This is not the Harry Styles we left behind in 2023, and he seems quite keen for us all to notice that from the get-go.
The sequin two-pieces have been packed away, the hair’s been cut into a modern mullet, and he’s into synths now.
Harry Styles emerges onto an in-the-round stage at Co-op Live and promptly hunches over a sound desk to mix the intro of Aperture. For a horrible moment, I think it’s going to be like a Fred Again concert – but then he straightens up, picks up the mic, and starts to dance, and we collectively realise we’re about to witness something truly special.
The chance to see Harry Styles on a small (hahahahaha) stage like this isn’t likely to happen again, not when he’s selling out record-breaking runs at Wembley Stadium.
The chance to see him after such a long hiatus, performing brand new music in full, is even less likely.
ADVERTISEMENT
And the chance to have it all going on right here in Manchester, just days after our city also hosted the BRITs, is (and I don’t say this lightly) an honour.
Harry Styles One Night Only at Co-op Live. Credit: Netflix
For One Night Only, we hear every song off his fourth studio album (Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally) in full – with a few surprises thrown in at the end for good measure.
ADVERTISEMENT
The whole thing has been filmed for Netflix, with a handful of cameramen chasing around after Harry on stage.
And there are definitely moments where you are conscious you’re watching a Netflix special being made, like when he ventures down the catwalk for Ready, Steady, Go and no spotlight follows him, but a camera does.
That’s not a reflection on Harry though, who performs for the audience first and foremost. He seems taken aback at how thoroughly we’ve all studied the lyrics to his hours-old album already, welling up with emotion as he returns to the live stage for the first time in three years.
ADVERTISEMENT
Harry Styles on stage, in the round, in Manchester
“There’s so much danger in the world,” he says. “But love is powerful and kindness is powerful. The world could use a little extra peace right now.”
Unusually, too, the show had a strict phones-free policy, with the poor venue staff doing their level best to enforce Harry’s wishes to keep cameras in pockets for one night only.
I would love more gigs to be phone free. The crowd is DARK, and present, with both hands in the air, and it lets Harry shine. I don’t believe anyone could honestly say they had a worse night for not being able to film it.
As for those new songs which had their live debut last night, Season 2 Weight Loss makes a lot more sense live, with real thudding drums, than it does on the album (I ranked it my least-favourite of the record); Coming Up Roses translates beautifully with a live orchestra; and Pop is a certified bop that’ll have those stadiums boogying.
Harry Styles One Night Only. Credit: Netflix
If you listened to Dance No More and thought it was set up for a call and response, you were correct, even if we do all clumsily tiptoe around the lyrics a bit.
ADVERTISEMENT
Carla’s Song is a perfect closer in every setting, whether it’s in your headphones listening to the album or as one final collective moment in an arena.
It wasn’t just the new album we got at the One Night Only – Harry also dug into the archives to play a few extra treats for us all – From the Dining Table (live for the first time in almost a decade), Golden, Watermelon Sugar, As It Was, and Sign of the Times.
The show opens and closes with Aperture, the lead single from the album, and his one night only proves his point from the song – we really do belong together.
Oasis release trailer for Don’t Look Back In Anger documentary – watch it here
Daisy Jackson
A new trailer for the upcoming Oasis documentary, ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’, has been released today.
The highly anticipated documentary follows the iconic Manchester rock band as they reunited for a series of epic comeback gigs last summer.
The Gallagher brothers broke up the band 15 years prior to the Live ’25 shows, then returned in spectacular fashion for gigs including five sold-out nights at Heaton Park in Manchester.
The band were followed throughout their triumphant comeback tour by film crews, for the documentary film ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’.
Fans will see never-before-seen snippets of rehearsal, backstage, and onstage, as well as the first joint interview with Liam and Noel in more than 20 years.
It will also explores the profound impact that the reunion had on fans, and chart the global phenomenon that was Oasis Live ’25.
One of the people behind the new documentary is Steven Knight, of Peaky Blinders fame.
Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger will be released in the UK on Wednesday 9 September and you can book tickets HERE.
Watch the full trailer for Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger below:
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.