Audio

Central Cee announces HUGE gig in Manchester this year

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia - 28th January 2025

London rapper Central Cee has just announced a mega Manchester gig date set for this year which will be nothing short of stellar.

After dropping his debut album just last week, Central Cee (also known as Cench), has now released dates for his first ever UK arena tour.

2025 may have only just started but Central Cee is making sure to celebrate his successes in style and now he’s bringing his fans along for the ride too.

Known for hits like viral track ‘Doja’, Lil Baby link up ‘Band4Band’ and Dave collaboration ‘Sprinter’, Cench is no stranger to a hit record or two.

There was a time on social media platform TikTok, where you couldn’t open the app before hearing the well-known and widely referenced lyric, “How can I be homophobic? My B*tch is Gay.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The Shepherd’s Bush superstar is packaging his all too familiar drill beats alongside his first LP ‘CAN’T RUSH GREATNESS’ and turning all these tunes into a highly anticipated world tour.

Our UK native made sure he’s stopping off at various cities up and down the country as well as Manchester including Birmingham, London, Glasgow and just over the pond with a slot in Dublin too.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cee is bringing his all new show to Manchester’s newest entertainment venue, Co-op Live, and hoping to wow an impressive feat of 23,500 fans.

Alongside a roster of stacked singles and collaborations, Cench is also known for his signature tag which he likes to fit into all of his songs; “Alright.”

Central Cee drops UK tour dates including Manchester

Central Cee, who’s real name is Oakley, has dropped a select number of shows in America too. He’s already familiar with this nation after appearing on US rapper Ice Spice’s ‘Did It First’ last October.

ADVERTISEMENT

So far, the drill artist’s first album has four singles with one of the latest ‘GBP’, a collaboration with 21 Savage, receiving a music video less than two weeks ago.

Manchester fans may feel conflicted about attending this upcoming show as Cench finds himself in the middle of an ongoing fued with Moston talent and fellow Brit rapper, Aitch.

Read more:

Central Cee is bringing his ‘Can’t Rush Greatness Tour’ to Co-op Live in Manchester on 19 April. Co-op members can access tickets from 29 January with general onsale taking place on 31 January from 10am HERE.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image: Publicity Picture (Supplied)

Audio

‘The world’s biggest Eurovision festival’ and celebration is coming to Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Eurovision festival and party Manchester tickets

An absolutely massive Eurovision festival and all-around celebration is coming to Manchester this year ahead of the Finals in Switzerland this May – in fact, it claiming to be the biggest in the world.

Taking place in our city for the first time ever, the official ‘MancHagen Eurovision Party’ is heading to 0161 for the annual festival’s 20th anniversary and it’s promising a huge programme of events, live music, entertainment and, most importantly, it’s all for a good cause.

Kicking off one of the best weekends of the year on Thursday, 10 April, MancHagen has partnered with the Gay Village district and some Canal Street favourites to offer a safe and exciting destination for all eventgoers to meet up.

You can expect live cabaret and singing, drag performers and DJ sets, as well as non-stop partying until the early hours. We cannot wait.

Credit: Silvester Belt via AP Media (supplied)/The Manc Group

The Canal St venues making up ‘Eurovision Village’ include EVA, Iconic Bar, New York New York, The Eagle and Cruz 101, all of which host an exclusive series of Eurovision programming and parties.

For instance, MancHagen’s Official Festival Euroclub opening party will be housed at Cruz 101, with eclectic sets from veteran Eurovision DJ David Horton and friends, followed by a weekend of performances from the likes of Choriza May (RuPaul’s Drag Race) in collaboration with Lady Olé.

Then, on the following Friday (11 April), the first half of the two-day All Stars Concert will take place at Manchester Arcade Arena, our premier immersive augmented reality venue, from 6pm onwards.

Hosted by the UK’s 2001 Eurovision entrant Lindsay Dracass and Leeds‘ very own ‘Quality Street Queen’, Mamma Bear, the night will showcase Manchester’s leading cultural icons and look back at the thrilling history of the iconic song contest.

With show-stopping performances from the 2025 cohort, previous contestants and more, such as Eurovision 1993 winner, Niamh Kavanagh, Canal St queen Tonya Kneez; Beverly Tight-Lipps, Hera Björk and others, there’s plenty of reason to be excited about MancHagen.

Our interview with Danny Beard
Canal Street in full swing during Pride 2024
There’ll be plenty of watch parties around Greater Manchester, but a Eurovision Festival warm-up is even better (The Manc Group)

The celebration continues into Saturday (12 April), with an all-day programme at Depot Mayfield, a much-loved multiuse venue and home to The Warehouse Project as well as Europe’s largest indoor LGBTQIA+ celebration, Homobloc.

