Be it a bloke with a guitar in the pub, countless buskers on the street or even big names touring in Manchester, we’ve come across a lot of Oasis covers in our time and plenty of takes on ‘Champagne Supernova’ too – but this one by Middle Kids is up there with the best we’ve ever heard.
Alternative Australian band Middle Kids have been going since 2015 and we hear at Audio North have been enjoying the Sydney export for a good long while now.
Released back in 2019, their debut album Lost Friends had us hooked from the off, as have their two follow-up records, Today We’re The Greatest (2021) and Faith Crisis Pt 1, which dropped earlier this year.
The latter was recorded right here in England by Jonathan Gilmore, who has famously worked with The 1975 and other artists on the Dirty Hit label, so there’s no surprise you can hear some of those UK influences in their sound – but we weren’t expecting them to nail such an iconic Britpop song so easily.
Middle Kids perform a very different kind of cover of ‘Champagne Supernova’ by Oasis.
What do you reckon – pretty bloody good, right?
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Now, imitating a song well is one thing but reimagining it in a totally different way is another and, in our opinion, often what makes a really good cover stand out.
Plenty of music fans tend to agree too as the comments underneath the video speak for themselves. One person wrote, “Her voice is entrancing, this sounds great”, while another added: “Classy cover, brings new meaning to the track for me. Melancholy magic.” High praise indeed.
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To be honest, most of the comments are just various different ways of saying, “We must have this on Spotify immediately” – and if you enjoyed it too, you’ll be glad to know they listened and added it to the streaming platform right off the bat, where it’s already boasted countless plays in less than a fortnight.
By the way, this isn’t their first ‘Like A Version’ cover for the national radio station and popular online channel that has impressed, having previously done their own takes on everything from Crowded House and even Olivia Rodrigo.
A good triple j cover – which often go viral on social media – can do wonders for a band’s profile.
The Aussie indie rockers clearly have a real penchant for covers and not just trying to recreate what’s gone before but actually put their own twist on stuff.
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As for Middle Kids’ version of ‘Champagne Supernova’, we’ve had it on repeat for the past week; we’re not sure whether it’s lead singer Hannah Joy’s soft and soothing vocal take on the classic Manc hit or the cleverly vocoded keys creating those harmonica sounds underneath everything, all we know is we love it.
It’s more pared-down and stripped back than the original as you can often expect from the likes of triple j and Live Lounge sessions but it turns out a lo-fi version of the legendary song is something we never knew we needed.
More importantly, if you’ve never given the talented trio a listen before then we urge you to give their own discography a go when you come up for air from all the Oasis excitement of late.
It’s not the only cover involving a Greater Manchester band we’ve enjoyed recently either…
Featured Images — triple j (screenshot via YouTube)
Audio
James Morrison is BACK with new music and coming to a beautiful Manchester venue
Danny Jones
Noughties favourite James Morrison is back with his first new album in six years and is putting on a small handful of special shows in a select few cities to celebrate, with Manchester being one of them, and tickets are going on sale next week.
With five records to his name over the course of a career spanning more than 20 years, it may have been a while since we’ve heard his instantly recognisable and raspy vocals, but he’s making his return later this year with his sixth studio LP and this limited run of live performances.
The Rugby-born singer-songwriter, acoustic guitarist and one-time regular in the pop charts enjoyed a successful period in the 2000s, even collaborating with the likes of Nelly Furtado, Demi Lovato, Olly Murs, Kelly Clarkson and more.
Having just announced his latest project, Fight Another Day, which is scheduled for release this autumn, we’re looking forward to seeing him not just back on stage but at a truly beloved and beautiful Manc music space.
My new album ‘Fight Another Day’ is out 03/10/25, and I’ll be going on tour this September. Pre-order the album here https://t.co/1ycLwUTETo to get early access to tickets, with pre-sale starting 10am on 04/06/25. I hope you enjoy 'Fight Another Day', my first single, out today pic.twitter.com/Ud6YKziGXd
Morrison, now 40, said of his latest music: “When I leaned into how I was feeling, that’s when the songs started coming. I started writing about what I was going through. My own struggles with myself. Every day being a bit of a battle. Trying to eke the light out after what felt like darkness for ages.
