It’s happened again, guys – fans have managed to crash the O2 Priority website in their scramble to buy tickets, and this time it’s Beyonce who’s thrown a spanner in the works.
The star, who announced her Renaissance tour yesterday, has lured hundreds of thousands of music-lovers into the online pre-sale queues.
And the O2 Priority website hasn’t coped well at all, leading to ‘Peter Kay‘ suddenly trending on Twitter again.
The Bolton comic also managed to crash the pre-sale site with his massive return to the stage last year.
Beyonce has now been labelled the ‘Peter Kay of pop’, which is a title that would probably go way over her head.
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O2 Priority has apologised for all the issues fans are experiencing, saying they’re ‘doing everything they can behind the scenes’ to cope with the phenomenal demand.
It looks like standing tickets will cost £106.80, while seated tickets are priced between £56.25 and £199.
Then the VIP packages are WILDLY expensive, priced all the way up to £2400.
One person tweeted: “what an absolute joke yet again from O2 #priority same with Peter Kay and now @Beyonce tickets – App has issues and the website sends you a code only to tell you its invalid. You knew this was coming and you failed again. A nightmare.”
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Credit: Instagram, @beyoncePeter Kay. Credit: BBC
Another said about the pre-sale: “The only other person that’s crashed o2 priority is peter kay would’ve never called beyonce ‘the female peter kay’ but here we are x.”
Presented Andy Goulding posted, alongside a screenshot of an error message: “What do Beyoncé, Peter Kay and a free Greggs sausage roll on a Friday, all have in common?”
Someone else said to O2: “App not working. You would think you would learn after the Peter Kay fiasco.”
It’s also caused another weird issue, because the O2 Priority app also has a promotion on for a free Greggs mocha – one person tweeted: “You lot fully crashed the O2 priority app, I can’t even get my free greggs mocha!! Get off the damn app!! Beyoncé can wait, I need my mocha now!!”
A statement from O2 Priority said: “We apologise to anyone experiencing difficulties trying to get Beyoncé tickets through Priority. Tickets are selling and we’re seeing huge demand. We’re doing everything we can behind the scenes to help keep the app running smoothly.”
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Fans were also fuming yesterday when Beyonce announced her UK tour dates – and shunned Manchester.
The 41-year-old megastar is instead going to performing three nights in London at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, plus shows in Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Sunderland.
Featured image: BBC / Instagram, @beyonce
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James Blunt announces huge Manchester gig on new European arena tour
Daisy Jackson
Singer-songwriter James Blunt is heading back out on tour next year, and has announced a massive Manchester gig as part of his run of arena shows.
The singer, perhaps best-known for his iconic 2005 pop ballad ‘You’re Beautiful’, is hitting the road again in 2027.
The newly-announced European tour is in celebration of his new album Airplane Mode, which is set for release this autumn.
James Blunt will kick off his tour in Leeds next spring, before heading over for a night at the almighty Co-op Live in Manchester.
Then he’ll head to more cities including Newcastle, Birmingham and London.
His new album, Airplane Mode, is being released on 6 November and will, according to his press release, be ‘exhilarating’.
James has already released the first single, ‘Tastes Like Summer’, and ‘Weight Of It All’, with 10 more songs to come on the record.
Airplane Mode was recorded with James’ brilliant long-standing live band, who’ll be back on tour with him next year.
Speaking of the new album, and recording in Pig Music Studios, he said: “Somewhere back there, I lost my way, but found it again in a studio in Banbury.”
James Blunt will be at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on 3 April, 2027. Tickets go on sale from 10am on 9 September.
Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
Daisy Jackson -
2nd February 2023 
