Affiliate

Simple Minds announce massive Manchester gig on 2024 global arena tour

This article contains affiliate links.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 4th September 2023

Simple Minds have announced they’re heading out on a huge global arena tour next year, with tickets set to go on sale very soon.

And they’ll be making a special visit to see us here in Manchester.

Following what was the huge success their 40 Years Of Hits Tour last year, and fresh off-the-back of the recent announcement of their Australian and New Zealand tour dates for early next year, Simple Minds have now made fans’ days on this side of the pond by announcing both a UK and Ireland leg of their upcoming Global Tour 2024.

The Scottish rock legends will be taking to the stage at some of the country’s biggest arenas next March, and Manchester is one of the cities they’ll be stopping off at.

Kicking things off in Leeds at the First Direct Arena on 15 March, the beloved band will then play eight more UK shows, and a huge gig at Dublin’s 3Arena, all before the tour draws to a close and culminates with a huge hometown concert at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro arena.

ADVERTISEMENT

The band will headline the AO Arena on 16 March 2024 as the second date on the tour.

Simple Minds announce massive Manchester gig on 2024 global arena tour / Credit: Supplied

Consistently considered to be one of the best live bands of their generation, within just the past decade alone, Simple Minds have played to hundreds of thousands of people all around the world, with the demand to see them perform smash-hits such as ‘Promised You a Miracle’, ‘Glittering Prize’, and of course, ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’, growing year on year.

ADVERTISEMENT

And with even more shows throughout the rest of the world rumoured to be announced very soon, the Global Tour 2024 will eventually see them play to over one million fans worldwide before it’s done.

It’s the biggest tour they’ve done since 1985.

Frontman Jim Kerr has called live shows “the life blood of Simple Minds”.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It’s where we and our audience come alive and energised through music,” he added as the UK and Ireland tour was announced, “four decades on from when we first set out, this global tour will demonstrate that Simple Minds are still alive and kicking.”

Read more:

Simple Minds are playing the AO Arena in Manchester on 16 March 2024, with support from fellow Scottish rockers Del Amitri, and tickets to the Global Tour 2024 will go on general sale from 9am this Friday 8 September.

Grab yours here.

Featured Image – Chris James (Simple Minds via Facebook)

Affiliate

Iconic musical Hairspray to kick-off UK tour in Manchester next year

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

One of the best-loved musicals of all time is kicking off its UK tour here in Manchester next year, and tickets are going on sale very soon.

That’s right, you can’t stop the beat… or Hairspray The Musical from heading back to our city.

There’s no denying that Hairspray is known and loved by millions worldwide since it first opened on Broadway all way back in 2002, and has had audiences tapping their feet on the West End and in countless other cities and countries across the globe ever since.

The eight Tony Award wins and the record-breaking 11 Olivier Award nominations prove that all to well, as does the smash-hit success of the 2007 film adaptation too.

But it’s been quite a while now since theatre lovers have been treated to the musical live on stage, and have been anticipating its return since 2017 – but luckily, the long wait is now over, as it’s just been confirmed this week that a new production of Hairspray The Musical is heading out on a major national tour of the UK and Ireland in 2024.

And what better way to kick things off than right here in Manchester?

In case you’re unfamiliar with the timeless story of Hairspray centres around heroine Tracy Turnblad, who has “big hair, a big heart, and big dreams” and wants to dance her way onto national TV, and into the heart of teen idol Link Larkin.

When Tracy becomes a local star, she is able to use her newfound fame to fight for liberation, tolerance, and interracial unity in Baltimore.

But the real question is, can she win equality – and Link’s heart -without denting her ’do?

Audiences in Manchester will be the first to hear some of musical theatre’s most well-known songs, including Welcome To The 60s, You Can’t Stop The Beat, and Good Morning Baltimore, before it heads out to other major cites across the country.

Iconic musical Hairspray to kick-off UK tour in Manchester next year / Credit: Hairspray the Musical

Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, and Bradford are just a few of the fellow Northern cites where the tour will stop off at in 2024.

