Ben Howard brought his 10th anniversary tour of I Forget Where We Were to Aviva Studios on Monday night under a moody Manchester sky and while the gig was by no means perfect, it was still as transportive as we’ve come to expect from the seasoned solo artist.
Still up there with one of the most boundary-pushing singer-songwriters in the country for our money, as one person in The Manc office put it, Ben Howard has always seemed like a talent who simply loves making art but has absolutely no interest in the fame that comes with it.
It seems like a pretty astute assessment, especially judging by his performance at the home of Factory International, which for many will no doubt have been a great start to the week but for the man himself, it looked like a tough one to get through.
That being said, there are few things that can hold back that kind of talent and it was still a stunning set for so many reasons.
Ben and his technicolour tree. The stage design and bespoke visuals really added to the experience. (Credit: The Manc Group)
First off, a special mention needs to go to support artist Billie Marten, who we’ve been waiting to see live for some time and did not disappoint. A pitch-perfect warm-up act that felt completely in line with the tone of the evening of music ahead.
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A soft, sweeping, beautiful voice much like the headliner. Definitely one to get in the earphones if you haven’t done so already.
But on to Ben himself, the 37-year-old opened the show on seemingly top form, welcoming more than half a dozen band members with him onto the stage and doing what he does best: starting quietly before building out the songs from an acoustic guitar to what feels like producing an album track live on stage.
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Although his career may have started with just him and his instrument, it doesn’t take long to understand why he has so many other session musicians on these tours: there are just so many layers to these truly enchanting soundscapes he creates that merely playing a backing track wouldn’t do it justice.
From the haunting horns knitting together these 10-year-old tracks (still hard to believe, we know), to the multiple guitars and strings elevating the overall profile of each song to something closer to an orchestra, you don’t get to hear many albums this authentically realised in every aspect.
A big shout-out to the venue as well; it was our first time visiting Aviva Studios for a straightforward concert and the one thing that struck us besides the sheer size of the place – no, seriously, the room was beyond massive – was the acoustics.
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You could hear every inch of that extremely fulsome sound no matter where you were in the enormous gig space gig and they were only further complemented by the visuals which were genuinely mesmerising at times.
Both visually and sonically, we couldn’t really fault anything about the performance for the majority of the evening, but then things started going wrong and it resulted in an unfortunate tail-off from a visibly frustrated performer.
It wasn’t just some moody auteur pageantry playing into the ‘troubled artist’ vibe either as far as we could tell – he even apologised for losing his temper at one point.
We’re not entirely sure what headspace Ben Howard was in on the night but let’s just say he gave Manchester an honest performance, at the very least.
Highlights included ‘Oats in the Water’, ‘End Of The Affair’, ‘Rivers In Your Mouth’ and ‘Conrad’. (Credit: The Manc Group)
He continued to have technical issues the longer things went on and battled through them charmingly, for the most part, but it became apparent that it was becoming too much of a distraction to plough through as he would have liked to.
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With so much distortion and various effects being pumped out, it was almost like he was fighting with the pedals more than they were doing him any favours and at one point he simply decided to do away with them and revert to the stripped-back string-picking that he has always excelled at.
We kind of wish he would have just stuck that rather than try and persist when things were clearly going wrong; at one point he even kept playing with three broken strings and that was arguably more impressive than any other moment in the entire set.
It culminated in him walking in the middle of the encore whilst his band were still left to play out the title track people had people waiting all night to hear. There were rumblings of confusion in the crowd and some understandable grievances; it’s not the first time it’s happened either, sadly.
Whatever the case may be, we hope he’s ok and that no one involved has to struggle through the same issue we did. He’s already said music in general is more difficult following his two mini-strokes, but it still goes without saying that he’s one of the most unique singers and guitar players around.
‘Keep your head, keep your heart strong.’
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Not how we wanted it to end but it still gave room for the fans to show their appreciation for the fantastic band. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Oasis, Joy Division and New Order named as 2026 inductees into world-famous Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Emily Sergeant
It’s official – three of Manchester’s most iconic bands are joining history.
That’s because it’s been announced today that both Oasis, and Joy Division/New Order (as one act) are being inducted into the world-famous Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 cohort, which is not only a huge deal for the bands individually, but also for our city’s music legacy.
It would not be an understatement to say that these past few years have been some of the biggest in Oasis‘ career, given the fact that they played all across the world 2025 on what is one of the biggest reunion tours of all time – including five nostalgia-drenched gigs in Manchester’s Heaton Park last summer.
But despite everything they’ve done over the past three decades, this could still be one of the iconic Manchester band’s greatest achievements.
Announcing Oasis’ induction this week, a statement on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website reads: “Oasis are one of the most successful and influential acts of all time. Exploding out of the 1990s UK music scene, they reclaimed big, brash, hook-filled rock & roll with their anthemic sound, cool swagger, expertly crafted lyrics, and electrifying live performances – eventually selling over a hundred million records.
“Their songs have become England’s go-to anthems, sung in unison by fans at sporting events and social gatherings and inspiring countless bands.”
The Gallagher brothers reunion last year was also noted by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as being one of the key reasons for their induction, proving that the band’s influence ‘remains as strong as ever’.
I wanna thank all the people who voted for us it’s a real honour ever since I was a little kid and singing in the shower I’d dream about 1 day being in the RnR hall of fame it’s true what they say anything is possible if you have a dream LG x
It’s not just celebration for Oasis, of course, as two of Manchester’s other most revered bands, Joy Division and New Order, have also been chosen as 2026 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
A statement on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website about Joy Division and New Order’s joint induction reads: “Joy Division and New Order were postpunk pioneers and electronic dance-floor innovators, inspiring thousands of bands and becoming a beacon for millions of listeners.
“Spearheading the late 1970s Manchester music scene, their story is a remarkable tale of revolution, metamorphosis, and influence.
“Their dark and droning transmissions ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and ‘Blue Monday’ were foundational to both dance music and alternative rock, and they still resonate deeply with outsiders and adventurous souls.
“They were innovative musicians who created something revolutionary and massively influential – not once, but twice.”
The 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on 14 November at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Featured Image – Jill Furmanovsky (Publicity Picture)
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Morrissey claims sole credit for The Smiths’ iconic Salford Lads’ Club photo shoot idea
Danny Jones
Morrissey is once again raising the issue of credit and disputes over The Smiths’ legacy, as the controversial former frontman has now claimed that their iconic photo shoot outside of Salford Lads’ Club was entirely his idea.
The 66-year-old lead singer turned solo star from Urmston is no stranger to sparking debates and attracting controversy, and it seems his latest is to do with one of the most iconic images in British music history, let alone just Greater Manchester.
The Davyhulme-born bard and divisive artist goes on to claim that the other co-founding members of the iconic Manc band initially viewed as more of his “lunacy” – the suggestion seemingly being (as it often is with Morrissey) that they simply didn’t understand the ‘genius’ at the time.
Many of his most die-hard fans still believe that most don’t and never will.
He even jokes that, in another life, it could very well have been something entirely different and random, such as the Kellogg’s factory in Trafford, basically suggesting that other members would have simply followed suit.
In his words, he argues that “now millions of people come from all over the world to be photographed on that very spot, it is claimed as a Smiths idea. It wasn’t, it isn’t, and it never shall be.”
Once again, this is by no means the first time he’s called into question, ‘who did what’ and/or who owns what bit of intellectual property; in fact, there was apparently another one of these instances with Johnny Marr only recently.
‘Moz’ and Marr have been at loggerheads pretty much ever since the group disbanded back in 1987, and still look to be far away from seeing eye to eye on virtually anything.
Danny Jones -
22nd October 2024 
