On Saturday, 8 July, one of the biggest names at the box office and on the music scene arrives in Manchester as actor Johnny Depp and his supergroup, Hollywood Vampires, continue their UK tour.
And not without controversy, of course, as the Hollywood superstar himself is gradually returning to the spotlight following his long-running and high-profile court case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Forming Hollywood Vampires in 2012 alongside rock legends Alice Cooper and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, the bad are undoubtedly bigger now than they have ever been and having kicked off the UK leg of their tour earlier this week in Scarborough, it’s time for the Mancs to show them what a real crowd looks like.
Are there tickets left to see Hollywood Vampires in Manchester?
If you’re a Hollywood Vampires fan or simply just a Johnny Depp stan (we know there are a lot of you out there) and you’re hoping to grab yourself a last-minute ticket, you’re in luck, as there are still a fair few seats available.
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While all the standing spaces have sold out, the AO Arena still has room in five different sections around the venue ranging from between £45 and £56.50 without fees — though they are all in the very top tiers.
Nevertheless, if you want to grab a ticket, you can grab yours HERE and if you’re looking for a spare in a prime location, you can always keep your eye on resale sites but, as always, proceed with caution and only ever buy from trusted sites.
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Support acts
You only have one support act to warm you up for Hollywood Vampires’ Manchester gig, but boy aren’t you lucky with who you’re getting: San Francisco cult heroes, The Tubes.
Hitting their heights of popularity in the 1970s and 80s, they were never the biggest band and (in this author’s case) we only know of them because of our parents’ exquisite music taste, but they had some serious bangers in their time — Depp and co. certainly seem to think so too.
Contemporaries, former bandmates and friends of Alice Cooper himself, many of the original members may have passed away, but The Tubes are still playing to this day and we’d be happy to see them for this absolute bop alone.
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Hollywood Vampires’ AO Arena stage times
It’s gonna be a pretty straightforward affair this weekend: doors to the venue open at around 6pm and the music itself with be starting from 7:30pm as rock veterans The Tubes take the stage.
Looking set for around an hour-long set followed by a half-hour break, you can expect the main event to start around 9pm, with the Hollywood Vampires playing until the usual 11pm ballpark curfew.
Then again, they are vampires so maybe they’ll stay up all night.
Predicted setlist
As mentioned, Hollywood Vampires kicked off their latest run of shows in Scarborough earlier this week and played Swansea on Friday, so we have a pretty good idea of what they’re going to be playing for the Manchester audience.
According to Setlist.fm, with a mix of originals and covers of rock classics, here’s your best guess:
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I Want My Now
Raise the Dead
I’m Eighteen (Alice Cooper cover)
Five to One / Break On Through (The Doors cover)
The Boogieman Surprise
My Dead Drunk Friends
You Can’t Put Your Arms Round a Memory(Johnny Thunders cover)
Baba O’Riley (The Who cover)
Who’s Laughing Now
People Who Died (The Jim Carroll Band cover)
The Jack (AC/DC cover)
As Bad as I Am
Heroes (David Bowie cover)
Jeff Beck Tribute
Bright Light Fright (Aerosmith cover)
The Death and Resurrection Show (Killing Joke cover)
Walk This Way (Aerosmith cover)
The Train Kept A-Rollin’ (Tiny Bradshaw cover)
Encore:
School’s Out (Alice Cooper cover)
What a way to finish and with so many recognisable music names touring with them as Tommy Henriksen of Warlock, drumming veteran Glen Sobel, as well as Chris Wyse who has played with the likes of The Cult and Ozzy Osbourne, you’re in for a treat. Who knows, you may even get a guest appearance…
Depp spent much of last year playing with both the Vampires and Jeff Beck, so he’s grown more than accustomed to British crowds — let’s not forget he lives here now.
We’re already looking forward to seeing people inevitably bumping into Captain Jack, The Mad Hatter, Willy Wonka or whatever character you choose to associate him with at some random pub in town like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
God, it’s been a big few days of Manchester gigs, hasn’t it?!
