Nearly half a year ago, Manchester band M60 began a social media campaign to start tagging Manchester United legend turned pundit Gary Neville every single day until he listens to their music.
And, you know, since we’re all about supporting local artists, we thought we’d do our bit by pecking his head in too.
We’ve seen the Manc indie outfit live a couple of times now — including their headline set at Gorilla back in 2023 (at the time their biggest gig to date) — and they’ve never disappointed, be it the performance or their ever-growing cult following of loyal fans.
That being said, we feel we’re only doing Gary Neville and all of you lot a public service by joining them in their efforts to get their name out there. Plus, we’re enjoying all the different ways they’re managing to keep things interesting:
Yep, nearly half a year into these shenanigans and somehow M60 tagging Gary Neville is still funny to us.
If you’ve never come across them before either, the four-piece is made up of a bunch of mates from various towns around the region and is fronted by vocalist and lead guitarist Matthew Morton. Alliterative names always make us think of superheroes and their tunes often make us feel like that too.
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Playing together since their high school days and named after the massive Greater Manchester motorway from 2015 onwards, they’re best known for tunes like ‘I Don’t Mind’, ‘Honey’, ‘Darling’; ‘Fade Away’, ‘Kool-Aid’ and plenty more.
They also recently released their latest debut EP, How Did You Get There? and trust us, it’s a belter. Morton once described their sound as ‘Sweet Mancunian indie rock‘ and we couldn’t sum it up any better ourselves. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Which is exactly why we want ‘r Gary to get on them too.
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Also, we’ve found the whole journey very funny up until this point, so long may it continue — not too long though; we actually really want him to become M60’s newest and biggest fan through sheer persistence and pestering by the local band and yours truly. And by all means, feel free to join us in the good fight.
The local lads themselves have joked about becoming more well-known simply by embracing themselves as the “Gary Neville meme band” as the days pass, but the strategy is still kind of working nonetheless and with more new music on the way, why stop now?
We want to see Gary’s phone blowing up non-stop, right up to the point that he gets more annoyed than he did in that infamous clip of somebody passing his phone number and simply has to see what all the fuss is about it.
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We’re hoping it’s only a matter of time now, after all the ex-footballer is all about Manchester music, having famously chosen The Stone Roses for United’s walkout song and recently inviting another up-and-coming North West artist up on stage at the Apollo. Come on, Gary, we’re counting on you.
And if you’re looking to discover more new artists from in and around Greater Manchester, you can check out the new series spotlighting just that down below.
In a statement shared today, the Co-op Live said it has been ‘undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans’.
It said that the shows are being rescheduled to ensure they can ‘run safely’.
The 23,500-capacity arena said this will give them ‘the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly’.
The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May, and Peter Kay on 23 and 24 May.
As for the Bolton-born comedian, he sounds somewhat in disbelief himself:
My apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready and so, as yet, remains untested for a large-scale audience. Consequently, they are having to reschedule my two shows yet again (I know I can’t believe it either).
Co-op Live’s statement reads: “Since making the difficult decision to postpone the live shows at Co-op Live due to take place this week, we have been undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans.
“To ensure that we can run all shows safely, regretfully we have now had to take the decision to reschedule the planned The Black Keys and Peter Kay shows.
“Both The Black Keys and Peter Kay have graciously agreed to reschedule their shows. The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May 2024, and Peter Kay will now perform on 23 and 24 May 2024.
“All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase. Refunds will be available for those who can no longer attend.
“We deeply appreciate the impact this will have on excited fans, and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that this change will undoubtedly cause.
“Rescheduling Peter Kay and The Black Keys will give us the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly.
“This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size to ensure that our fans, artists and staff have the safest experience possible.”
Co-op Live boss resigns just days before venue’s official opening
Daisy Jackson
The boss of Co-op Live, Manchester’s enormous, ground-breaking new arena, has resigned from his position just days before the venue is set to open.
The enormous music-first arena has been taking shape beside the Etihad Stadium for several years, and was due to welcome its first official audiences this week, but has been hit with last-minute challenges.
And now Co-op Live‘s boss Gary Roden has quit the mammoth project, with the news of his resignation announced late Thursday evening.
Oak View Group, which Co-op Live is part of, said in a statement that they would like to ‘thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans’.
Stepping into his shoes as interim general manager will be Rebecca Kane Burton, who previously ran the U.K.’s highest-grossing venue, London’s The O2 arena.
Gary has previously come under fire for saying that some grassroots music venues ‘poorly run’ – a statement that OVG has now distanced itself from.
A separate statement said that ‘neither Co-op Live nor Oak View Group share the sentiment expressed by former Co-op Live General Manager Gary Roden regarding the grassroots industry’.
It continued: “As OVG Chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke has repeatedly stated, Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond, including teaming up with Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham on the Artist of the Month campaign, and as a founding partner of Beyond The Music.
“Co-op Live also donates over £1m a year to the Co-op Foundation to support communities and empower young people to take social action through its new Young Gamechangers fund.
“Oak View Group and Co-op Live remain happy to meet with grassroots organisations once the venue is fully operational.”
Co-op Live boss Gary Roden speaking at the launch of Co-op Live just days before he resigned. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Co-op Live in Manchester
The news of the venue’s boss stepping down comes at a time when all eyes are on Co-op Live, the opening of which has been delayed.
The venue did host a test event with Rick Astley last weekend, but even that faced difficulties, with thousands of tickets cancelled to reduce capacity just hours before showtime.
It’s now set to officially open this Saturday 27 April with a performance by rock group The Black Keys.
The full statement from OVG about Gary’s resignation said: “Gary Roden has decided to resign. We’d like to thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future.
“Rebecca Kane Burton has been named Interim GM, effective today. Rebecca is a seasoned veteran of venue management and live entertainment in the UK having served as VP/GM of The O2 from 2012-2016 and CEO of LW Theatres from 2016-2021.
Danny Jones -
2nd March 2024 
