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DJ Michael Bibi forced to pull out of Parklife following rare cancer diagnosis

He shared a heartbreaking statement with his fans on Instagram.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 6th June 2023

DJ and producer Michael Bibi has sadly had to pull out of this weekend’s Parklife festival as well as cancel his upcoming shows after tragically being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

The London-based electronic artist was set to take the stage at Heaton Park on Sunday and had numerous other big festival gigs to play this month but following the heartbreaking announcement shared on his socials and confirmation by Parklife themselves, these shows have now been cancelled.

Writing on Instagram, Bibi said: “Hello world, writing this post is a hard one.. last week I was diagnosed with CNS Lymphoma. A very rare cancer that affects the brain & spine.

“Unfortunately, it’s moving fast and l to have to stay in hospital starting treatment immediately. Typing this message doesn’t quite seem real and I’m sorry for the bad news.”

The 32-year-old went on to close his message by adding, “I don’t know what lies ahead, I’m tired but I know I am strong and I won’t let this beat me. I will be back stronger for you all. Love Bibi.”

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Bibi had already cancelled numerous shows just last month following ongoing tinnitus-related issues, including all of his USA tour dates as a related ear-ringing condition, but was unaware of the deeper underlying problem after doctors informed him it was “more of a neurological problem“.

While CNS lymphoma (sometimes called primary cerebral lymphoma) is a rare and aggressive form of cancer, it can be treated and even cured especially in younger cases; however, the survival rate is low and the disease can return after five to 10 years after the first diagnosis.

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The comments underneath his post are filled with fellow artists like Steve Aoki, Peggy Gou, Tiesto, Disclosure and more expressing their sadness but offering their support to the hugely popular DJ following the news. Parklife Festival themselves put out their own heartfelt message too.

Parklife confirmed Michael Bibi will no longer be performing following his cancer diagnosis.

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Describing him as “an absolute superstar of dance music culture”, Bibi was set to play The Valley Stage — the second-biggest at the festival — in the same massive slot as fellow DJ, Skrillex, the following day.

The organisers went on to wish him a “safe and speedy recovery”, signing off by assuring him that “Manchester sends [their] love and support”. We certainly do.

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Our thoughts are with Michael along with his friends and family at this difficult time.

Get well soon, Bibi.

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

Featured Image — Michael Bibi (via Instagram)/ Parklife (via Twitter)

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Review | Villanelle debut: Liam Gallagher’s son’s band release their first track – here’s our review

Danny Jones Danny Jones Villanelle debut song 'Hinge' first single track review

Liam Gallagher’s son, Gene, and his band Villanelle, have officially released their debut single to the masses, and since we’re still very much immersing ourselves in everything even remotely to do with Oasis, we thought we’d give this first track a review.

Now, if you’re expecting a familiar Britpop vibe like his dad and uncle used to bash out back in the day, you’d be very wrong…

It’s one thing to settle into something similar to what you’ve grown up around and try to continue a lineage if you’re from a successful family – especially with a legacy as important and influential as the one left by Liam and Noel – but we’re glad to report they’ve done something pretty different.

24-year-old Gene Gallagher and his bandmates Ben Taylor (guitar), Jack Schiavo (bass), and Andrew Richmond (drums) haven’t just tried to do an impression of Oasis; instead, they’ve found their own sound, and while it does give somewhat of an old-school flavour, it’s not what we expected.

It takes literally milliseconds for you to click into realising the vibe they’re going for.

‘Hinge’ is a simplistic but hard-hitting, grungey and dark debut from Villanelle, who, despite having played a number of in-progress songs live over the last year or so, have only just dropped their first studio single.

In fact, they’ve actually taken the admittedly bizarre and unorthodox first steps of having already played live with Liam Gallagher on the Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour before they actually released anything people can easily listen to outside of their live performances.

Nevertheless, the young four-piece introduces Villanelle as the latest post-punk outfit amidst the ongoing revival of the classic rock genre.

That is to say that punk is a tried and true classic style of music, not that these lads are trying to sound like The Rolling Stones…

Anyway, we’re getting sidetracked: Villanelle draw plenty of influences from both original and contemporary examples of this sonic subculture, and while it isn’t explosive per se, ‘Hinge’ is short, direct and hits the same formulaic notes.

