This is not the Harry Styles we left behind in 2023, and he seems quite keen for us all to notice that from the get-go.
The sequin two-pieces have been packed away, the hair’s been cut into a modern mullet, and he’s into synths now.
Harry Styles emerges onto an in-the-round stage at Co-op Live and promptly hunches over a sound desk to mix the intro of Aperture. For a horrible moment, I think it’s going to be like a Fred Again concert – but then he straightens up, picks up the mic, and starts to dance, and we collectively realise we’re about to witness something truly special.
The chance to see Harry Styles on a small (hahahahaha) stage like this isn’t likely to happen again, not when he’s selling out record-breaking runs at Wembley Stadium.
The chance to see him after such a long hiatus, performing brand new music in full, is even less likely.
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And the chance to have it all going on right here in Manchester, just days after our city also hosted the BRITs, is (and I don’t say this lightly) an honour.
Harry Styles One Night Only at Co-op Live. Credit: Netflix
For One Night Only, we hear every song off his fourth studio album (Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally) in full – with a few surprises thrown in at the end for good measure.
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The whole thing has been filmed for Netflix, with a handful of cameramen chasing around after Harry on stage.
And there are definitely moments where you are conscious you’re watching a Netflix special being made, like when he ventures down the catwalk for Ready, Steady, Go and no spotlight follows him, but a camera does.
That’s not a reflection on Harry though, who performs for the audience first and foremost. He seems taken aback at how thoroughly we’ve all studied the lyrics to his hours-old album already, welling up with emotion as he returns to the live stage for the first time in three years.
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Harry Styles on stage, in the round, in Manchester
“There’s so much danger in the world,” he says. “But love is powerful and kindness is powerful. The world could use a little extra peace right now.”
Unusually, too, the show had a strict phones-free policy, with the poor venue staff doing their level best to enforce Harry’s wishes to keep cameras in pockets for one night only.
I would love more gigs to be phone free. The crowd is DARK, and present, with both hands in the air, and it lets Harry shine. I don’t believe anyone could honestly say they had a worse night for not being able to film it.
As for those new songs which had their live debut last night, Season 2 Weight Loss makes a lot more sense live, with real thudding drums, than it does on the album (I ranked it my least-favourite of the record); Coming Up Roses translates beautifully with a live orchestra; and Pop is a certified bop that’ll have those stadiums boogying.
Harry Styles One Night Only. Credit: Netflix
If you listened to Dance No More and thought it was set up for a call and response, you were correct, even if we do all clumsily tiptoe around the lyrics a bit.
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Carla’s Song is a perfect closer in every setting, whether it’s in your headphones listening to the album or as one final collective moment in an arena.
It wasn’t just the new album we got at the One Night Only – Harry also dug into the archives to play a few extra treats for us all – From the Dining Table (live for the first time in almost a decade), Golden, Watermelon Sugar, As It Was, and Sign of the Times.
The show opens and closes with Aperture, the lead single from the album, and his one night only proves his point from the song – we really do belong together.
Legendary pop duo Erasure announces huge Manchester arena gig on 2027 UK tour
Emily Sergeant
Legendary pop duo Erasure have announced a UK arena tour next spring, and they’re set to stop off in Manchester.
Andy Bell and Vince Clarke – better known by their duo name, Erasure – have announced details of their long-awaited upcoming 20th studio album today, titled Radio!! Radio!!, alongside details of an arena tour in spring 2027 across the UK and Europe.
Described as a ‘deeply personal’ project, the BRIT and Ivor Novello award-winning duo’s first new studio album in six years sees Bell and Clarke continue to refine and deepen the pop catalogue they’ve been building over the past 40 years.
The album will be comprised of a set of songs about love, loss, and injustice that they hope speaks to our ’empathy-starved times’.
Erasure will take to the road in 2027 for an arena tour that kicks off at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on 25 April before travelling throughout the UK, including a stop in Manchester at the AO Arena on 1 May, before finishing off in London and heading over to Europe, with more dates to follow.
Vince Clarke will be Musical Director for the tour, but will not be appearing onstage alongside Andy Bell, it has been revealed.
Bell says: “I’m so pleased that we were able to find a way for the tour to work for Vince. He’s always too modest but he’s so much more than the Musical Director, Vince is one of the great loves of my life and everything we do as Erasure we decide together.”
Erasure will be performing at the AO Arena in Manchester on 1 May 2027, and tickets go on presale this Thursday 1 October at 10am, before general sale begins a day later (2 October) also at 10am.
Sir Rod Stewart announces Manchester gig on final ever tour
Daisy Jackson
Sir Rod Stewart has announced his final ever tour, with the legendary singer set to perform in Manchester along with some of Europe’s biggest arenas in 2027.
The ‘The Final Encore’ tour will mark the end of a live career spanning more than six decades, with Stewart kicking off the run in Dublin next spring before heading across the UK and Europe.
The music icon will be heading to the Co-op Live in May next year, with support from synth-pop pioneer Howard Jones.
Announcing the tour, Rod Stewart said: “The time has come to say farewell to life on the road. After more than six decades, The Final Encore will most definitely be my last.
“I’ve been singing the music I love since I was 19 years old, and I’ve had the privilege of taking it around the world to all of you. It has given me a life beyond anything I could ever have imagined, and I hope I’ve given you some fond memories in return.
“I hope you’ll join me so I can thank you the best way I know how… with the music and one hell of a show. See you there.”
The Final Encore is expected to feature many of Stewart’s biggest songs, including Maggie May, You Wear It Well, Tonight’s the Night, Hot Legs, Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?, Young Turks, Baby Jane, Forever Young, You’re in My Heart, Rhythm of My Heart, The First Cut Is the Deepest, Sailing and Have I Told You Lately.
Credit: Denise Truscello Credit: Jonathan Kammen 2007
Stewart has sold more than 250 million records and singles worldwide and has amassed 31 UK Top 10 singles, including six number ones. His career has also seen him inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice and named a Grammy Living Legend.
His touring career has been just as remarkable, with Stewart having performed for an estimated 20 million fans around the world.
That includes his famous Guinness World Record-setting performance on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, where an estimated 3.5 million people watched him perform, as well as a 13-year, 200-show residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
Now, after more than 60 years on stage, Stewart is preparing to bring the curtain down on his touring career.
General release tickets for Rod Stewart’s The Final Encore will go on sale from 10am on Friday 2 October, with a number of presales taking place in the days prior.
Rod Stewart will perform in Manchester one last time on Thursday 6 May 2027 – tickets will go on sale HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
7th March 2026 
