Much-loved Manc musician Liam Fray is helping give away a signed guitar to help raise money for charity and you can get your hands on it.
The best bit is that everyone has a chance of winning because rather than auctioning it off to the highest bidder, Fray and the organisers have made it part of a prize draw where simply donate to the cause in order to enter and you can pay just a fiver for five entries.
Mint.
Signed by The Courteeners frontman himself, the one-of-a-kind instrument is a Fender Acoustic guitar with a Dreadnought body and is adorned in a captivating black and sunburst finish, with a mahogany neck, back and sides, coupled with a natural walnut bridge. In a word, it’s gorgeous.
Liam signing the Fender Dreadnought.‘Lots of love, Liam Fray x’You can win the autographed Liam Fray guitar by simply entering the charity prize draw. (Credit: Supplied)
The purpose behind the prize draw fundraiser is to raise vital funds for Sandiway Primary School down the road in the Cheshire market town of Northwich.
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With Fray being a close friend of a parent at the school and from nearby Middleton, he didn’t hesitate to help out and was quickly put in touch with the Sandiway Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and offered to sign the beautiful guitar.
The money raised from the charity prize draw will go towards helping the school acquire essential equipment and experiences for their children: a brilliant cause that’s well worth getting involved with, especially when you can donate however much you want and all stand an equal chance of winning.
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Autographed memorabilia like this usually goes for thousands and thousands of pounds and the crowdfunding page has already reached over £1,000 in donations through prize draw tickets, and that’s only with around 100 people having entered — imagine how much we can raise if we get more involved.
There is a minimum entry prize of £5 per ticket but, as mentioned, you pledge however much you want beyond that and for those strapped for cash, you can ever enter for free by sending a letter or a postcard to the school itself.
You can enter the auction to win the signed Liam Fray guitar and see full terms and conditions for the competition HERE. The prize draw ends at 6pm on 17 March and the winner will be revealed on Sandiway Primary’s Facebook and Instagram the following day.
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Big up to Liam, Sandiway and everyone involved in setting up this worthy fundraiser; we always love coming across stories like this and it’s yet another example of music culture bringing us all closer together.
Best of luck to everyone who enters and let’s raise some decent numbers for this North West school, shall we?
Featured Images — Supplied/Sandiway Primary School
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Salford Pride’s popular Pink Picnic returns this summer with ‘iconic’ headliners
Emily Sergeant
Boney M, The Cheeky Girls, and Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK stars are all on the lineup at Salford Pride’s popular Pink Picnic this summer.
As this summer marks 15 years of Pride in Salford, Salford Pride has announced a whole host of exciting events to celebrate – including the return of The Pink Picnic, its biggest family-friendly celebration yet, with headliners like 90s and 00s music icons, community talent, and even a ‘bigger and bolder’ Youth Zone for 2026.
Returning to Peel Park once again, The Pink Picnic brings together LGBTQ+ community, allies, families and friends for a day built around community, joy, and belonging.
For 2026, Salford Pride is expanding the experience further with even more to do across the park than ever before.
The Pink Picnic has been part of Salford’s Pride story since 2011, but this year’s 15th anniversary addition is set to be one for the history books, as alongside a headline lineup featuring Boney M, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s Kyran Thrax and Paige Three, The Cheeky Girls, Big Brovaz, Booty Luv, and Baby D, a strong programme of community acts will also be spotlighted.
Some of the exceptional community acts already named on the lineup so far include Tallulah Guard, Fear of Marko, and John Tucker.
Across the day, visitors can also shop from dozens of community stalls and market traders, take part in or watch the much-loved annual dog show, and visit the ‘bigger and bolder’ Youth Zone that’s designed to help young people feel seen and celebrated.
“Celebrating 15 years of Pride in Salford feels really special, and we wanted 2026 to feel like a proper thank you to the community that’s built this with us” said Scott Turzański, who is the Head of Marketing and Brand at Salford Pride.
“The Pink Picnic is a family event – it’s welcoming, it’s joyful, and it’s about making space for everyone.”
The Pink Picnic returns to Peel Park in Salford next month on Saturday 13 June, and you can find out more and book tickets online here.
Featured Image – Salford Pride (via Facebook)
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Donny Osmond books biggest-ever Manchester gig
Danny Jones
Iconic American singer and actor Donny Osmond has announced his biggest-ever Manchester concert as part of his upcoming ‘VIVA UK’ tour dates.
Bringing his famous Las Vegas residency show to Great Britain, where he has always had a fervent following, the younger Osmond brother will be making a venue debut over six decades into his career.
Famously part of the musical family who not only sang together but also saw multiple TV shows created in their name – including his very own spin-off, Donny and Marie – he’s been around longer than most in showbiz, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Confirming a whole new run of live dates across the country, Donny Osmond will be returning to Manchester early next year.
Writing on social media, the veteran entertainer said: “I’m so pleased to finally share the official 2027 UK tour dates with you.
“It always means so much to return to the UK – the audiences there have given me some of the most unforgettable moments of my career.”
As for here in our city, he last played Manchester back just a few short years ago at the AO Arena, selling out the 20,000-seater space on 29 November 2023.
Now, though, he’s upgrading to approximately 23k this time, with die-hard fans being encouraged to download his very own ‘Donny App’ to secure the earliest possible access.
Set to play Co-op Live for the very first time, we’d expect this one to sell equally well; you can see the rest of the shows listed so far down below.
Donny Osmond VIVA UK live tour dates 2027
We’ve highlighted all the Northern dates for you:
Wed, 20 Jan – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Thurs, 21 Jan – Newcastle, Utilita Arena
Sat, 23 Jan – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
Sun, 24 Jan 24 – Manchester, Co-op Live
Tue, 26 Jan 26 – Hull, Connexin Live
Wed, 27 Jan 27 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
Fri, 29 Jan 29 – Leeds, first direct arena
Sat, 30 Jan 30 – Birmingham, BP Pulse Live
Mon, 1 Feb – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
Wed, 3 Feb – Bournemouth BIC
Friday and Saturday, 5-6 February – London, Eventim Apollo
JUST ANNOUNCED: Donny Osmond Sunday 24 January 2027
Bringing the glamour, high-energy & excitement of his Las Vegas show. https://t.co/Y2sSdg01FV @coopuk members get first in line for tickets. Co-op Member Presale: 10:00 Wednesday 20 May General Sale: 10:00 Friday 22 May pic.twitter.com/i4v2ff7suA
Early access tickets for Donny Osmond’s VIVA UK tour will be available both via the app and the venue’s official Co-op membership, with the presale window opening at 10am on Wednesday, 20 May.
Meanwhile, general admission tickets will go live at the same time the following Friday (22 May), with VIP and hospitaity packages also on offer.
Danny Jones -
22nd February 2024 
