Glass Animals have announced details of their long-awaited global tour, including a gig here in Manchester.
The Grammy and BRIT-nominated British band will be performing at the Co-op Live arena in November.
The announcement comes just a day after they dropped their first single from their upcoming album ‘I Love You So F***ing Much’.
Glass Animals released Creatures in Heaven yesterday, then delighted fans with details of a huge global arena tour.
There’ll be 44 tour dates across the US, Europe and the UK for Glass Animals this year, including their Manchester gig.
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The four-piece already have three studio albums to their names and smashed into the UK Singles Chart with their biggest hit, the four-times Platinum certified Heat Waves.
That song? Oh yeah, it’s just the biggest international hit from a British band in almost 30 years. It’s also the first song with a single writer and producer to hit the top of the charts since Pharrell’s Happy.
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Their upcoming fifth album will be the follow-up to their 2020 release Dreamland, which sold more than 12 million copies globally.
Lead singer Dave Bayley said the album was born in the midst of an existential crisis, with the band finding global stardom during lockdown.
He said: “Life can change dramatically, but sometimes you aren’t able to change as quickly on a personal level. You end up feeling like a spectator.
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“And then you are asked and expected to be a certain type of person, a different person. But…I wasn’t sure how. It confused me to the point of not knowing who I was or if anything was real.”
Glass Animals announce Manchester Co-op Live gig on huge global headline tour
He said that being stuck in a wooden house during one of the biggest storms in California’s history forced him into a new headspace where he realised that ‘human connection and the love between us is much bigger, more important, and more complex than anything else’.
‘I Love You So F***ing Much’ will be 10 intimate love stories set against the backdrop of the universe.
Glass Animals frontman Dave added: “I love you so f***ing much, I LOVE YOU SO F***ING MUCH, I love you SO f***ing MUCH, I love you so F***ING much, I LOVE you so f***ing MUCH. These words take on a different meaning every time you say them.
“The universe may make us feel overwhelmingly small, but we have this human connection that is far vaster and more mysterious.
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“Love comes in an infinite number of forms and shapes and sizes. It is so complex, and so powerful that even witnessing the tiniest instance of it can change your life forever.”
Fans who pre-order the album will have access to early pre-sale tickets going live at 10am on 9 April. General on-sale will go live at 10am on 11 April.
Glass Animals 2024 European tour dates
15 October – Paris – Zenith
16 October – Brussels – Forest National
17 October – Düsseldorf – Mitsubishi Electric Halle
Lola Young shares first public statement since cancellations and stepping away from the spotlight
Danny Jones
UK pop star Lola Young has shared her first public statement since cancelling the remainder of her tour and stepping away from the spotlight.
Lola Young, 24, took a break from her still-burgeoning career after numerous concerning incidents on stage, including throwing up and even passing out in the middle of a performance.
The BRIT School graduate announced the unfortunate cancellation of her upcoming shows “for the foreseeable future”, including a gig here in Manchester, at the end of September.
Breaking her silence after the best part of three months, the London-born singer-songwriter took to social media in a fairly brief but heartwarming statement.
As you can see, the time away from the public eye certainly seems to have been beneficial, telling her followers that “it has helped more than you will ever know”.
In addition to embracing ADHD – even labelling her hit song ‘Messy’ as an “ADHD anthem” in multiple anthems – she was also diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder at just 17.
The latter can include symptoms such as psychosis, hallucinations, intense mood swings, bipolar mania, depression and more.
All that being said, we’re glad to hear that she’s on the mend; we saw her back in March, and you could tell from the crowd that she’s already got a very passionate cult following.
Both conditions and their associated obstacles have obviously affected her, but have equally helped influence her music and lyrical material, certainly, too.
Responding in the comments, fellow artist SZA wrote: “Love you, starfire angel. Your music is FULL of longevity and substance! We’re so grateful for you”.
Joining in support, ‘dark pop’ musician Carter James added, “Your wellbeing comes before anything. So excited for your next chapter whenever it arrives!”
We hope she’ll be doing better enough soon to get back on stage when she’s ready.
Fans are preparing to pay tribute to Mani from The Stone Roses ahead of his funeral service
Danny Jones
Stone Roses fans and Greater Manchester locals alike are getting ready to pay their respects to the late, great, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, following his tragic passing last month.
As well as details surrounding his funeral being announced earlier this week, the iconic Manc musician’s cause of death has also finally been revealed.
While Hatton’s service featured a high-profile cortège which started all the way from his hometown of Hyde, past multiple landmarks and ending at the Etihad Stadium, those local to Mani’s family home on the edge of Stockport are also being welcomed to help send him off.
It's the funeral of Mani of the Stone Roses on the 22nd. He lived locally. This poster is asking people to line the route of his funeral cortege to "show that he truly was adored". pic.twitter.com/X0DYHl10Hp
He had been struggling with emphysema for some time; he was declared dead at his home in the suburb of Heaton Moor, and is said to have died peacefully in his sleep.
As you can see from the posters put in various places around the area, residents wishing to pay their own tributes to Mani before his private funeral service at Manchester Cathedral are encouraged to line the long street leading down from St Paul’s and Heaton Moor United Church as he heads towards the city.
Departing Parsonage Road from 10am on Monday, 22 December, before turning right onto Heaton Moor Rd, then Wellington and eventually on to the Cathedral, you can expect plenty of people to show up.
One of those people will be his former bandmate and another influential guitarist, John Squire, who is one of many famous musical names to have honoured him in their own way over the last few weeks.
Other members of The Stone Roses, as well as Primal Scream (who he joined in 1996), are expected to join the close family and friends at the service itself.
Nevertheless, we have no doubt that plenty will be observing the funeral in their own way.
So, for those of you also looking to honour him, you know what to do; and to quote the poster itself, “together we can show this local legend and his family that he was truly adored.”
Daisy Jackson -
4th April 2024 
