Thousands of fans have been battling with online queues this morning in a bid to sign up to win tickets to The 1975‘s intimate charity gig at Gorilla.
The sign-up page to enter into the prize draw for the chance to win tickets to see the wildly-popular Manchester indie pop rock band live in the intimate setting of one of the city’s best-loved small music venues on Wednesday 1 February finally went live this morning after weeks of waiting.
The charity gig as part of the BRITs Week series was announced last month, with all proceeds set to go straight towards War Child UK.
Given that Gorilla only has capacity for about 550 people, and The 1975 have already sold out two nights at the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena, as well as a night here at the AO Arena next Friday 20 January on their UK tour, the demand for tickets was always going to be high.
But demand ended up shooting through the roof though after the band’s frontman Matty Healy announced the gig way before tickets or other behind-the-scenes processes had taken place – which left Gorilla having to bat away thirsty fans trying to secure their place in the venue before even knowing the process and protocol.
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Some fans on Twitter even went as far as to offering the venue tongue-in-cheek bribes for tickets.
Bribes were coming in the form of meal deals, homemade banana bread, and a cardboard cut-out of Matty Healy, as well as “48p and a Wispa” from a Cadbury superfan – but sadly, none of these were going to cut it, so when the sign-up page for tickets did eventually go live, the band’s loyal fans were preparing for a fight.
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And, as was to be expected, fans found themselves in an online queue with thousands of others this morning.
After the sign-up page for the BRITs Week presale went live this morning, War Child UK took to Twitter to warn fans that its website was “struggling with the traffic” from people hoping to get their names in the prize draw, and Gorilla followed-up by confirming that “thousands” were in the queue,
The venue encouraged people not to lose hope and to stay on the webpage if they’re hoping to get through, while telling people to “be nice to our friends at War Child UK”.
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Both Gorilla and War Child UK also reissued warnings to fans about fake tickets as the sign-up page went live this morning after receiving reports earlier this month that scammers were planning on targeting the sough-after event.
“Just want to repeat what we have said in the past. Please be careful with ticket touts/fake tickets/ people on here trying to scam,” Gorilla said on Twitter this morning.
“We do everything we can as a venue to ensure tickets are sold to fans and stay with fans. Don’t want anyone getting mugged off.”
The venue had previously warned fans “not to buy tickets from anywhere for any show unless advertised directly by us”.
War Child UK also echoed this warning.
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The charity added on Twitter after the sign-up page went live: “We’ve been seeing a few tweets about people selling fake tickets – be careful. The ONLY place tickets will be available is through the ticket link we or Gorilla provide, AND photo ID will be required for entry [so] please don’t fall for a scam.”
Barry Manilow says he’s booked the AO Arena ‘just in case’ the Co-op Live isn’t ready for Manchester gig
Daisy Jackson
Barry Manilow has said he has reserved a spot to perform at the AO Arena in Manchester, on the off-chance that the delays with the new Co-op Live arena continue.
The 80-year-old music legend has said he ‘shares the concerns’ of fans who have questioned whether his show on 19 May will be able to go ahead.
And following the news that several shows are moving to Co-op Live’s rival venue, Barry Manilow has said he is ready to do the same.
In a lengthy statement shared by his husband and manager Garry Kief, Barry assured his fans that he ‘already has a backup plan’ should the arena remain delayed.
Co-op Live’s official opening date has crept further and further back in recent weeks, with OVG boss Tim Leiweke saying in a statement last night that they were taking ‘a short pause’ to make things right.
Shows that have been effected by the delay so far have included Take That (moved to AO Arena), A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (ditto), Keane (postponed), Olivia Rodrigo (also postponed), Peter Kay (rescheduled) and The Black Keys (rescheduled).
In the statement shared to Barry Manilow’s social media, he and Garry said: “Dear Friends…… Many of you have expressed your concerns about the ongoing status of the new Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. We share your concerns.
“Contrary to some opinions, however, we don’t have any double secret inside information on the condition of the building.
“We do know that our brilliant co-promoter, Danny Betesh at Kennedy Street Enterprises. already has a back up plan and just in case, has reserved the same night….MAY 19th at Manchester’s AO Arena.
“We also know that we limited capacity to 12,500 guests. That means that even if we have to move, there will plenty of room for everybody.
“Right now, that’s a big IF. And we don’t know.
“We promise that we will let you know as soon as we know IF we have to move the concert from Co-op Live to AO Arena. Like you, we would love to have this resolved sooner than later.
“In the meantime, thank you for your patience and understanding while everyone works together to sort this out.
“Barry and all of us are looking forward to seeing you all onMay 19th. Until then…..all best, Garry.”
Liam Gallagher says he’ll ‘gig in Lidl’ if Co-op Live still isn’t ready – and they sound pretty game for it
Danny Jones
Following the ongoing palaver with Co-op Live, Liam Gallagher has joked that he’d happily play his scheduled gigs in a Lidl if the arena still isn’t ready – at least we think he’s joking…
With Liam Gallagher having been named as one of the first acts booked to play Co-op Live last year, many are now wondering whether the venue will even by June, with the former Oasis frontman set to play four Definitely Maybe 30th-anniversary sets. That being said, he’s come up with a solution if not.
Vintage LG, we’ll give him that.
Obviously a bit of a tongue-in-cheek quip at the venue being sponsored by a supermarket and convenience store chain, it could have been any other competitor that the ever-witty youngest Gallagher brother picked but it somehow made it extra funny that he chose a budget brand like Lidl.
However, with the 51-year-old already having fun with stunts like voicing the tannoys on the Metrolink last year, for instance, we wouldn’t put it past him to take this joke a little further.
Better still, not that we’re getting carried away or anything but Lidl themselves seem pretty keen on the idea too; they even spent the time to build an entire setlist for the fictional show. Fair play.
Can you imagine? Liam Gallagher swapping the occasional tambourine shake for beeps from a barcode scanner as he moves back and forth on the conveyor belt. We know it’s absolute nonsense and we definitely shouldn’t be even remotely considering it… BUT it’s the stuff of dreams and strange things have happened.
A lot of stranger things have happened this week alone. As for the latest with Co-op Live, the Chairman and CEO of key-backers Oak View Group, Tim Leiweke, issued a full statement sharing his “sincere apologies”and insisting that they understand “there is work to be done to rebuild your trust in us.”
With the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Peter Kay, The Black Keys and more having their gigs pulled by the venue due to numerous issues, including an air conditioning unit falling from the ceiling, fans are understandably fearful that other upcoming events could face delays or general misfortune.
Much like the venue itself, we imagine we’ll be playing catch-up on this whole saga for the foreseeable, but here’s a recap of the story so far: