Were you a blue, green, yellow or red hoody? Aston, Marvin, JB and Ortise are back, better than ever before with their hits tour ‘Everybody Say JLS: The Hits Tour’ and were smashing them out at Manchester’s AO Arena last night singing.
Not only did hearing all the classics live again make me extremely happy — being one of the girls who had all the posters on my wall and, of course, the blue Aston hoody — but I couldn’t think of a better way to describe this gig than pure nostalgia.
The runners-up of X-Factor 2008, JLS (Jack the Lad Swing, for any of you who always wondered) came back together once again to bring all the nostalgia of the noughties to a packed-out Manchester crowd.
With five number-one hits, six million records sold worldwide and four multi-platinum albums, it’s easy to forget just how big a thing these boys were in their heyday but there was never any doubt they were going to sell out the Arena — and that they did.
It isn’t the first time JLS have played Manchester’s AO Arena, but it somehow still felt like the old days (Credit: The Manc Audio)
Kicking off the night was the fabulous Persian-American pop star, Shab, who is supporting the band across all their UK dates. The passionate and outspoken singer is a rising star in the pop world and whether or not people were familiar with her beforehand, she certainly left an impression.
Playing through singles including ‘Indestructible’, ‘Sexual’, her latest hit ‘VooDoo’ with rap veteran Fat Joe and what had to be my favourite, ‘Ain’t Thinking Bout You’, she kicked off the night with plenty of vibey pop music to get everyone going.
Dipping back into those high-school memories even more, British rap and fellow pop icon Tinchy Stryder came out next, walking out to the tune of ‘Seven Nation Army’ as people chanted, ‘Ohhh, it’s Tinchy Stryder’.
Bringing back all of his classics like ‘Take Me Back’, ‘Never Leave You’ and, of course, finishing on ‘Number 1’ (still as much of a bop as you remember it), we knew from this point on how much of an enjoyable trip down memory lane this night was going to be.
Shab, Tinchy Stryder, JLS and a few Manc’s took centre stage at the AO Arena on Thursday night.
And then they arrived. There was A LOT of inaudible screaming, to say the least. Starting off with ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ — whipping out their original dance routines, no less — they made it clear this really was the ‘Greatest Hits Tour’ from the very off.
‘Hottest Girl in the World’, ‘One Shot’, ‘Do You Feel What I Feel’ and the first single from their last album in 2021, ‘Eternal Love’ (written by none other than Ed Sheeran); they even brought fans on stage for ‘I Know What She Like’.
Shout to Paige, wherever you are, as she was not letting that moment go for anyone, dancing all around the stage and hugging the lads so tightly that Ortise and Aston had a handful trying to get her sat down. Brilliant.
And then it happened… The moment we’d all be waiting for — the meme all JLS die-hards and the majority of Brits know regardless of whether they’re a fan or not: JB SAID MERRY CHRISTMAS! Met with cheers and laughter in equal measure, all I could think was, ‘How can it get better from here?’
Of course, there were some tear-jerking moments as well, such as Ortise telling the crowd how the moving story of a family illness motivated him and his brothers to chase their dreams, before going on to build an even bigger family with the JLS boys.
Whenever an act asks the crowd to hold up their lights you know it’s going to be an emotional one too. As they played ‘Close to You’ and ‘Make Me Proud’, you could see all the friends hugging in the crowd as a magical sea of lights sparkled across the AO.
With a quick costume change, they came back out to ‘The Club Is Alive’ and this is where I knew we were going to get our next big moment and they didn’t disappoint: a trademark backflip from Aston because why the hell not? After all, this was a celebration of all things JLS and more.
Speaking of which, the four-piece were intent on reliving the very best of their era, bringing out a set of DJ decks and facing off against each other with their favourite tracks from that beloved period of pop.
From Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ and ‘Baby’ by Justin Beiber to ‘Super Bass’, ‘All I Do is Win’, ‘Bonkers’ and so many more, the crowd was absolutely bouncing. But the fun didn’t stop there either, as they also brought out special guests Fleur East for her hit ‘Sax’ and The Wanted’s Max George singing ‘Glad You Came’. Trust us, glad doesn’t even begin to cover it.
We knew they had to end on a high, playing ‘Love You More’ as the penultimate track before disappearing into the floor in a blast of fireworks second to last, with fireworks, and then they disappeared into the ground before reappearing for the encore.
The AO Arena lit up in blue, red, green and yellow as if to call upon a team of pop music Power Rangers, we all knew what was coming as they polished off the show with ‘Everybody in Love’ — and believe us, absolutely everyone’s hands were up as confetti scattered across the sky.
As a girl who grew up loving JLS, whether they were part of your adolescent music taste or not, I can honestly say that the celebration of all things Noughties made it one of the best shows I have been to in a long time. I’ll be keeping one eye on summer in the hopes of another tour and more massive Manc dates.
Manchester Pride announces Nelly Furtado as surprise headliner
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Pride has just dropped another huge headliner for this year’s festival – and it’s only global pop superstar Nelly Furtado.
The huge LGBTQ+ festival, celebration and protest had kept its final headliner under wraps for months, but has today announced the Maneater star will be joining the line-up for 2025.
Nelly Furtado will co-headline Manchester Pride alongside Olly Alexander, with tickets for both the Gay Village Party and Mardi Gras already on sale.
Also announced on the line-up today are DJ Paulette and Moonchild Sanelly.
Manchester Pride 2025 will take place from Friday 22 to Monday 25 August, with four days of live music, celebrations, the parade, parties, and the candlelit vigil.
Already-announced headliners include Olly Alexander, Leigh-Anne, Billy Porter, and Tulisa, alongside loads more queer artists.
Nelly Furtado is known for her anthems like Maneater, Promiscuous and I’m Like A Bird, and will bring Mardi Gras to an uplifting, powerful end on Sunday 24 August.
Homegrown legend DJ Paulette will also join the Sunday Mardi Gras line-up, along with South African trailblazer Moonchild Sanelly on Friday at the Gay Village Party.
Mark Fletcher, CEO of Manchester Pride, said: “Welcoming an Icon like Nelly Furtado alongside DJ Paulette and Moonchild Sanelly further showcases the diversity of musical tastes that we’re catering for. They’re each sure to create some unforgettable moments.
“Manchester Pride 2025 will be bold, brilliant, and bursting with Pride energy, but it’s at a tipping point.
“Pride can only thrive if our community shows up: by attending events, joining the Parade, and buying supporter bands.
“We’ve seen what happens when we don’t rally together, and we cannot let that happen in our City. This is the moment to stand up, come together, party as a protest and ensure Pride continues to shine long into the future.”
For full-day line-ups and more information on Manchester Pride 2025, download the Manchester Pride app.
Sam Fender – Live From Wythenshawe Park, Manchester: tickets, times, supports and more
Thomas Melia
North Shields indie rocker Sam Fender is making his way to Manchester to play a massive summer date at Wythenshawe Park.
UK singer-songwriter Sam Fender is ready to hear the roars of the Manchester crowd as he heads to one of the city’s biggest outdoor gig venues ahead of the ‘Live From Wythenshawe Park‘ summer series.
The BRT award-winning artist released his third studio album, People Watching, back in February, and you can expect to hear quite a few of this LP’s staple singles like ‘Arm’s Length’ and ‘Rein Me In’.
It wasn’t too long ago that Fender last paid a visit to the music capital of the North with his performance being described as ‘one of the world’s greatest live acts’ (by us, in fairness…) last December.
Gig guide – Sam Fender at Wythenshawe Park: all you need to know
Now, get your ‘Seventeen Going Under’ “Oh woah oh ohs” ready as Mr. Fender is set to play out to a crowd of 30,000 this weekend as he takes on the mighty feat that is Wythenshawe Park.
Sam Fender is playing Wythenshawe Park in Manchester on Saturday, 16 August (Credit: Supplied via Mac Scott)
Sam Fender tickets for Wythenshawe Park gig
As you would expect, ‘You’re Not The Only One’ who wants to see this Geordie musical mastermind in action as they’re completely sold out.
However, if you want to ‘Play God’, you can try your best on verified fan ticket reselling platform, Twickets, right HERE. Ok, we’ll calm it with the puns now, promise – we’re just very excited.
As always with second-hand tickets, proceed with caution; it’s never worth getting stung by the touts.
Sam Fender setlist
Although the setlist isn’t confirmed, at recent festivals and events, he’s performed a more condensed collection of the hits and tracks from his newest album.
However, this is his biggest show in Manchester to date – a fair few thousand more than Co-op Live, in fact – so you can expect something closer to a full-blown headline set. Here’s what we’re expecting based on what was played at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park stadium in his hometown:
Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero (Mark Knopfler cover)
UEFA Champions League Anthem
Getting Started
Will We Talk?
Arm’s Length
The Borders
Howdon Aldi Death Queue
Crumbling Empire
Tyrants
Rein Me In (with Olivia Dean)
People Watching
Get You Down
Spit of You
Seventeen Going Under
Encore:
Remember My Name (with Easington Colliery Brass Band)
The Dying Light
Something Heavy (with CMAT, Liam Fender and Niles Krieger)
Hypersonic Missiles
One very stunning solo support act for Sam Fender at Wythenshawe Park
Olivia Dean is supporting Sam Fender amid his ‘Live From Wythenshawe Park’ gig this weekend / Credit: Supplied
You might have noticed one rather big name among the setlist there, and you’d be right to have paid attention because she makes this a truly great value-for-money live music billing.
Opening up for Mr. Fender is no easy feat, but this rising soul singer and incredibly talented ‘Lady Lady’ will no doubt take it in her stride.
London-based Olivia Dean is travelling up North to kick things off with her neo soul prowess, airy vocals and lovestruck tracks like ‘Nice to Each Other’, ‘It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be’, ‘Carmen’ and more.
But that’s not all…
Sam Fender has two more support slots, which are confirmed to be indie/punk artist Bugman and folk singer-songwriter Charlie Noordewier.
It really is shaping up to be one of the biggest and best nights of the year, and we’re quite literally counting down to the moment Olivia Dean joins Sam on stage for ‘Rein Me In’.
What are the stage times for Sam Fender at Wythenshawe Park?
Gates for this gig are opening from 4pm, with Bugman ‘Getting Started’ at 5:15pm and Charlie Noordewier slowly after at 6:25pm.
Olivia Dean takes to the stage at 7:35pm, with the main man himself gracing us with his presence from 9pm onwards.
With a curfew of 11pm, this should give you plenty of time to get back home and tucked in bed – though we’re sure there’ll be little room for sleep as you replay the night over and over again.
Here’s a little taster of one of the warm-ups, Bugman.
How to get there
Last but not least, there’s just the small matter of getting there. While we’d always recommend travelling as green as possible/using public transport where you can, there are still some car park tickets that you can buy online from the Live From Wythenshawe website.
As for those of you catching a ride, there is yellow signage to the north of the site, which will lead you to the pick-up/drop-off point on Wythenshawe Road, M23 0AB.
There are also three tram stops to choose from: Wythenshawe Park, Moor Road and Baguley. However, it’s worth noting that both Wythenshawe Park and Baguley will be closed from 9pm, so you won’t be able to get back home this way.
Big Green Coaches travelling to the gigs will also be available from various locations.
Finally, you can always catch one of the shuttle buses back into the city centre. The service will be operating in a loop from Sale and the city centre, running from 1pm-8pm on the way to Wythenshawe Park and then from 8pm-1:30am when heading home.
For more information, you can find all the up-to-date travel stuff HERE, or check out (TfGM) Transport for Greater Manchester’s full guidance via the Bee Network app.
The Manc Audio -
3rd November 2023 
