm, so you can expect people to start filing out of the park promptly after the end of the show. We’d also urge attendees to arrive nice and early and get in the queue from 4:30pm.
Setlist
Now, while the setlist obviously hasn’t been confirmed yet (that would spoil the fun now, wouldn’t it?), for the more impatient among you who are trying to figure out what the boys might play, you can check out the most recent running order of tracks from their comeback at Reading Festival last year on Setlist.fm.
It looks a little something like this:
Intro: ‘Aint That a Kick in the Head’ (Dean Martin song) and ‘Helter Skelter’ (The Beatles song)
Longshot
Kathleen
Cocoon
Soundcheck
Pacifier
Twice
Fallout (‘Bartender and the Thief’ snippet in outro)
2all
Rango
Outside
Fluctuate
7 (Extended outro)
Cocoon
Who knows what the encore will be at this point, but one thing we will see is that the above setlist will surely include their most recent song ‘Showtime’ as well as persistent die-hard fan favourite ‘ASA’, which was recently released as a single at long last – maybe a bit of ‘Glasgow’ and ‘Hourglass’ too.
To be fair, we’d be happy with just about any of their tracks.
Last but not least, if you’ve never been to the massive green space before, your best bet is to travel via tram or other Bee Network public transport. Metrolink services will be running direct from Victoria to the venue during the day, and thankfully, it’s just a case of getting off at the Heaton Park tram stop itself.
From there, you can enter the event site via the North Gate; after the party is over, the Bowker Vale tram stop located near the East Gate is your quickest exit. Please also be mindful that Heaton Park station will also be closed from 9pm due to help with congestion and safety reasons.
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Otherwise, the usual Big Green Coaches will also be running from the city centre, which can be booked in advance, and taxis home will be available from Blackley New Road and along Bury Old Road.
And that should be just all the important key information you need to know ahead of what is sure to be a memorable night. Touch wood and keep everything crossed, folks…
James’ Tim Booth is the ‘only person in Britain insured to crowd surf’ – here’s the story behind it
Danny Jones
Legendary Greater Mancunians James are currently back out on the road and delighting fans as per, especially with their ever-energetic lead singer, Tim Booth, doing his thingboth up on stage and out in the audience too.
But did you know that Bradford-born Booth claims to be the only person who is actually insured to crowd surf in the entire UK?
Well, neither did we until this week.
Playing another pair of massive shows at Halifax’s unbelievable amphitheatre, The Piece Hall, following their two sell-out shows at the amphitheatre back in 2023, the Yorkshireman spoke to Chris Hawkins about how the whole thing came about – and how he earned himself this unique title.
You heard it here 👀
@wearejames 's Tim Booth is the only person in Britain insured to crowd surf 🏄♂️⚡
Joined by bandmate and founding member Jim Glennie for a lengthy interview, Booth was asked just how “high-risk” his infamous crowdsurfing is these days, explaining that although he does “choose [his] moments, there’s little more thinking that goes into it than making sure they don’t have their phones up.
Not because of filming concerns or anything like that, mind you, simply because catching him one-handed wouldn’t be safe enough.
The BBC Radio 6 DJ and presenter then asked if being “insured to crowd surf” is a possibility, at which point he singer-songwriter and actor revealed, “I’m the only person in Britain insured to crowd surf.”
While we’re sure some international acts take out some kind of policy to protect themselves when interacting with the crowd, the liability usually falls on the venue – unless you’re Tim Booth, apparently.
Hence why he can do stuff like without almost any hesitation:
As you can see, the frenetic frontman is still jumping up and down as he always has; even at 65 years old, he’s not afraid to get amongst it and bring their party vibes to their gigs.
He goes on to add that despite a company threatening to remove that particular clause around five years ago, he said that after seeing some of his performance in person, they joked that it was more like the crowd was merely ‘passing him around.’
When we spoke to bassist Jim ourselves earlier this year, he said of his long-time friend: “He’s not as young as he used to be, none of us are, but it’s what he does and he loves it – we’re still amazed by his energy to this day.”
You only have to look at his antics over the years for it to click that interacting with the crowd in this way is something he’s always done, and given his special and seemingly unprecedented protection, we imagine he won’t stop until his body physically won’t let him.
Tim Booth crowd surfing at Athen’s Ejekt Festival back in 2016.…and at Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia just last year.Christos Gaifyllias/Jim Powers (screenshots via YouTube)
In terms of all-out performers who leave everything up there on the stage, Booth may just be up there with one of the most underrated this country has ever produced.
And we’re not just saying that because he’s a Northerner and Manc adoptee, though the group’s much-loved local status does grant them bonus points.
We certainly enjoyed seeing them at Neighbourhood Weekender this year and, much like Tim himself, we have no intention of sitting down to see a James gig.
Georgina Pellant -
17th June 2021 
