Manchester’s existing arena, the AO Arena, has stepped in to host more concerts that have been postponed by Co-op Live, with yet another act being rescheduled too.
First it was announced earlier today that A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie would be moving to the AO Arena, and now Take That’s five-night run that was set for the Co-op Live this May has also had a venue change.
Their two June dates at the new arena are said to be unaffected.
The Co-op Live‘s official opening has been hit with several delays, with events like Peter Kay’s double bill, Olivia Rodrigo and The Black Keys all already postponed over the last week or so.
Issuing a statement after rescuing multiple Take That shows, AO Arena general manager Jen Mitchell, said: “It wouldn’t be a Take That tour without a stop-off in Manchester, so it’s great to welcome the band and their fans back to AO Arena for five nights, in the heart of this wonderful city.”
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The venue has naturally welcomed the sudden flood of extra names being added to its already strong lineup for 2024, doing its best to minimise inconvenience for gig-goers who have made travel arrangements, booked hotels etc.
As for the group themselves, they also responded to their tens of thousands of fans expecting to see them from this weekend onwards.
Confessing that they’ve had to make ‘the difficult decision’ to switch venues and although ‘it’s not one [they’ve taken lightly], they wanted to give fans as much notice as possible’, adding: “We thank you for your understanding and we’ll see you all soon”.
Meanwhile, Noughties favourites Keane have sadly had to shelve their Manchester show for the foreseeable following the venue’s continuing ‘technical issues’.
Announcing the news on their social pages on Thursday evening, they admitted that they were ‘absolutely gutted’ but that the decision was ‘entirely beyond our control’.
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We’re absolutely gutted not to be able to celebrate 20 Years of Hopes and Fears with you at the Co-Op Live on Sunday. This is due to ongoing technical issues at the venue and is entirely beyond our control.
Take That’s full statement reads: “Given the ongoing technical issues around the opening of Co-Op Live we have taken the difficult decision to move our May shows to the AO Arena where we have enjoyed many great nights over the years.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we wanted to give our fans as much notice as possible.
“We’re mindful many of you will already have travel and accommodation plans in place, so we have chosen this option to minimise inconvenience to as many people as possible. Our dates in June in Manchester remain unaffected.
“All bookings will be transferred to the new venue as below and, except for Wednesday 8th May, we are pleased to say that all the dates remain the same.”
Notably, the huge new venue by the Etihad Stadium had to turn away fans who were already queueing for A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on Monday 1 May, after part of an air conditioning unit fell from the ceiling onto a (thankfully) empty arena floor.
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Question marks had already been hanging over whether some upcoming gigs would be able to go ahead and now it seems that they will be taking place – just not at the Co-op Live…
Manchester’s decades-old AO Arena, the largest indoor venue in the UK (until the Co-op Live opens), will be welcoming A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Take That instead.
It’s an interesting twist when so many people having been pitting the two venues against one another over the last weeks and months.
Gig tickets, signed merch and more up for grabs in important Headstock charity fundraiser
Daisy Jackson
Some huge music-related prizes have been announced as part of a major charity fundraising campaign for the music industry.
Headstock, a Manchester-based music and mental health social enterprise, is running a Crowdfunder campaign with prizes including tickets to huge arena shows, signed merch, and loads more.
Headstock has announced the campaign to raise funds for the support of MUSIC 85258, a 24/7 confidential text support service launched last year to support those working in the music industry.
The text support service is run in partnership with Music Minds Matter and delivered by Shout.
Headstock’s mission since its inception has been to deliver music-led solutions to tackle the growing mental health crisis, both within the music industry and beyond.
The dedicated mental health text support service has already drummed up loads of support, including being signposted back-of-house in key venues like the AO Arena, Co-op Live, and Warehouse Project.
Now, Headstock is running a fundraiser campaign to keep this vital service thriving, pulling together some major prizes across multiple prize draws.
These prizes have been donated by local Manchester bands and venues, and include VIP Parklife tickets, VIP to shows at the AO Arena and Co-op Live, season passes for WHP, and signed merch from the likes of Elbow, Courteeners and New Order.
To enter each prize draw, make a donation to the Crowdfunder – the bigger your donation, the more entries you will receive.
You can see all the prizes up for grabs and make a donation below – or you can just donate to Headstock HERE.
All the prizes in the Headstock fundraiser
Aitch – A pair of tickets to see Aitch’s headline show at Mayfield Depot + 4x signed albums – HERE
Parklife – 2x pairs of VIP tickets to Parklife 2026 – HERE
All money raised will be donated to mental health charity, Shout, who deliver MUSIC 85258 – a free, confidential and 24/7 text support service for anyone working within the music industry.
MUSIC 85258 is a de-escalation service for anyone working in the music industry who is struggling with their mental health. It is a partnership between Headstock, Music Minds Matter and Shout, with Mental Health Innovations providing the underlying service through Shout’s network of trained volunteers. To use the service, anyone that is struggling simply needs to text the word “MUSIC” to 85258 to connect with a volunteer for in-the-moment support.
Richard Ashcroft announces all-North West lineup of support acts for Alexandra Palace headliner
Danny Jones
Wigan’s finest, Richard Ashcroft, has announced an all-North-Western lineup for his upcoming headline show at ‘Ally Pally’.
The former Verve frontman is not only riding a fresh wave of popularity thanks to supporting Oasis on their incredible Live ’25 world tour, but also recently released his long-awaited new album, Lovin’ You.
Not just a Manc music icon but one of the biggest names to have come out of his borough, specifically, the legendary lyricist is finally getting more like the kind of recognition he deserves, and is making sure to pay that exposure forward in the best way possible.
He could have picked from all manner of big British acts as supports at Alexandra Palace, but Richard Ashcroft has chosen to keep flying the regional flag by picking a group he’s spent the last few months with, as well as a fellow Greater Manchester act.
That’s right: as well as signing up Liverpool’s very own Oasis Live ’25 openers, Cast, as one of the warm-up acts, the 54-year-old has also chosen another native Wigan artist in the form of The Lathums to join him for the momentous headline show.
Much-loved not only in their hometown but across Manchester and beyond, the indie favourites – who also released their latest studio LP, Matter Does Not Define, back in February – the young band are only getting better and becoming more established as time goes on.
Having already played the likes of the AO Arena here in Manchester and booked numerous big festival slots of the past few years, we reckon you can pretty much bank on them headlining this historic and bucket list venue for themselves in the future.
In terms of Cast, the scousers continue one of the busiest years for touring in their career by supporting ‘King Richard’, having followed up supporting ‘LG’ in 2024 to both Gallagher brothers over the summer.
As for Ashcroft himself, we’re glad to see him back releasing new music, and can confirm his seventh record is a great listen.
By no means our favourite, but just a taste of his latest sound.
Now, if you were wondering why we’re talking about this show over any of the other gigs (namely the Northern ones) on his upcoming UK run, it’s because most of the tour has now sold out.
His Co-op Live date was obviously the first to go, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium going shortly after, and extra dates being added in the likes of London, Liverpool and over in Leeds.
If you do happen to be in the capital already or are willing to make a trip to London for the show, there are still some tickets left for Richard Ashcroft at Ally Pally in July 2026.
Cannot wait to hear how this sounds in that storied room:
Daisy Jackson -
2nd May 2024 