It’s also fair to say you can hear a bit of the recognisable LG whine in Gene’s vocals at times, too. Listen to it in full down below and see if you agree.

Even the basic found-footage style video fits into the same category.

To call it straightforward isn’t intended as any kind of a diss, by the way – some of our favourite tunes and best artists spearheading the renaissance of the punk scene write like this.

What we will say is that it looks like bloody good fun to both play and listen to in a small, sweaty room, with plenty of pits and people bouncing off the walls.

Gallagher Sr. might be surprised to see his son going for a slightly heavier, more hardcore route with his sound, but he can’t accuse him of forgetting his roots as the child of a ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Star.’

The boys are actually hitting the road this winter, including a date at The Castle Hotel in the Northern Quarter, if you fancy grabbing a ticket.

You can grab your tickets to see Villanelle on tour HERE, and in the meantime, let us know what you think of their debut track down in the comments.

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Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)

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Johnny Marr teases his work on upcoming Gorillaz album

Danny Jones Danny Jones Johnny Marr features on collabs for new Gorillaz album The Mountain

Legendary Manchester musician Johnny Marr has revealed he features on the new Gorillaz album, adding even more interest in the highly anticipated release.

The Mountain is the ninth studio LP from the musical collective led by Damon Albarn, which is set to drop in early 2026, more than three years on from their last album, Cracker Island.

Although the virtual band made up of several real-life creatives (though the ex-Blur frontman and artist, Jamie Hewlett, technically remain the only two consistent core members) hasn’t been away for too long, each new project brings a wave of excitement.

With that in mind, we have no shame in admitting we have even more interest in Gorillaz’s latest album now that we know Johnny Marr is attached to it.

In the new rundown of tunes already posted earlier this month, the former Smiths songwriter and lead guitarist features on four different songs on the new record. You can see it in full down below:

Gorrilaz – The Mountain tracklist

1. The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash)
2. The Moon Cave (feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda and Black Thought)
3. The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks)
4. The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen)
5. Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar)
6. The God of Lying (feat. IDLES)
7. The Empty Dream Machine (feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
8. The Manifesto (feat. Trueno and Proof)
9. The Plastic Guru (feat. Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
10. Delirium (feat. Mark E. Smith)
11. Damascus (feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey)
12. The Shadowy Light (feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash)
13. Casablanca (feat. Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr)
14. The Sweet Prince (feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
15. The Sad God (feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna and Anoushka Shankar)

As you can see, the 61-year-old appears for the first time on song seven, ‘The Empty Dream Machine’, as well as ‘The Plastic Guru’, ‘Casablanca’, and the penultimate track on the album, ‘The Sweet Prince’.

You might even call it a fitting title for one of Manchester’s most famous musical sons.

It’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the captivating soundscape already teased by the group, with Gorillaz having now shared ‘The Happy Dictator’ featuring art pop duo Sparks.

A strong and politically loaded start.

Marr – who only released his fourth batch of solo material, Fever Dream Pts 1-4, back in 2022 – has continued to craft and produce with countless other artists over the past few decades, sharing the studio with fellow icons such as Noel Gallagher, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads and many more.

He even helped create the score for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack with legendary composer Hans Zimmer.

That being said, we can only hope to hear some of his famous guitar tones sprinkled throughout this album, though it’s still unclear as to exactly how much input he had on The Mountain overall.

What we do know about the album is that it’s the first to be released via Albarn’s new record label KONG; it’s 15 tracks, and was largely made following extended recording sessions across India, with the likes of Ajay Prasanna, Omar Souleyman and Anoushka Shankar, joining IDLES, Jalen Ngonda and other collabs.

Perhaps most excitingly, the announcement of ‘Gorillaz no.9’ came alongside a series of tour dates, including one right here in Manchester. We can’t wait to see 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle ‘live’ in 0161.

Gorillaz announce huge Manchester arena gig on upcoming UK and Ireland tour
It’s another big venue debut, too.

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Featured Images — Raph_PH (via Flickr/KONG (press shot)

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