Rick Astley has announced a major UK and Ireland arena tour, and of course he’ll be playing a huge gig here in Manchester.
The Newton-le-Willows native started his remarkable career all the way back in 1987 when he became an unlikely global phenomenon after his era-defining smash ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ established him as an international chart-topping, BRIT Award winning global star, following by a debut album that sold a whopping 15.2 million copies worldwide.
But then he stepped away from the spotlight, and seemingly left that chapter of his life behind – that was until he returned to the charts in 2016 and has stayed at the top of his game ever since.
He has collaborated with everyone from Foo Fighters to Blossoms along the way, and even did a double-bill of festival sets at Glastonbury in 2023, before releasing his latest album titled ‘Are We There Yet?’.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Rick Astley Rick returns to Co-op Live on 17 April 2026
Throughout his career, Rick has released eight studio albums, sold more than 40 million records worldwide, and has played and toured around the world multiple times.
ADVERTISEMENT
And now he’s heading back out on the road, and will be taking to the Co-op Live stage here in Manchester next April.
He’ll be playing Co-op Live on Friday 17 April 2026, and support for the tour comes from none other than the legendary Gabrielle herself.
ADVERTISEMENT
Other major cities Rick’ll be stopping off at along the way include the capitals London, Cardiff, Belfast, and Dublin, as well as Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Liverpool, and more.
Rick Astley – The Reflection Tour 2026
With special guest Gabrielle
Friday 10 April – Glasgow OVO Hydro
Saturday 11 April – Newcastle Utilita Arena
Monday 13 April – Belfast SSE
Tuesday 14 April – Dublin 3Arena
Thursday 16 April – Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Friday 17 April – Manchester Co-op Live
Saturday 18 April – Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Monday 20 April – Bournemouth International Centre
Tuesday 21 April – Cardiff Utilita Arena
Wednesday 22 April – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Friday 24 April – Birmingham bp pulse LIVE
Saturday 25 April – London The O2
After taking a break in 2025, Rick says he’s excited to head out on his UK and Ireland arena tour next year, and is looking forward to performing live again.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rick Astley begins The Reflection Tour on 10 April 2026, before he arrives in Manchester on 17 April, and tickets go on sale this week – with presales for Co-op Live members starting at 9:30am this Wednesday (3 September), before general sale begins this Friday 5 September, again at 9:30am.
Feeling a little fancier? You can treat yourself to some VIP tickets to Rick’s Co-op Live show via SeatUnique, with a range of different packages available here.
Featured Image – Supplied
Affiliate
A candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit concert dedicated to the one and only Queen, with a spectacular West End Cast and a talented live rock band, is coming to Manchester city centre in January.
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)
Affiliate
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 -
1st September 2025 