An exclusive Artist Yellow Carpet Parade will then spotlight some of the UK’s leading Queer and creative pioneers, including appearances from Manchester’s own Drag icon and MancHagen ambassador Banksie, North West drag icon Danny Beard and more.

And that’s just the day-time: come nightfall, The Depot will transform into a wonderland of fashion, music and performance as the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will take over the room for a never-before-seen competition dubbed ‘Drag-A-Vision 2025’, with the likes of Marmalade, Rilesea Slaves, Alexis Saint-Pete; Charra Tea, Actavia and Chanel O Connor taking to the stage.

Oh, and of course there’s all the after-party action that Gay Village does so well – it is the part of the city that never sleeps, after all…

Besides the obvious excitement and fanfare surrounding this huge Eurovision festival, it is not only a welcome space for people from all walks of life but, above all else, being held for some vital charities.

Working alongside the Ukrainian Cultural Organization and United For You to host this year’s event, donations from each ticket sold will go towards Ukrainian Children and the George House Trust, as well as LGBTQIA+ groups like Sahir House, Manchester Pride and FSTB Danish Children.

The MancHagen co-founders say: “Our team is proud to announce the biggest celebration of Eurovision countries, cultures, fashion, music, dance and the diverse communities together in joy through music…

“There is nowhere more suited to host such an event than the UK’s inclusive capital of Manchester and capital of the North.” Dubbing itself the biggest party celebrating the annual event aside from the competition itself, if you’re a fan of the famous song contest, you don’t want to miss this.

Packages start at just £45, with VIP add-ons, affordable family tickets and VIP Backstage also available. Find out more about the ground-breaking Eurovision Festival and grab tickets for the Manchester celebration right HERE.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Silvester Belt via AP Media (supplied)/The Manc Group

Audio

Listen to Bring Me the Horizon’s cover of an Oasis classic

Danny Jones Danny Jones Bring Me The Horizon cover Wonderwall by Oasis

Sheffield favourites Bring Me the Horizon have covered not just an Oasis classic but arguably their biggest song of all time – but is it any good?

The high-flying alternative metalcore band are one of the biggest contemporary rock artists on the planet right now, having most recently been nominated as ‘Group of the Year’ ahead of the 2025 BRIT Awards.

Undoubtedly one of the best-known acts to ever come out of not just Sheffield but Yorkshire as a whole, there’s no project or challenge too big for these lads at this point, which is exactly why they had no trouble taking on one of the most famous songs ever written.

We never thought we’d hear Bring Me the Horizon covering Oasis‘ ‘Wonderwall’, but here we are.

Covering the legendary Britpop anthem to Spotify singles, if you’re expecting it to sound anything like the ‘Wonderwall’ you know, then you’re in for a shock.

It’s certainly not just a straightforward stripped-back bashed out quickly in a studio with an acoustic guitar – far from it…

However, if you are a fan of the current Bring Me sound, you’ll be glad to hear that the Northern heavyweights are tapping into that raw aggression with plenty of nu-metal production value.

On the other hand, although frontman Oli Sykes’ softer and more melodic vocals of late get a good deal of the spotlight, there are plenty of rip-roaring screams layered throughout, not to mention some emo-esque guitar playing and shredding drums with plenty of staccato, double-time and fun fills thrown in.

They even recreated that iconic shot from the music video for the cover art:

They faired rather well.

Uncanny, lads.

Put simply, it’s got some of the best bits from both old and new BMTH only with those iconic lyrics; it does take a minute to get used to hearing ‘Because mayyybe‘ being sung like that, but it’s definitely a grower in our opinion.

The single release also comes with a new somewhat lo-fi electronic ‘EarthcOre remix’ of ‘YOUtopa’ from their most recent seventh studio album, POST HUMAN: NeX GEn; again, this version is rather different from the original but we like both.

Without further ado, please enjoy a short preview down below and you can listen to the Bring Me the Horizon cover version of ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis in full HERE.

What do you make of it?

Does the Bring Me The Horizon cover make ‘Wonderwall’ feel interesting again or is it still just Oasis’ most over-played song ever?

Read more:

Featured Images — Press Shots

More Audio

The Witcher 3 live in concert Manchester tickets

Art & Culture

‘The Witcher in Concert’: the smash-hit video game’s soundtrack brought to life in Manchester

Art & Culture

What’s going down between Aitch and Central Cee?

Northern Music Awards 2025 lineup Liverpool

Art & Culture

The Northern Music Awards return with an impressive live music lineup

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches