Noel Gallagher will perform a headline set at a huge fundraising gala at Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground next month.
The former Oasis star will be joining Jamie Carragher, Vernon Kay, Melanie C and more at the Football for Change event.
The inaugural fundraising gala took place last year in Liverpool and raised nearly £250,000, boosted by a lunch event with Sir Rod Stewart and Tom Grennan that raised a further £100,000.
It’s hoped that the huge cricket ground gig will raise even more money for the charitable initiative Football for Change, to help people affected by poverty.
Credit: Football for Change
The initiative has already sent more than 40 disadvantaged children to the USA on sporting and educational retreats, as well as distributing grants to organisations in the most deprived areas of the country.
Taking place on 22 September, the Football for Change gala will bring together performances from Spice Girl Mel C, Emeli Sande, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
Vernon Kay will host, while Sky Sports presenter Jamie Carragher holds a high-profile Q&A with a sporting superstar.
A major auction will also be held, with prizes donated by Robbie Williams, Sir Rod Stewart, Manchester United, Manchester City and Formula 1.
Credit: Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground
Jamie Carragher said: “It is amazing to have Noel and his band supporting Football For Change by playing at our annual fundraising gala next month. He is a music icon and we’re all looking forward to it.
“This event follows our launch in 2021 which was attended by our patron Sir Rod Stewart. It is going to be a great night.”
Dan Hughes, founder of the leading PR firm ThisGeneration, who launched the Football For Change initiative said: “Securing Noel Gallagher is a massive coup. This is a major homecoming for one of the world’s biggest music stars and his support will help improve the life chances of disadvantaged young people in the North West.”
Football for Change was launched by Jamie Carragher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Conor Coady last year with leading PR firm ThisGeneration Communications. Sir Rod Stewart is the official patron.
A number of football stars including Jude Bellingham, Lionesses hero Beth Mead, Jack Harrison and Gary Neville are also involved.
Gary Lineker is an ambassador too, alongside Steven Gerrard and Brazilian international Lucas Moura.
Football for Change aims to lift young people from disadvantaged backgrounds out of poverty with life-changing opportunities in education and employment.
The fundraising gala is being backed by Swinton Insurance, DAM Health, Together Money and Watches of Switzerland.
A huge record fair is coming to Manchester city centre this bank holiday
Thomas Melia
There’s a record fair making its way to Manchester next weekend, and it’s taking over one of Manchester’s iconic live music venues.
Record lovers and music fanatics this one’s for you.
Whether you’re after growing your own record collection back home, or showing off your DJ skills, this event has everything you could ever ask for.
The Very Good Plus record fair is arriving in Manchester city centre, and it’s coming to none other than independent live music venue, New Century.
You’ll be able to browse through some of the best vinyl in the region and hopefully spot some releases by some of your musical icons.
There’s even family-friendly stations which give little ones and grown-ups alike the chance to try their hand at making and designing their own record sleeve, as well as getting stuck in with a screen-printing workshop.
A record fair event is taking place at Manchester music venue New Century and NOMA this bank holiday / Credit: The Manc Group
If you cant find any LPs you’re after, you’ll definitely find a caffeinated drink or two at Sadler’s Yard and even have a go at creating your own track on the open decks.
There will be a variety of food and drink options, as well as some food for the soul too, thanks to an array of DJ sets running until the evening courtesy of Ded Luvly on a Pulp Coffee sound system.
Live music lovers can rejoice as just for this record fair event, they’ll be able to roam around this huge gig space and if you head downstairs there’ll be a DJ workshop and sound system experience taking place.
This music-oriented event is a collaboration between iconic music venue New Century, city centre neighbourhood NOMA, and DJ and music aficionado, Living Room Dance Club.
So get ready to dig through the crates, create a few demos of your own, design an album cover or two and enrich yourself in all things music because this event has it all.
The Very Good Plus record fair is coming to NOMA and New Century in Manchester on Saturday 23 August from 11am until 6pm, and it’s completely free – apart from all the money you spend on some good quality vinyl, of course.
Featured Images – Jamakassi via Unsplash/ Phillip Blocker via Unsplash
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My Chemical Romance fans are losing it as emo favourites appear to tease UK tour
Danny Jones
American alt-rock and emo favourites My Chemical Romance aren’t just back for one last Black Parade; it looks like they might be heading to the UK for more tour dates.
Not just a phase, never was.
My Chemical Romance (an entirely different kind of MCR) made yet another mighty return to the fore earlier this year, nearly two whole decades on from the release of the seminal album, which dropped in 2006 and has now been toured live again by the New Jersey band.
Playing the album IN FULL for the first time in years, they’ve been busy in North America delighting die-hard crowds, but now a recent teaser has got My Chem fans gearing up for UK and Ireland shows.
As you can see, MCR released the somewhat cryptic comedy sketch above, in which they seem to spoof a gameshow centred around a robot named ‘Quizzo’.
The host of this fictional programme goes on to explain that the result will determine “who will be the next lucky country to win the grand prize of one nuclear winter.”
It might only last for a few seconds, but the main takeaway is that the ‘who’ selected as the recipient of this upcoming prize is none other than the United Kingdom.
Combine that with a simple caption that reads, “Let’s show them what they’ve won”, it’d be hard not to jump to the conclusion that we Brits are about to pretend we’re ‘Teenagers’ again and chant ‘Na Na Na’ until our lungs give out.
In the time since the post went live, fans on this side of the pond have understandably started getting very excited…
My Chemical Romance are coming back to the UK… For the 1st time since 2022 when we all thought it would be the last hurrah…#MCRpic.twitter.com/vHWO5mK89j
At first, some were wondering whether this year’s revival might have also seen the resurrection of their much-mythologised but ultimately scrapped 2019 record, The Paper Kingdom, but it seems pretty much nailed on that their transatlantic followers are about to get some gigs.
It remains unclear whether these still TBC dates will be an extension of the current ‘Long Live The Black Parade‘ tour, which began on 11 July, or something new entirely.
Either way, with this current run of shows due to end in September and hints at a ‘nuclear winter’, it’s a fair assumption to guess that My Chemical Romance will be coming to the UK either later this year or early 2026 – and you bank on a big Manchester booking to be thrown in there too.
Daisy Jackson -
17th August 2022 