The Pussycat Dolls announce major comeback with huge global arena tour
Daisy Jackson
Global pop icons The Pussycat Dolls have announced a major global tour, with 50+ shows across Europe and North America.
The pop icons will be performing a massive show here in Manchester as part of the tour, which kicks off this summer.
The Pussycat Dolls have been teasing their return this week, plastering hints on venues across the UK – including the Co-op Live, which displayed a pink digital ad reading ‘Don’t cha wish you knew who we’re announcing tomorrow??’
The multi-platinum pop supergroup will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut record, PCD. They’ll be supported on the European leg of the tour, which will bring them to the UK in September and October, by Lil’ Kim.
The PCD Forever tour will span a whopping 53 dates, where they’ll perform their chart-topping hits including the 5x platinum Buttons, plus Don’t Cha, and Stickwitu.
The Pussycat Dolls were pop heavyweights in the 2000s, known for their electrifying choreography and live performances.
The Pussycat Dolls have announced a major global tour with a Manchester date. Credit: Rankin
Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts will be back together once again this year for what will be their biggest international run in years.
They’ll be releasing a new song for the first time since 2019 – Club Song is produced by Mike Sabbath (RAYE, Jade) and written by Nicole Scherzinger with Sabbath, Caroline Ailin (Dua Lipa) and Solly (Teddy Swims).
General tickets will go on sale from 10am on Friday 20 March, but fans can sign up for pre-sale at pcdforever.com by Monday to access tickets early.
Country 2 Country music festival is coming to Manchester next year
Danny Jones
Hold on to your cowboy hats, country fans: the smash-hit Country 2 Country music festival is coming to Manchester.
The massive live music festival specialising in all things country, folk, bluegrass, Americana and more has slowly been expanding its presence across the UK and Ireland over the last decade or so.
Starting in London at the O2 Arena, before hitting the Emerald Isle in 2015 and debuting in Scotland just three years later, it has seen some of the biggest acts from the world of country music cross the Atlantic to show off the Stateside genre, plus plenty from around the globe already immersed in the culture.
We’ll confess, even prior to the official announcement, we had a feeling this was coming when we spotted these posters dotted about in town:
Like so many of those buzzing in the comments, we cannot wait for this to come around.
With this year’s respective events taking place simultaenously place over the coming weekend, Friday, 13 to Sunday, 15 March, it’s fair to say they’ve timed the news perfectly.
Everyone from established names such as Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, to up-and-coming bands as well as fast-rising artists working in and around the genre, like Nate Smith, Lainey Wilson and, of course, the now well and truly massive Luke Combs.
For instance, the likes of Keith Urban, Noah Rinker, Alana Springsteen – no relation – Zach Top and many, MANY more, are playing across London, the OVO Hydro in Glasgow and Belfast’s SSE Arena for the 12th edition of the now annual celebration.
Set to arrive in our city centre for the very first time, Country 2 Country (C2C) will be making its Manc debut at none other than the legendary AO Arena, where so many of the biggest names and current generation of stars alike have played.
You only have to look at recent examples like Darius Rucker last year and the ever-growing Tyler Childers, helping kick off this season of country gigs here in Manchester.
Meanwhile, as you can see for Country 2 Country music fest’s Manchester debut, it’s coming in March 2027, and they’ll be teaming up with other local gig venues and bars to turn 0161 into a little slice of Broadway – we just hope we get a bit of Austin weather to boot.
It’s fair to say that this particular part of the music industry is definitely enjoying a big boom right now, with lots of different acts dipping their toes into the bayou, if you will.
However, C2C have been flying the flag for country music over here for ages now, and with it being hailed as remaining “one of the UK’s most spectacular annual festivals” by the likes of The Express and countless, among countless other reviews, we think it’s time you give it a go.
Better still, let’s show everyone that we can do it even better up North, and here in what everyone knows is Britain’s real musical home: Greater Manchester.
Tickets will be available from 10am next Friday, 20 March, and you can sign up to get early bird pre-sale access right HERE.
Credit: Niko Moon/Luke Dyson Photography (supplied)
Danny Jones -
7th July 2023 
