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Girls Aloud to reunite for 21st anniversary with huge arena tour, including two nights in Manchester

The Sound Of The Underground is returning to Manchester.

Sophie Smith Sophie Smith - 22nd November 2023

Girls Aloud are back.

It’s been 21 long years since Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine, Nicola and Sarah won over the nation on Popstars: The Rivals, and whilst it’s been ten years since Girls Aloud last performed as a group, that’s all set to change in 2024…

The arena anniversary tour will honour founding bandmate and Mancunian Sarah Harding who sadly passed away in 2021.

The tour will “celebrate Sarah […] the band […] and the fact that we can still do this 21 years later” says Cheryl Tweedy.

The 15-date ‘Girls Aloud Show’ will begin in Dublin in May 2024, finishing in Liverpool six weeks later and includes two nights in Manchester at the AO Arena.

No doubt these will be emotional nights for the whole band and Girls Aloud fans alike, as this was the city that Sarah Harding called home.

Before finding fame on talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, the popstar was a former Hazel Grove High School pupil who studied hair and beauty at Stockport College and she worked on the promotions team for two nightclubs in The Grand Central Leisure Park in Stockport, as well as waitressing at Pizza Hut.

Kimberley said: “Over the last year, we’ve felt this outpouring of love – obviously towards Sarah, but actually towards all of us as a group. And I guess it’s ignited something in all of us again. It feels like something has changed and it does feel like the right time to celebrate Sarah and the 20-year anniversary that we didn’t celebrate at the time.”

Cheryl says: “We all started talking about the possibility of doing something to celebrate Girls Aloud’s 20-year anniversary a few years ago. The anniversary seemed like an obvious thing that we would celebrate. But when Sarah fell ill all priorities changed.

“She passed away a year before the anniversary and it just didn’t feel right, it felt too soon. But now, I think there is an energy that does makes it feel right.

“It’s the right time to celebrate Sarah, it’s the right time to celebrate the band and the right time to celebrate the fact we can still do this 21 years later. That’s a big honour in lots of ways.”

Entitled ‘The Girls Aloud Show’, the band have confirmed the tour will not feature any new music, but will instead “be a celebration of Girls Aloud’s rich back catalogue and all the ground-breaking success they have achieved as a band.”

‘The Girls Aloud Show’ 2024 arena tour dates

Saturday 18 May – 3Arena Dublin

Monday 20 May – SSE Arena Belfast

Thursday 23 May – Manchester AO Arena

Friday 24 May – Manchester AO Arena

Monday 27 May – Cardiff Utilita Arena

Friday 31 May – Newcastle Utilita Arena

Saturday 1 June – Newcastle Utilita Arena

Tuesday 4 June – Aberdeen P&J Live

Saturday 8 June – Glasgow OVO Hydro

Wednesday 12 June – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena

Saturday 15 June – Leeds First Direct Arena

Tuesday 18 June – Birmingham Resorts World Arena

Saturday 22 June – London The O2

Sunday 23 June – London The O2

Saturday 29 June – Liverpool M&S Bank Arena

Nadine: “Girls Aloud are a band that made such a huge impact on people’s lives. We grew up with the band, but so did so many other people. So for us not to do something again feels like such a shame and a waste. We want to have that moment with fans where we can all enjoy it together.”

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Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 29 November from 9am, with the general on sale Friday 1 December at 9am, all via the Girls Aloud website.

Feature Image – Supplied

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Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers

Liam and Noel Gallagher have teamed up with adidas once again to create their very own SPZL trainers.

The sportswear giant has today dropped the designs for the adidas LG Achille SPZL and the adidas NG Marathon SPZL.

The sure-to-sell-out trainers will officially hit shelves in the new Manchester adidas store, and other stockists, next weekend.

The footwear drop coincides with the ongoing Oasis reunion tour, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the city when they played five nights in Heaton Park.

Liam and Noel themselves have maintained a close relationship with Gary Aspden, curator of the adidas SPZL range, for more than two decades.

They’re often seen sporting the iconic trainers and creating product collaborations, and now they’re back with a new Three Stripes partnership and their very own new adidas SPZL trainers.

Up first is Liam Gallaghers’s adidas SPZL, with the Oasis frontman asking to bring back a revised version of an archival runner, the adidas Achille.

Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers
Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers

The LG Achille SPZL features a khaki mesh base, chocolate brown stripes, a beige suede T-toe overlay, and a sand outside, with a motif of Liam on the tongue of the shoe.

Noel Gallagher’s NG Marathon SPZLs are his first collaborations with the brand since his immediate sell-out shoes back in 2017.

His are a new hybrid inspired by the adidas Marathon 85 silhouette, keeping the suede upper and rubber outsole of the Marathon 85 but with a deep navy/sky blue palette with a reworked toe box and midsole, as well as details like the Eco-Tex tongue and tonal eyelets.

Both shoes feature a portrait of their namesakes on the tongue, as well as spare laces, co-branded sock liners, and commemorative packaging.

The adidas LG Achille SPZL and the adidas NG Marathon SPZL are set to launch via adidas SPZL stockists and the adidas Carnaby and MCR retail stores on 16 August.

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Featured image: adidas

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Oasis are being linked with a massive outdoor gig next year

Danny Jones Danny Jones Oasis rumoured for Slane Castle outdoor gig 2026

After 16 long years of waiting, Oasis are officially the biggest band on the planet again (not that they ever really stopped), and now they’re being linked with a rather big outdoor gig at the storied Slane Castle next year.

They’ve already done Knebworth, so why not tick another one off the list?

With the Live ’25 reunion tour well underway, and rumblings over what they’re going to do once this run of global comeback shows is done, Britpop fever hasn’t just had fans of the band reliving the 1990s – it’s practically taken over the music world.

There’s already plenty of talk circling – including a potential return to Knebworth – but now Oasis is pretty much the first and only name being tipped for a huge headline slot at Slane Castle, after 2026 dates were slated by the estate’s owners.

slaine castle gigs
Slane Castle hosted natives, U2, for their Go Home live concert film back in 2002. (Credit: Sara Einarsson via WikiCommons)

While Harry Styles played Ireland’s historic and equally iconic venue back in 2023, the Co Meath concerts, located in the heart of the Boyne Valley, have somewhat dried up in recent years.

Prior to the former One Direction star, the last major musicians to play there were rock and heavy metal veterans, Metallica, more than half a decade ago.

However, the new lord of the manor, Alex Conyngham, is now looking to carry on where his father, Henry Mountcharles, left off in carrying on their live music legacy; and given that another legendary rock and roll band is pretty much anyone can talk about at the minute, their name has already been put forward.

As per the Drogheda Independent writer, John Kierans, Conyngham is reported to have said: “We want to bring the shows back, we miss them. It is not just about the revenue, but keeping the name of Slane as a rock venue on the map.

“It is what Slane Castle is known for, and I don’t want that legacy to fade away. This is one of the world’s great rock and roll venues with the most natural setting. We are working on plans, and hopefully we can pull something off for next year.”

While Oasis are due to play two nights at Croke Park in Dublin later this month, there is now a strong belief/expectation that a number of 2026 dates will also be announced. But will the stars align?

The Gallaghers’ obvious Irish connection has only added further fuel to the fire, though some people believe that Liam has already let the cat out of the bag regarding a second residency at Knebworth – or rather, third, in his case.

It’s also worth mentioning that they’ve played the 1,500-acre grounds before. Twice, in fact.

The first occasion was in July 1995, supporting R.E.M just before they hit arguably the height of their own powers with the release of their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? just a few months later, on 2 October.

Burnage‘s most famous sons and their bandmates go to do it all over again in 2009 (the same year they would eventually split up), with some incredible ‘warm-up acts’ in The Prodigy, Kasabian and Glasvegas.

Phwoar…

Let’s be honest, either of those artists could probably book and sell out the place these days, so god knows how much a ticket for that lineup would set you back present day.

Regardless, if there’s one band that fits the billing to bring back the Slane Castle gigs at their boldest and best, it’s the almighty Oasis.

Whether or not the heavily rumoured 2026 dates are domestic to the UK and Ireland, we’ll have to wait and see, but the clamour is already there, no matter where they sign on to perform.

If you were at Heaton Park or had the fortune of seeing any of the Live ’25 shows, you’ll know they still sound as good as ever.

Oasis are clearly doing something very deliberate for the as-yet-unconfirmed Live ’25 reunion album

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Featured Images — Sitomon (via Flickr)/Kinsie84 (via Wikimedia Commons)/Press Shots

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