Glastonbury has drawn to a close for another year.
As thousands of festivalgoers woke up bleary-eyed today after three days of eclectic shows, and with the usual massive clean-up operation now underway down at Worthy Farm, viewers and critics have been reflecting back on what was another successful year for the UK’s – and probably the world’s – biggest music event.
And by the looks of things, it seems one local star has stolen the show.
We are, of course, talking about none other than Rick Astley – who is now no longer a self-professed “Glastonbury virgin” after taking to the world famous Pyramid Stage on Saturday for one of the festival’s most talked-about sets.
It may have been 36 years since the iconic singer-songwriter from Newton-le-Willows first shot to fame with his massively-popular 1987 hit song ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, but Rick Astley is arguably a more prominent force in popular culture now than he ever has been before.
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Over the past couple of years, the 57-year-old has been amassing new fans left, right, and centre, and has even claimed the strongest run of album chart positions of his entire career.
Fans will know that Astley had already teamed up with Blossoms to perform a selection of their favourite The Smiths songs back in 2021, and it went down so well the first time, that the Stockport indie rockers decided to bring Astley up on stage with them again for a surprise set to entertain the Glastonbury masses with some of the iconic Manchester band’s most well-known songs.
Taking over from Morrissey on vocals, Rick belted out some of the classics from The Smiths’ back catalogue – including ‘This Charming Man’, ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’, and ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’ – with the Stockport lads doing a brilliant job of providing the instrumentation.
But still, that’s arguably not what Astley’s Glastonbury debut year will be remembered for the most.
As it was his unexpected drums cover of AC/DC’s iconic 1979 classic ‘Highway to Hell’ that’s got viewers branding it one of the festival’s best moments.
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As Astley took to the Pyramid Stage for his highly-anticipated Saturday slot, the enthusiastic showman had the expansive crowd in the palm of his hands and appeared to win everyone over with his impressive vocals – but it was when he took a seat behind the drum kit for the penultimate song on his setlist that he won over even his harshest critics.
And they weren’t the only one to take to Twitter to sing Astley’s praises, as social media was flooded with viewers complementing his unexpectedly good drumming talents, and his set as a whole.
“I didn’t know how much I needed to see Rick Astley crushing AC/DC’s Highway to Hell on the drums at Glastonbury,” another fan wrote on Twitter.
Someone else even called Astley “the human equivalent of flare jeans” as both are “making a comeback in 2023”, while another person called the cover a “legendary performance”, and more fans called to “Protect Rick Astley at all costs.”
One fan wrote on Twitter in praise: “Watching him play every instrument in every genre while covering vocals without mimicking the original singer like a single trick cover band singer is really quite something.
“Rick has been one of the pleasant surprises of Glastonbury,” another fan summed it up best, adding that he’s “a proper ray of sunshine.”
Featured Image – BBC
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James Morrison is BACK with new music and coming to a beautiful Manchester venue
Danny Jones
Noughties favourite James Morrison is back with his first new album in six years and is putting on a small handful of special shows in a select few cities to celebrate, with Manchester being one of them, and tickets are going on sale next week.
With five records to his name over the course of a career spanning more than 20 years, it may have been a while since we’ve heard his instantly recognisable and raspy vocals, but he’s making his return later this year with his sixth studio LP and this limited run of live performances.
The Rugby-born singer-songwriter, acoustic guitarist and one-time regular in the pop charts enjoyed a successful period in the 2000s, even collaborating with the likes of Nelly Furtado, Demi Lovato, Olly Murs, Kelly Clarkson and more.
Having just announced his latest project, Fight Another Day, which is scheduled for release this autumn, we’re looking forward to seeing him not just back on stage but at a truly beloved and beautiful Manc music space.
My new album ‘Fight Another Day’ is out 03/10/25, and I’ll be going on tour this September. Pre-order the album here https://t.co/1ycLwUTETo to get early access to tickets, with pre-sale starting 10am on 04/06/25. I hope you enjoy 'Fight Another Day', my first single, out today pic.twitter.com/Ud6YKziGXd
Morrison, now 40, said of his latest music: “When I leaned into how I was feeling, that’s when the songs started coming. I started writing about what I was going through. My own struggles with myself. Every day being a bit of a battle. Trying to eke the light out after what felt like darkness for ages.