The show’s original production team of Mark Goucher, Matthew Gale, and Laurence Myers will be joined by Brenda Edwards – who’s most famous for her appearances on ITV’s Loose Women, but also for having previously played “Motormouth” Maybelle in three tours of Hairspray – on the creative team as director for this new production, alongside Paul Kerryson too.

Choreography for the iconic show will come from Olivier Award winner Drew McOnie, while music is, of course, provided by the Academy Award, Tony, and Emmy-winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

The beloved production will take to the Palace Theatre stage next summer / Credit: Hairspray The Musical

Hairspray The Musical will take to the stage at Manchester’s Palace Theatre from 16 – 27 July 2024.

Tickets are going on general sale today at 10am, and although prices haven’t been revealed yet, it’s expected they’ll be available in a range of prices so it’s affordable for everyone looking to make the most of the all-singing-all-dancing experience.

Read more:

Grab tickets when they go live here.

Featured Image – Hairspray The Musical

Affiliate

Take That announce FOUR massive gigs at Manchester’s Co-op Live arena

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Fans have slammed Take That's ticket prices

Take That are back and they’re heading out on a massive UK tour next year, with not one but FOUR Manchester dates on the lineup.

The beloved Manchester boyband are absolutely no strangers to some of our city’s biggest stages, with several record-breaking tours having taken place within the past few decades – but now, the lads are back at it again and have just been revealed as the latest headliners in the Co-op Live’s massive opening season next year.

Eagle-eyed fans will know the band have been teasing their return for a little while now, and just yesterday, light projections of their iconic logo was beamed onto venues all around the UK to signal an announcement was imminent.

The Co-op Live was one of the venues to get itself a new Take That-themed accessory, so it wasn’t exactly hard to guess what was coming.

But what we didn’t know was that it wouldn’t just be one, but four massive Manchester dates.

Take That’s 2024 ‘This Life On Tour’ tour has just been exclusively announced in the old-school way of live on BBC Radio 2 this morning – with Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, and Howard Donald all appearing on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show to confirm their long-awaited return.

It’s not just a tour the trio’s announced either, as they’ve also just put out a brand-new single today too, titled ‘Windows’.

The track sees them reunite for their first original composition in over five years, and is said to tell the story of “emerging from the darkness into the light”, as it signals a new chapter for one of Britain’s best-selling bands.

The lads say their new music is ushering-in a new Take That era brimming with “energy, creativity, and a continued desire to challenge and surprise”.

As Manchester‘s newest – and soon-to-be the UK’s largest – live entertainment arena nears closer to officially opening its doors and welcoming visitors, Co-op Live has been slowly revealing the music acts set to grace the stage as part of its huge launch season jam-packed full of events – with beloved US boyband Jonas Brothers announced as the first headlining act back in July, and Eric Clapton later confirmed for his first Manchester gig in a decade.

Current US megastar Olivia Rodrigo also has two nights booked in, Irishman and former One Directioner Niall Horan will be taking to the stage, and fellow Mancs Simply Red are also making a special 40th anniversary return.

And now, it’s Take That’s turn.

Take That will be taking to the stage at Co-op Live on 7, 8, 10 and 11 May 2024 as part of the ‘This Life On Tour’ tour.

The trio will be joined by Olly Murs as the support act in Manchester.

Once again, as part of the highly-anticipated £365 million venue’s “pioneering” partnership, Co-op members will get the chance to gain early access to tickets through a designated presale on Wednesday 27 September at 9:30am, all before the general sale takes place.

General sale tickets are available through Co-op Live from 9:30am on Friday 29 September, and you can grab them here.

Read more:

Co-op Live is officially set to open its doors in April 2024.

Featured Image – Supplied

More Affiliate

Jungle Castlefield Bowl gig Manchester

Affiliate

Jungle announce massive outdoor summer show at Castlefield Bowl for Sounds of the City 2024

Affiliate

Disney’s smash-hit musical Aladdin is coming to Manchester on its first UK tour

Affiliate

Jason Derulo to play massive Manchester gig on UK arena tour next year

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches