UK pop-rock legends Deacon Blue have just announced a new album and UK tour, including a massive date here in Manchester.
The Scottish superstars and long-standing British band are back with their 11th studio album and have confirmed a slew of domestic tour dates along with the announcement.
Having been going since 1985, they are well and truly some of the most revered recording veterans to ever come out of the country, known for hit tracks like ‘Real Gone Kid’, ‘Dignity’, ‘Loaded’ and more.
Revealing a total of 20 dates across various arenas and theatres, Deacon Blue will be kicking things off their tour in their home country before sweeping across the rest of the nation.
But that’s not all… We will also be heading out not one, but two tours! In March 2025, we kick things off with an exclusive run of 5 theatre shows around the album release. pic.twitter.com/usNU0Cb5Dn
In addition to the new LP, The Great Western Road, Deacon Blue have plenty to celebrate next year as 2025 also marks the band’s 40th anniversary.
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Speaking on the new album, founding members Ricky Ross and Dougie Vipond say it reflects on their journey as a group, as well as their lengthy career in the industry in this new album, as well the band’s shared age and experience after four decades making music on taking it on the road.
Commenting on the announcement, lead singer Ricky Ross said: “It’s just the next part of the adventure and it’s as exciting now as it was back then.”
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“I love the idea that a circus coming to town is a temporary existence, a little bit of magic suddenly appears in the middle of a town or a village and then it goes away. It’s very similar to what you do live.
Perhaps most excitingly besides the upcoming album itself, one of the coolest things about this new tour is that it’s not going to be your average old headline gig: they’ve promised two different shows.
Explaining that they’ll be “curating a show that changes and evolves, pulling out little surprises every now and again”, the theatre shows will also be distinct from the bigger arena shows, allowing them to flick between the new music and the hits.
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They’ve said they want to give fans “the best night of their lives” and make each show just as brilliant as the last – big words indeed.
“The live experience is so ephemeral, at the end of a show people lose all their inhibitions, and then it’s over. You have to be there. That’s what’s magical about it”, says Ross.
As for The Great Western Road – a tribute to Glasgow’s legendary street of the same name located between the city centre and its West End – the album drops on 21 March 2025, with Deacon Blue arriving in Manchester a few months later.
Deacon Blue will be coming to the AO Arena in Manchester city centre on 1 October 2025 and general admission goes live at 9am this Friday, 29 November.
Three mobile customers can also get exclusive presale access on Wednesday, 27 November from 10am.
Oasis release trailer for Don’t Look Back In Anger documentary – watch it here
Daisy Jackson
A new trailer for the upcoming Oasis documentary, ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’, has been released today.
The highly anticipated documentary follows the iconic Manchester rock band as they reunited for a series of epic comeback gigs last summer.
The Gallagher brothers broke up the band 15 years prior to the Live ’25 shows, then returned in spectacular fashion for gigs including five sold-out nights at Heaton Park in Manchester.
The band were followed throughout their triumphant comeback tour by film crews, for the documentary film ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’.
Fans will see never-before-seen snippets of rehearsal, backstage, and onstage, as well as the first joint interview with Liam and Noel in more than 20 years.
It will also explores the profound impact that the reunion had on fans, and chart the global phenomenon that was Oasis Live ’25.
One of the people behind the new documentary is Steven Knight, of Peaky Blinders fame.
Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger will be released in the UK on Wednesday 9 September and you can book tickets HERE.
Watch the full trailer for Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger below:
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Danny Jones -
26th November 2024 
