John Bishop has announced a massive UK tour to celebrate 25 years of his stand-up comedy career, and he’s coming to Manchester.
He’s not only coming to our city once either, but twice.
It’s been well over two decades since the popular Liverpudlian comedian stepped on stage to perform his first ever stand-up gig on 2 October 2000, and so, in a bid to properly celebrate this monumental milestone and the impressive comedy career that’s followed, Bishop will be touring the UK and Ireland in 2025, and will, once again, step foot on that very same stage he first performed on.
And that stage, just so happens, to be the legendary Frog & Bucket comedy club right here in Manchester city centre.
The Frog & Bucket is known for having launched the careers of some of the country’s most well-known and revered comedians over the years, with John Bishop being just one of those famous names, and he’ll certainly be one of the most famous names to perform there again in recent years.
As well as taking to the Frog & Bucket stage for a more intimate live comedy experience on 13 October 2025, Bishop will also be performing a much bigger Manchester venue that same month, the new Co-op Live arena, on 4 October.
Liverpool, Leeds, and Newcastle are some of the other northern locations he’ll be visiting, as well as other major cities like London, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, and more.
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What makes this tour even more special too is the fact that Bishop has vowed that tickets to every show he’ll be performing, wherever the audience member may be sat, will be priced at £25 each to honour his 25th comedy anniversary.
John Bishop: 25 – UK & Ireland Tour Dates 2025
Thursday 2 October – Plymouth Pavilions
Friday 3 October – The O2, London
Saturday 4 October – Co-op Live, Manchester
Wednesday 8 October – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Thursday 9 October – Glasgow, OVO Hydro, Glasgow
Friday 10 October – P&J Live, Aberdeen
Saturday 11 October – First Direct Arena, Leeds
Monday 13 October – Frog & Bucket, Manchester
Thursday 16 October – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Friday 17 October – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Saturday 18 October – Brighton Centre
Sunday 19 October – International Centre, Bournemouth
Thursday 23 October – Utilita Arena, Cardiff
Friday 24 October – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Friday 31 October – 3Arena, Dublin
Saturday 1 November – SSE Arena, Dublin
John Bishop is playing a massive UK & Ireland comedy tour in 2025 / Credit: Supplied
“I can’t believe that next year it will be 25 years since I first performed at the Frog and Bucket in Manchester,” John Bishop said as the UK and Ireland tour was announced.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, and I can’t thank the fans enough who have supported me all the way. I wanted to mark the anniversary with a brand-new tour and do something to say thank you, so every ticket throughout the tour will be £25.
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“I really hope you can come and celebrate with me.”
John Bishop: 25 kicks off on 2 October 2025 at the Plymouth Pavilion, and then travels to arenas across the UK and Ireland, before culminating in Belfast on 1 November 2025.
The £25 tickets go on sale this Friday (11 October) at 10am here.
Featured Image – Aemen Sukkar Jiksaw
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A candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit tribute concert to the one and only Queen is coming to Manchester city centre.
In fact, it’s coming home, as this wonderful event started right here in 0161 back in 2021.
Concerts by Candlelight themselves host concerts up and down the country at various points throughout the year, but their much-loved ‘Queen by Candlelight‘ special knows all about lighting up Manc venues.
Having since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed live concert experience, we’re glad we still get to see the ‘Princes of the Universe’ on our doorstep.
Credit: Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
With the likes of Bridgewater Hall and the magical Manchester Monastery all having played host to the promotion on many ocassions, this time Queen by Candlelight is coming to the legendary Manchester Opera House in the new year.
One of our most historic and legendary theatres, it’s only fitting, really, that they be chosen to welcome a night of equally iconic tunes.
But it’s worth reminding more casual fans that these aren’t just British rock and pop anthems; Queen‘s discography is one that still has global recognition to this day.
That’s why this specific show has been taken to virtually every corner of the world, with the incredibly talented cast of singers and musicians delighting audiences in Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and New York, to domestic crowds here in town and down in London’s West End.
‘Queenies’ or ‘Darlings’, as Freddie Mercury used to call them, can expect all the big hits, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, to ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and plenty more from the back catalogue.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store this coming January:
With tickets already flying out fast, we really would recommend securing your seats early before they inevitably sell out.
To quote the promoters themselves, “this spectacular celebration of Queen’s biggest hits is guaranteed to rock you.”
Coming to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 6 January, you can book your tickets for Queen by Candlelight right HERE.
And if you’ve never been to one of their candlelit events before, you only need to see how much of a ball we had at their country event earlier this year to find out how much fun they are…
Featured Images — Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
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An ‘extraordinary’ new Live Aid musical is coming to Manchester on its UK tour
Emily Sergeant
An ‘extraordinary’ new musical based on Live Aid is coming to Manchester as part of an upcoming UK and Ireland tour.
Producers Jamie Wilson Productions say they’re ‘thrilled’ to announce that Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical will head out on a big UK and Ireland tour starting out in March 2027, and visiting loads of major cities along the way – including Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Nottingham, and plenty more.
The production take us back to 13 July 1985 – the day music united the world.
Live Aid was an unprecedented global music event that brought 1.5 billion people together, and they all have a story to tell about ‘the day rock ‘n’ roll changed the world’.
Now, more than 40 years on from that famous day, audiences in Manchester will get to discover the behind-the-scenes story of Live Aid in a whole new way, as Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical is the story behind the greatest gig in music history.
What makes Just For One Day special? Nostalgia, relevance to today and a message for the new generation 🤘 pic.twitter.com/wRBV4Ar1Hv
— Just For One Day | The Live Aid Musical (@liveaidmusical) June 9, 2025
With hit songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, Madonna, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, and more all featuring, these iconic artists made history at simultaneous charitable concerts in London and Philadelphia.
The musical is written by John O’Farrell and directed by Luke Sheppard, with musical supervision, arrangements and orchestration by Matthew Brind, choreography by Ebony Molina, and casting by Stuart Burt.
“Just For One Day brilliantly reimagines why Live Aid worked then and why the humanity of that day still matters now,” commented Bob Geldoff.
“I’m delighted that more of the UK and Ireland will finally get to see this extraordinary and compelling musical. The reaction the show gets continually surprises and amazes me, standing ovations and people come back time and again, introducing the Live Aid story to new generations.”
Emily Sergeant -
8th October 2024 
