Renowned as one of the most influential bands of the past 40 years, New Order have announced details of a huge homecoming show at Manchester’s Heaton Park on Friday 10th September 2021.
For what will be their first hometown show in 4 years, New Order’s celebratory night promises to be a defining moment in their illustrious career. Synonymous with inspiring generation after generation with their unparalleled catalogue of hits, New Order return to the city that first gave them their start – and a city forever shaped and influenced in their image.
A quintessential force in British music, their sound has travelled the globe and led the way for millions, from ‘True Faith’, ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘Regret’ to ‘World In Motion’, ‘Ceremony’ and countless more.
Released in 2015, their last album ‘Music Complete’ was adjudged a career highlight by critics and with the release of ‘Be a Rebel’ in September, New Order continue to innovate and point to the future, with Heaton Park primed to be an historic night for a band like no other.
Heaton Park
Speaking about their huge headline return to Manchester, New Order said: “The connection between ourselves and Manchester has played a pivotal role in who we are as a band. We have countless memories from across the city, from our early days starting out, and beyond. We promise to bring a celebration like no other to Heaton Park in 2021, and we can’t wait to see everyone come together for a night we’ll never forget.”
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To celebrate news of New Order’s return to Manchester in 2021, the band will participate in a very special Tim’s Listening Party for their most recent LP ‘Music Complete’ on Tuesday 15th December at 8pm. Use the hashtag #TimsTwitterListeningParty to get involved, as the band share memories and stories as they prepare for Heaton Park next year.
Joining New Order for their special Heaton Park homecoming are two acts whose lineage, sound and attitude perfectly match the legendary headliners. Whipping together the dancefloor like few others can, Hot Chip will head to Heaton Park with a soundtrack destined for huge summer moments. From ‘Ready For The Floor’ and ‘Over And Over’ to cuts from their latest album ‘A Bathful Of Ecstasy’ to the Jarvis Cocker-featuring latest release ‘Straight To The Morning’ – expect Hot Chip to be the perfect dancing partner for a historic night in Manchester. Both will be joined by the critically acclaimed electro-punk sounds of Working Men’s Club, whose self-titled debut album stands as one of 2020’s finest – with an equally ferocious and captivating live show sure to go down a treat as the sun sets on Heaton Park.
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Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, looking ahead to next year’s show, said:“We’ve learnt a lot from New Order (including how Bernard likes his tea), and they have made some incredible music, marrying the emotional with the electronic, a synthetic, at times icy beauty with rawness and pop melody, and they’ve certainly influenced us, as well as us sharing some of the same influences that have informed their music, like Chicago House, Detroit Techno, or Italo Disco. But they’re always proudly themselves, and it will be a great honour to play on the same bill with them, in their hometown, and for us to be back on stage in Manchester. Can’t wait!”
Working Men’s Club’s Sydney Minsky-Sargeant said:“It’s an honour to play with a band as significant as New Order and on more or less home turf too. I’m sure it’ll be a day to remember and to be supporting New Order in Manchester will be super special.”
Tickets for New Order at Heaton Park go on sale this week, with a special fan pre-sale starting from 9am on Tuesday 8th December – before full general release tickets go on sale at 9am on Thursday 10th December here.
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Noughties throwback Lemar announces special 20th anniversary gigs in Manchester and London
Danny Jones
The one and only Lemar is back now only with new album but two special shows to mark his 20th anniversary in music.
A chart-topping, BRIT and MOBO award-winning artists who rose to popularity in the early 2000s, Lemar has sold millions of albums worldwide and is now returning with his first new record in nearly eight years.
Having released his latest 80s funk inspired new single, ‘Future Love’, today (7 February) and officially announced his upcoming seventh album, Page In My Heart, the noughties pop and R&B artist is back on the scene and thought it only fit to pay tribute to 20 years in the biz.
Two decades on from his debut album, Dedicated, Lemar is hosting a pair of anniversary shows in London and right here in Manchester. Now this is going to be quite the throwback.
Best know for hit tracks like ‘It’s Not That Easy’, ’50/50′, ‘What About Love?’, ‘Another Day’ and many more, the 44-year-old returns to the stage with a new sound but one that also calls back to his roots and early work.
Speaking in a statement, Lemar says: “With this new album, I wanted to make something for anyone who ever bought Dedicated, as this year is 20 years since its release. I thought I’d like to make something for the people who got behind that album, something that they would appreciate and like.
Descirbing his new single, he went on to say, “it’s more uptempo, it’s got that soulful feel, it’s a bit looser, a bit Chaka Khan. A bit ‘Dance (With U)’… it’s got that kind of energy to it.”
The Tottenham-born singer hasn’t been ‘away’ per se, having continued to perform up and down the country in recent years, but both he and his fans have been waiting “patiently” to get the right collection of songs together to release new material.
His last album, The Letter, released back in 2015 and delighted die-hards but he says this latest project is about reconnecting with his fans, insisting that “it really is a page from my heart.”
Lemar will celebrate two decades of music and the 20th anniversary of Dedicated live with two special nights at O2 Ritz here in Manchester and London indigo at The O2 on the 27 and 28 of April, respectively. You best believe we’ll be getting one.
Tickets go on sale on 10 February at 10am. Tickets will be available HERE and at Ticketmaster.
Neighbourhood Weekender announces massive warm-up show with Ian Brown, Happy Mondays and more
Danny Jones
Neighbourhood Weekender has announced a warm-up show on the Friday before the festival proper kicks off, with the likes of Ian Brown, Happy Mondays and more already confirmed.
With Neighbourhood 2023 set for the weekend of 27-28 May as festival season gets into full swing, the increasingly popular Victoria Park-based crowd-pleaser is effectively starting a day early with their ‘Live At The Big Top’ event.
Although the local favourite has previously put on a number of performances on the Friday before the Warrington Weekender as we know it, this is the first time this event has been held and will serve as a warm-up show for the impending gig-goers.
What better way to get the party going?
We're so excited to announce Neighbourhood Weekender presents ‘Live At The Big Top’ featuring @ianbrown, @Happy_Mondays, @castofficial & @CVCband_ at Victoria Park, Warrington Fri 26th May!😎
Effectively acting as a warm-up party for the main event, the North West crowd will be treated to the likes of 80s and 90s Manc music icons Ian Brown and Happy Mondays, as well Liverpool indie band Cast and up-and-coming Welsh psych-rock band, CVC, a.k.a. Church Village Collective.
The lineup also denotes a landmark occasion, with this being the first time that Brown and Happy Mondays — two of pioneering artists of the ‘Madchester‘ scene — are sharing the same bill in their long and illustrious careers. Well, aren’t you a lucky lot?
While we’d say this is an absolute must if you truly want to make a full go of Neighbourhood Weekender, this is technically a separate event and it’s well worth attending if you can’t make it on the Saturday or Sunday for whatever reason.
Tickets go on sale at 9.30am on Friday, 10 February. You can grab yours HERE.