Eric Cantona has announced he’s heading out on a tour of the UK this year – and, of course, he’ll be playing a gig in our city.
Sure, he may be known as a Manchester United all-time great, and one of the best players in the history of the Premier League, but when ‘The King’ rocks up to see us in Manchester once again in a couple of months time, his reason for visiting won’t have anything to do with football on this occasion.
That’s because, in case you didn’t know, Cantona is a rockstar star… genuinely.
If this is the first you’re hearing of the legendary striker’s career pivot, then you may have missed the fact that he released his debut EP, I’ll Make My Own Heaven, to critical acclaim in 2023, along with two accompanying singles, and even played the whole album to a sold-out crowd at The Stoller Hall last October to celebrate.
And while the words ‘Eric Cantona‘ and ‘singing’ might come as a bit of a shock to you – and rightly so – we had a listen to his two singles, which are titled ‘The Friends We Lost’ and ‘Tu Me Diras’, and we can’t lie, they’re actually pretty good.
Besides, the 57-year-old Frenchman has always been more than a sportsperson, as he’s not only an actor on stage and on screen – most famously for acclaimed directors, Alain Corneau and Ken Loach – but he also paints, writes poetry, and has picked-up photography too, not just as post-career hobbies, but as so much more than that.
Cantona says his outside-of-football passions stem from “the absolute necessity” to express himself creatively – and music is no different to that.
This is why the honorary Manc is heading out on a tour of the UK this April, and will be gracing Manchester Palace Theatre‘s stage as part of that – with tickets officially going on general sale this Friday.
These new tour dates follow last year’s debut sold-out success in London and Manchester, which saw Cantona take to stage solo with just himself and a modest piano and a cello to “stamp his mark on new artistic heights”.
Presales for ‘Cantona Sings Eric’ start tomorrow (Wednesday 24 January) at 10am, with additional presales running throughout this week, all before general on-sale begins this Friday 26 January at 10am.
Grab your tickets here.
Featured Image – Supplied