“I’m really proud of the album in terms of the creative, sonic elements and how I dealt with truthful stuff. But also it’s an album of songs that hopefully make you feel better and make you nod your head and stamp your feet and singalong.”
“It just sums up what the record is. It’s about reminding yourself what’s good. About convincing yourself you’ve got enough strength to keep the fight going”, he went on to add.
Having helped co-produce the entire thing with the likes of two-time Ivor Novello winner, Eg White; Daniel Merriweather, Connor Reeves and Andy Platt (Young Gun Silver Fox), fingers crossed it’s everything fans are hoping for.
As for the gig venue itself, the ‘Broken Strings’ and ‘You Give Me Something’ singer will be coming to Manchester’s grand Bridgewater Hall in September.
A historic and truly iconic place. (Credit: The Manc Group)
With just three other shows confirmed – Birmingham, Symphony Hall on 23 September, Glasgow, SEC Armadillo (24 Sep) and a night at the London Paladium (28 Sep) – Manchester can count itself lucky to have been chosen for these intimate evenings.
As for the album itself, Fight Another Day is due to drop on 3 October and is available for pre-save/pre-order right now; those who do so will gain access to the pre-sale window, which opens at will open at 10am next Wednesday, 4 June.
General admission to see James Morrison in Manchester city centre goes live at the same time on the following Friday (6 June); you can get ready to grab your tickets HERE.
Meanwhile, for those unaware of the venue itself, find out more down below.
A brand new grunge and hard rock festival is kicking off in Manchester
Danny Jones
Manchester grungers, hardcore heads, and fans of all things rock, pay attention because there is a brand new festival coming to the city centre – and it has possibly the best name for a live music event we’ve heard in some time.
Ahem… let us introduce you to Broken Knees Fest.
Yes, donning a name that feels increasingly more relatable the closer we get to the wrong side of 30, Broken Knees Festival 2025 marks the inaugural edition of Manchester’s newest series of rock and grunge gigs, helping spotlight rising artists across the genres from within two crucial grassroots venues.
Very loud music inside tightly-packed, small-capacity rooms? It’s a winning formula that never fails. It’s about time we broke a sweat – here’s hoping the knees just about hold out.
Hosted in the heart of the Northern Quarter, which continues to thrive as a creative hub for new music and art of all forms, the festival will be debuting at small-cap favourites Gullivers and Castle Hotel just across the road.
As you can see, the lineup is full of up-and-coming talent within the guitar-driven space, but you can bank on more than a few bringing their die-hard fans to fill the place out to the rafters.
It doesn’t matter if you prefer punk, hardcore, grunge or another specific sub-genre found somewhere in between the ever-sprawling rock spectrum, there’s something to suit all alternative tastes at this one.
With the likes of Bohmen, Mavis, One Dimensional Creatures and Smother headlining the first-ever iteration of the festival across four stages, you can expect plenty of energy and even more noise.
Set up by the events group of the same name, Broken Knees Promotions, who help platform rock and alt acts across Greater Manchester and beyond year-round, this is more than just a festival: it’s a grassroots celebration through and through.
Best of all, if you’re interested, you don’t have to wait long because it’s kicking off next month.
Gigs go off in here. If you know, you know… (Credit: Audio North)
Broken Knees Fest 2025 is happening on the weekend of 21-22 June, and you’ll be glad to hear that, as a brand new event, prices have been kept nice and low.
The early bird window had prices starting from just £12, and although this tier has now sold out, day tickets are still only £15 while a full weekend pass will set you back £25.
Until then, why not dive into another load of new Manchester music? We round up artists from all genres each month; we’ll also confess to leaning slightly more towards the heavier stuff from time to time.
Emily Sergeant -
26th June 2023 
