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Manchester bass music promotors Hit & Run launch new streaming platform

The bass music heavy hitters have come up with a brand-new way to supply us with tunes.

Hannah Starkie Hannah Starkie - 20th January 2021

Known for their bass-centric events, Hit & Run has been serving Manchester with the heaviest and filthiest beats for the past 13 years.

Now, with the reputation of being the most well-respected drum and bass promotors in the city, they’ve come up with a new way to continue their legacy – Hit & Run TV.

When it was revealed we could no longer get sweaty together on the dancefloor, Hit & Run’s boss Rich Reason turned to livestreaming, like much of the industry during lockdown.

For the past few months his team has been working on setting up a Twitch channel to continue supplying us with our drum and bass fix.

But just as they were finding their feet, Twitch told them the rules were changing. Now streaming music on the platform isn’t so straightforward.

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Copyright is a big concern with using people’s music on streams and videos. Often, popular sites take down content they deem to be a potential breach. 

So, all this got Rich thinking: even though DJs have been streaming sets and keeping the scene alive since Lockdown One, the social media platforms are the ones reaping revenue from the stream’s advertising. 

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The team have taken matters into their own hands to remove the middleman. So, they’ve set up their own website, bought a PRS license and booked a load of acts.

And tonight, they launch Hit & Run TV.

With the license, DJs can play the music they want, without the risk of being muted or the stream being pulled down. Every song that’s played is logged this way, meaning artists receive their share too. There’ll be no annoying ads half-way through either. The rave can go on uninterrupted and uncensored. At last!

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Each stream will come live and direct from the Neuron Pro stage and is completely free to watch for one week. After that, a £3 a month subscription will grant you unlimited access to previous streams from the Hit & Run TV library, whenever you like. 

Also, there’ll be a monthly draw for subscribers to win a pass to all Hit & Run events for a full year.

The team reckon they could be the first ones to give this format a go. We can’t wait to see what they do with it.

The first one is tonight. So, if you need a rave, get involved here.

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Eurovision 2025 final to be screened live in cinemas across Greater Manchester

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Eurovision 2025 stage

The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest is to be screened live in cinemas across Greater Manchester next month.

Following the success of the previous two years, initially starting back when the internationally renowned televised event was held on British soil in Liverpool in 2023, cinemas up and down the UK are, once again, set to come together to celebrate 2025’s edition of the major night in the music calendar by hosting the ultimate viewing events.

The epic Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final on Saturday 17 May will be broadcast live on BBC One, and streamed into more than 100 cinemas nationwide – including several in Greater Manchester.

Distributed by CinemaLive, the live stream events will allow Eurovision fans to gather under one roof and share in the unbeatable experience of celebrating the brightest and boldest music party of the year on the big screen.

People in the cinema
The Eurovision 2025 final will be screened live in cinemas across Greater Manchester / Credit: CinemaLive | Krists Luhaers (via Unsplash)

You may remember that Switzerland is hosting Eurovision this year, following the nation’s well-deserved victory at the 2024 contest with the song ‘The Code’ performed by Nemo.

But thanks to these live stream events, you won’t need to make the trip to Basel to get in on the action, as you’ll just need to nip down to your nearest participating cinema instead.

Not only will the long-awaited final of the show be streamed live onto the big screen in 5.1 surround sound, but fans are invited to bring their Eurovision parties from the front room to the cinema instead, as organisers say fancy dress is ‘heavily encouraged’, as are enthusiastic sing-alongs too.

Speaking ahead of the event next month, John Travers from distributors CinemaLive, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the BBC to bring Eurovision’s grand final live into cinemas across the UK for the third year in a row.

“There’s simply no better way to enjoy the biggest night in music than in a cinema.”

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Tickets are now live and available to book at your local cinema here.

Some of the participating Greater Manchester cinemas include Vue Manchester Printworks, Everymans in Manchester city centre and Altrincham, The Light in Stockport, and Cineworld in Didsbury, among others.

Featured Image – EBU

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A new theatre show based on the Oasis and Blur rivalry is heading to Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The Battle - A new theatre show based on the Oasis and Blur rivalry is heading to Manchester

No one sits on the fence in the great ‘Blur or Oasis’ debate – and now one of music’s greatest rivalries will be brought to the stage in a brand-new theatre show.

Heading to Manchester next year will be the brand-new comedy play, The Battle.

Audiences will take a trip back to 1995, when Britpop heavyweights Blur and Oasis were battling it out on the airwaves – and throwing more than a few jibes at each other along the way.

The Battle follows that moment in time where both bands – one our beloved Northern brothers, the other that clean-cut art-school band from the South – released singles on the same day.

The ensuing ‘battle of Britpop’ saw rivalries flare, friendships fracture, and a media mania that defined the era.

Highlights of the play will include the Brit Awards, the war on the charts, and legendary personalities.

The Battle promises ‘filthy language and razor-sharp dialogue in this cut-throat new comedy that puts you right at the heart of the feuding, the fame, and the fallout’.

The Battle is the debut stage play from screenwriter and Sunday Times best-selling novelist John Niven, and will be directed by Matthew Dunster.

John Niven said: “1995: a time long before music splintered into a billion different Tik Tok feeds. When music was so central to the culture that two pop groups could dominate the entire summer, the evening news and the front page of every newspaper in the country.

“We’re going to take you back there. I’ve never written for the stage before, and it has been an absolute blast to do so for the first time with a producer as supportive as Simon and a director as talented as Matthew.”

Director, Matthew Dunster, added: “I remember the Battle of the Bands. I remember the charts that week. Music mattered.

“I remember being in my twenties in 1995. What a wild time. Full of energy, naughtiness and hilarity. Just like John Niven’s play.  

“I’m so delighted to be working with John on such a punchy, hilarious and revealing comedy about two of the best bands of all time, Blur and Oasis.”

Producer, Simon Friend, continued: “Throughout my sister’s teenage years, she had an enormous poster of Damon Albarn on her wall, and I remember her falling out with friends over which band they loved more.

“Ever since, this story has been in the back of my mind, and I was delighted that John Niven agreed to write it because there is no more qualified or hilarious chronicler of this world, and combined with Matthew Dunster directing, we have a fearless team recreating the sweaty mid-‘90s carnage of The Battle of Britpop.”

The Battle will make its world premiere in Birmingham next year before heading out on an extensive UK tour, including a run of shows here in Manchester.

The Battle will be at the Opera House Manchester between 17 and 21 March 2026.

Tickets go on general sale on Friday 2 May at 10am – grab yours HERE.

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Featured image: Supplied

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