Hot Chip has just announced they will play a huge live show in Manchester in the new year, in what marks the band’s first appearance since the release of their newest album Freakout/Release.
The electronic band, most famous for mid-noughties hits ‘Over and Over’ and ‘Ready for the Floor’, will bring a specially curated line-up to the Warehouse Project’s home at Depot Mayfield for the very first time.
At the huge show, which will take place on 3 February 2023, Hot Chip will be joined by the likes of Todd Terje, Sofia Kourtesis, Yuné Pinku, Mona Yim (DJ Set) and Tarzsa.
The group’s most recent release Freakout/Release dropped this summer to resounding praise from critics, with music review authority Pitchfork comparing the album to “a homeopathic remedy”.
Image: Hot Chip
The eighth album from the band, a long-time favourite of electronic music heads, opens with what the site calls “a startling confession” from frontman Alexis Taylor before delving into a “litany of woes”.
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Elsewhere, tunes such as the album’s title track Freakout/Release pay homage to the group’s love of The Beastie Boys (inspired, in part, by the group’s cover of ‘Sabotage’) – joining “doubt with deliverance over the cleansing pulse of a disco beat.”
Since first debuting in 2004, the London indie electronic band has gone on to release seven more LPs, received Grammy and Mercury Prize nominations and perform at the likes of Glastonbury.
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Image: Hot Chip
Image: Hot Chip
Formed in 2000, the band have forged themselves a reputation as one of the most innovative bands to come out of the UK in modern times.
In their time, Hot Chip have released eight studio albums, with their latest being 2022’s Freakout/Release.
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So far, only two dates have been announced by the band in 2023 with Hot Chip playing their first show of the year in Manchester. Hot Chip will then headline Kaleidoscope Festival at London’s Alexandra Palace on July 15, 2023.
Tickets for the WHP show start from £29.50 plus a booking fee. You can register now via https://linktr.ee/WHPMCR for the exclusive presale and the only guaranteed access to tickets.
The presale for tickets goes live on Wednesday 30 November at 10am, followed by a general sale on Thursday 1 December at 10am.
Feature image – Hot Chip
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Watch Johnny Marr join Franz Ferdinand on stage in Manchester for a Smiths classic
Danny Jones
Franz Ferdinand are the latest act to play Aviva Studios as part of the ongoing Amazon series here in Manchester and were joined by a local music legend during the performance: none other than the mighty Johnny Marr.
Amazon Music UK’s ‘City Sessions’ has already seen the likes of Bastille and Ella Henderson kick off the programme of live performances at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, and this past weekend saw the alternative indie veterans become the third.
Better yet, the Manchester crowd got to see one of their hometown heroes as well, as the former Smiths guitarist turned lyricist and solo artist joined the Glaswegians on stage for a spell.
A ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ cover by Franz Ferdinand featuring Johnny Marr himself was on absolutely no one’s bingo card for 2025 but we’re very happy we’ve lived to see this cameo.
The 61-year-old musician still has all the effortless swagger he always did and although anyone would struggle to match the same distinct vocal style as Morrissey, lead singer Alex Kapranos did a great job.
Reacting to the clips shared online, the excitement in the room was clearly palpable, with one person writing, “I let out the biggest scream” and another adding, “The crossover I didn’t know I needed!”
A third wrote: “I’d like to see them do an album together like the magnificent FFS album” – referring to the standalone collaboration record created by the Franz Ferdinand and Sparks supergroup in 2015.
Local social media and marketing company, Altrincham HQ, also shared footage of the two artists colliding to perform the Franz fan favourite ‘Do You Want To’, with Marr playing lead throughout.
— Altrincham HQ – Social Media Marketing in Manc (@altrinchamhq) January 18, 2025
The entire performance was livestreamed on Amazon’s Twitch channel as part of the City Sessions series, so you can back and watch the full thing, but it’s fair to say this was the highlight.
It was only back in September that we saw the re-release of Johnny Marr’s only solo album with The Healers, Boomslang, but we’re glad to see the Manc icon is still finding plenty of opportunities to get on stage and do what he does best.
As for whether we’ll see more live performances of The Smiths tunes in the near future, Morrissey recently said that Marr now has full rights to all of their music and could feasibly tour with someone as lead should he wish.
However, the latter was quick to deny the controversial frontman’s claims and insisted that he had simply refused to sign an important document. His response also detailed previous talks about a potential reunion, though the chances of it ever happening now looked slimmer than ever.
An unmissable Whitney Houston tribute event is returning to Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
A much-adored and cherished Whitney Houston tribute show is returning to Greater Manchester later this year for not one but two different shows, each channelling the charisma and energy of the pop legend.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the phenomenal theatre production, ‘Queen of the Night’, the show is visiting a multitude of stages and venues all across the UK.
0161 had to receive at least one date on this tour, partly due to being the music capital of the North and also due to the fact that this is a city many fans of the 80s diva will forever hold close to their hearts.
Houston played her final ever concert performance of her career here in this very city back in 2010, taking up residence in AO Arena for two nights of world-renowned ballads and mesmerising live vocals.
This tribute show is set to include some of the diva’s biggest and much-loved hits like ‘I Will Always Love You’, ‘How Will I Know’ and ‘The Greatest Love of All’, the audience is sure to be singing along.
Adenike Adewale is taking on the role of the American R’n’B Pop singer and is no stranger to the stage or TV, featuring on The Voice in 2021 where she sang a Whitney classic, making it to the semi-finals.
Fast forward to 1 June and the tour returns to Greater Manchester and legendary city centre space, Bridgewater Hall: an incredible room more than fit for renditions of the powerhouse vocalist.
A pair of stunning venues, two stunning shows and one incomparable voice.
It’s not only our lovely region the Queen of the Night experience will be visiting; our friends over at The Hoot have plenty of nearby opportunities to sing along too, with Yorkshire dates in Hull, Halifax, Harrogate and Bradford to name a few.
I’m definitely saving all my love for when this show visits us later this year in March, and after I buy out the front row for all my friends I’ll certainly relate to the smash 1993 single ‘I Have Nothing’.
Tickets are on sale already now – you can grab yours HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
29th November 2022 
