On Saturday, 8 July, one of the biggest names at the box office and on the music scene arrives in Manchester as actor Johnny Depp and his supergroup, Hollywood Vampires, continue their UK tour.
And not without controversy, of course, as the Hollywood superstar himself is gradually returning to the spotlight following his long-running and high-profile court case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Forming Hollywood Vampires in 2012 alongside rock legends Alice Cooper and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, the bad are undoubtedly bigger now than they have ever been and having kicked off the UK leg of their tour earlier this week in Scarborough, it’s time for the Mancs to show them what a real crowd looks like.
Are there tickets left to see Hollywood Vampires in Manchester?
If you’re a Hollywood Vampires fan or simply just a Johnny Depp stan (we know there are a lot of you out there) and you’re hoping to grab yourself a last-minute ticket, you’re in luck, as there are still a fair few seats available.
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While all the standing spaces have sold out, the AO Arena still has room in five different sections around the venue ranging from between £45 and £56.50 without fees — though they are all in the very top tiers.
Nevertheless, if you want to grab a ticket, you can grab yours HERE and if you’re looking for a spare in a prime location, you can always keep your eye on resale sites but, as always, proceed with caution and only ever buy from trusted sites.
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Support acts
You only have one support act to warm you up for Hollywood Vampires’ Manchester gig, but boy aren’t you lucky with who you’re getting: San Francisco cult heroes, The Tubes.
Hitting their heights of popularity in the 1970s and 80s, they were never the biggest band and (in this author’s case) we only know of them because of our parents’ exquisite music taste, but they had some serious bangers in their time — Depp and co. certainly seem to think so too.
Contemporaries, former bandmates and friends of Alice Cooper himself, many of the original members may have passed away, but The Tubes are still playing to this day and we’d be happy to see them for this absolute bop alone.
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Hollywood Vampires’ AO Arena stage times
It’s gonna be a pretty straightforward affair this weekend: doors to the venue open at around 6pm and the music itself with be starting from 7:30pm as rock veterans The Tubes take the stage.
Looking set for around an hour-long set followed by a half-hour break, you can expect the main event to start around 9pm, with the Hollywood Vampires playing until the usual 11pm ballpark curfew.
Then again, they are vampires so maybe they’ll stay up all night.
Predicted setlist
As mentioned, Hollywood Vampires kicked off their latest run of shows in Scarborough earlier this week and played Swansea on Friday, so we have a pretty good idea of what they’re going to be playing for the Manchester audience.
According to Setlist.fm, with a mix of originals and covers of rock classics, here’s your best guess:
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I Want My Now
Raise the Dead
I’m Eighteen (Alice Cooper cover)
Five to One / Break On Through (The Doors cover)
The Boogieman Surprise
My Dead Drunk Friends
You Can’t Put Your Arms Round a Memory(Johnny Thunders cover)
Baba O’Riley (The Who cover)
Who’s Laughing Now
People Who Died (The Jim Carroll Band cover)
The Jack (AC/DC cover)
As Bad as I Am
Heroes (David Bowie cover)
Jeff Beck Tribute
Bright Light Fright (Aerosmith cover)
The Death and Resurrection Show (Killing Joke cover)
Walk This Way (Aerosmith cover)
The Train Kept A-Rollin’ (Tiny Bradshaw cover)
Encore:
School’s Out (Alice Cooper cover)
What a way to finish and with so many recognisable music names touring with them as Tommy Henriksen of Warlock, drumming veteran Glen Sobel, as well as Chris Wyse who has played with the likes of The Cult and Ozzy Osbourne, you’re in for a treat. Who knows, you may even get a guest appearance…
Depp spent much of last year playing with both the Vampires and Jeff Beck, so he’s grown more than accustomed to British crowds — let’s not forget he lives here now.
We’re already looking forward to seeing people inevitably bumping into Captain Jack, The Mad Hatter, Willy Wonka or whatever character you choose to associate him with at some random pub in town like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
God, it’s been a big few days of Manchester gigs, hasn’t it?!
Manc music legends James announce MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
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Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Danny Jones -
7th July 2023 