“I’m really proud of the album in terms of the creative, sonic elements and how I dealt with truthful stuff. But also it’s an album of songs that hopefully make you feel better and make you nod your head and stamp your feet and singalong.”
“It just sums up what the record is. It’s about reminding yourself what’s good. About convincing yourself you’ve got enough strength to keep the fight going”, he went on to add.
Having helped co-produce the entire thing with the likes of two-time Ivor Novello winner, Eg White; Daniel Merriweather, Connor Reeves and Andy Platt (Young Gun Silver Fox), fingers crossed it’s everything fans are hoping for.
As for the gig venue itself, the ‘Broken Strings’ and ‘You Give Me Something’ singer will be coming to Manchester’s grand Bridgewater Hall in September.
A historic and truly iconic place. (Credit: The Manc Group)
With just three other shows confirmed – Birmingham, Symphony Hall on 23 September, Glasgow, SEC Armadillo (24 Sep) and a night at the London Paladium (28 Sep) – Manchester can count itself lucky to have been chosen for these intimate evenings.
As for the album itself, Fight Another Day is due to drop on 3 October and is available for pre-save/pre-order right now; those who do so will gain access to the pre-sale window, which opens at will open at 10am next Wednesday, 4 June.
General admission to see James Morrison in Manchester city centre goes live at the same time on the following Friday (6 June); you can get ready to grab your tickets HERE.
Meanwhile, for those unaware of the venue itself, find out more down below.
A brand new grunge and hard rock festival is kicking off in Manchester
Danny Jones
Manchester grungers, hardcore heads, and fans of all things rock, pay attention because there is a brand new festival coming to the city centre – and it has possibly the best name for a live music event we’ve heard in some time.
Ahem… let us introduce you to Broken Knees Fest.
Yes, donning a name that feels increasingly more relatable the closer we get to the wrong side of 30, Broken Knees Festival 2025 marks the inaugural edition of Manchester’s newest series of rock and grunge gigs, helping spotlight rising artists across the genres from within two crucial grassroots venues.
Very loud music inside tightly-packed, small-capacity rooms? It’s a winning formula that never fails. It’s about time we broke a sweat – here’s hoping the knees just about hold out.
Hosted in the heart of the Northern Quarter, which continues to thrive as a creative hub for new music and art of all forms, the festival will be debuting at small-cap favourites Gullivers and Castle Hotel just across the road.
As you can see, the lineup is full of up-and-coming talent within the guitar-driven space, but you can bank on more than a few bringing their die-hard fans to fill the place out to the rafters.
It doesn’t matter if you prefer punk, hardcore, grunge or another specific sub-genre found somewhere in between the ever-sprawling rock spectrum, there’s something to suit all alternative tastes at this one.
With the likes of Bohmen, Mavis, One Dimensional Creatures and Smother headlining the first-ever iteration of the festival across four stages, you can expect plenty of energy and even more noise.
Set up by the events group of the same name, Broken Knees Promotions, who help platform rock and alt acts across Greater Manchester and beyond year-round, this is more than just a festival: it’s a grassroots celebration through and through.
Best of all, if you’re interested, you don’t have to wait long because it’s kicking off next month.
Gigs go off in here. If you know, you know… (Credit: Audio North)
Broken Knees Fest 2025 is happening on the weekend of 21-22 June, and you’ll be glad to hear that, as a brand new event, prices have been kept nice and low.
The early bird window had prices starting from just £12, and although this tier has now sold out, day tickets are still only £15 while a full weekend pass will set you back £25.
Until then, why not dive into another load of new Manchester music? We round up artists from all genres each month; we’ll also confess to leaning slightly more towards the heavier stuff from time to time.
Danny Jones -
30th October 2024 
