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Rick Astley to play Co-op Live on major UK arena tour – with big-name supporting act

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Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 1st September 2025

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?’.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Read more:

You can get tickets when they go on sale here.

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

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A new music showcase is taking place at a beautiful and historic Stockport venue

Danny Jones Danny Jones New live showcase Stockport music festival

A new live showcase is coming to Stockport town centre as part of a wider music, art and cultural celebration next month.

And by new, we mean the artists; if you went to the last edition, you’ll know it delivers some serious talent.

Teaming up with the likes of Manchester-based music magazine and promoters, The Rodeo, as well as ticketing platform Skiddle, Stockport is set to welcome the return of Mercury Climbing Festival.

This week-long celebration of music, art and culture around parts of the Greater Manchester borough’s historic old town, and there are some exciting names on board already.

As for Mercury Climbing 2025 itself, the multi-day festival spread across several locations boasts the best in native and Northern music, visual arts, and comedy.

Popping up across a total of eight different spaces, including the likes of the brand-new Stockroom, pubs, and headline music venue St Mary’s Church – quietly one of the coolest places we’ve ever seen a gig – you have plenty of reason to be excited about this one.

Speaking of St Mary’s, while artists such as local legends Badly Drawn Boy, Manc indie outfit The Covasettes and Riding The Low – fronted by actor Paddy Considine – are set to play the stunning ceremonial space, The Rodeo is also hosting its own dedicated stage at the church.

Highlighting emerging new talent on Saturday, 20 September, Manchester-based solo indie project Better Joy is set to headline, with Denver County Council (who featured on our Manc artists of the month round-up), Henry Webb-Jenkins, Katie & the Bad Sign, plus more to be announced in support.

The last time we saw a ‘Live at St Mary’s’ event, we can’t stress this enough: it was nothing short of an unforgettable experience.

Hello Cosmos wow Stockport on a night where the venue shone just as bright as the music
You don’t get to enjoy a ‘religious’ gig experiences like this often…

Taking place from Friday, 19-26 September, the festival as a whole will transform Stockport’s historic Old Town into a vibrant cultural hub.

And it isn’t just music: there are local food and drink traders getting involved, artwork from the one and only Stanley Chow, as well as plenty of other entertainment.

Above all else, the event is not only steeped in SK and Greater Manchester’s rich heritage, but it’s a great way of supporting new art coming out of the region.

The Rodeo’s St Mary’s stage gets underway from 4pm and is scheduled to finish at 10:30pm, but the wider Mercury Climbing programme is an all-day festival that won’t end until late. You can grab your tickets right HERE.

Read more:

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

Featured Images — Zzztriple2000 (via WikiCommons)/Mercury Climbing (via IG)/David (via Flickr)

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ENHYPEN at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

It’s time to ‘Scream’ as K-pop boyband ENHYPEN are about to land in the UK as they embark on their European leg of the ‘Walk The Line’ tour.

Global superstars ENHYPEN are visiting Manchester for the first time ever, trading ‘Highway 1009’ for the Mancunian Way as they play out in the highly acclaimed 21,000 seater, AO Arena, this bank holiday.

ENHYPEN consists of seven members, including Sunghoon, Heeseung, Jungwon, Sunoo, Jake and Ni-ki – all of whom have stayed loyal to the group since they formed back in 2020.

This very ‘Walk The Line’ tour kicked off almost one year ago with two sold-out stadium shows in Korea before making its way across America, and now the boys are sinking their ‘Teeth’ into the UK and Europe.

Expect this Manchester live music venue to feel like a living runway as these K-pop idols are known for their stylish looks and designer brand partnerships, such as Italian fashion house Prada.

ENHYPEN gig guide

ENHYPEN UK tour dates

  • Fri 22 August – London, UK – The O2
  • Mon 25 August – Manchester, UK – AO Arena

ENHYPEN tickets for AO Arena gig

Anyone after some ‘Sweet Venom’, also known as precious tickets to ENHYPEN’s upcoming Manchester show, will be pleased to know that they aren’t in ‘Fatal Trouble’; there are still a few options left if you act fast enough.

You’ll have to act fast, as we’re sure you’re aware these K-pop nobles have given everyone a serious case of boyband ‘Fever’, and there is absolutely ‘No Doubt’ you’ll have a fabulous night when you grab your tickets HERE.

ENHYPEN setlist

  • Brought the Heat Back
  • Fever
  • ParadoXXX Invasion
  • Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)
  • Given-Taken
  • Lucifer
  • Teeth
  • Blessed-Cursed
  • Fatal Trouble
  • Bite Me
  • Your Eyes Only
  • Loose
  • Scream
  • Tamed-Dashed
  • Sweet Venom
  • Go Big or Go Home
  • Moonstruck
  • XO (Only If You Say Yes)
  • No Doubt
  • Bad Desire
  • Helium
  • Paranormal
  • Drunk-Dazed
  • Go Big or Go Home
We’d like to hear and, more importantly, see this one.

What are the stage times for ENHYPEN in Manchester?

AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm, meaning you can ‘Go Big or Go Home’ and still make sure you get your beauty sleep.

There is no confirmed support act as of yet, however, it looks like this will remain as they have fronted this tour independently across the globe.

Doors for this event are opening from 6pm, and this huge K-pop concert is expected to kick off at 7:30pm when this group reminds you that they ‘Brought the Heat Back’.

How to get to AO Arena

@the.manc When are you next heading to the @AO Arena? 😱 #themanc #manchester #aoarena #preshow #entertainment #gigs #music #liveshow ♬ Love You So – The King Khan & BBQ Show

Tram

For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station, and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.

Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.

Train

Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena, wherever they are.

Bus

A variety of buses cover AO Arena and Victoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.

A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.

Getting there by car and parking

The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces, including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.

Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.

Walk/cycle

Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.

About the AO Arena

The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.

For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.

All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.

Read more:

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

Featured Images – Publicity Pictures (supplied)/The Manc Group

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