Noel Gallagher and his mighty High Flying Birds are back in Manchester this week with a massive outdoor show at the wonderful Wythenshawe Park and it’s set to be a night to remember.
With 0161 set for a massive weekend as people travel into the city for the likes of Festa Italiana and ManiFest, over to Stockport for Moovin Festival and to Bolton for the annual food fest — not to mention that little thing called Pride 2023 — there is A LOT going on this weekend.
However, for those of you revellers who’ll be heading over to M23 for the older Gallagher brother’s huge homecoming gig, we’ve got you sorted.
It’ll be no surprise whatsoever to hear that this thing is going to be absolutely massive with an estimated capacity of around 25,000 people.
That being said, with such a large expectancy, those of you who still haven’t grabbed a ticket are in luck: there are still a fair few ticket options available for now but we wouldn’t advise waiting around much longer. After all, he is a Manc music legend and one of the biggest names on the planet.
You can still grab general admission tickets for £60.50 upwards and even a few resales from £46 on Ticketmaster, as well as VIP packages if you fancy treating yourself.
If you do end up scrambling for one, as always, we advise being very cautious whenever buying from reseller sites and we beg you to stay well and truly away from ticket touts. No gig is worth being stung over and making the problem even worse.
Credit: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (via Instagram)
Support acts
When it comes to the support acts on the night, you really are getting proper value for money with this one as not only are you seeing Noel and his High Flying Birds, but you’ll also be graced with the presence of fellow British rock legends, Primal Scream.
As if that wasn’t good enough, you’ll also be getting alternative American band and synth-pop icons Future Islands (a real Manc Audio favourite) as your second support. But it doesn’t stop there; you also have locally-formed rockers, Picture Parlour, as well as Leicester singer-songwriter, Billy Nomates.
Some lineup that.
We’re just praying they all join each other on stage at some point for one big supergroup moment. Come on, you lot, make it happen.
Stage times for Noel Gallagher’s at Wythenshawe Park
As for at what time you’ll get to see who, doors to the event are due to open from 2pm and although all timings are subject to change, here’s your rough running order and each artist’s expected set times:
We often turn to Setlist.fm when looking for what artists are going to play ahead of a big gig and while you can definitely find that info for the High Flying Birds’ most recent gigs on there, on this occasion we also have the added assurance of the man himself confirming it for us.
Obviously, setlists change on the fly all the time due to various circumstances, especially when you’re talking about someone with a catalogue as huge as Gallagher’s, but we think this is a fairly safe bet — here’s what he’s been playing most recently.
Old, new, a cover and some Oasis – you’re getting a bit of everything.
How to get there
Last but not least, there’s just the small matter of getting there. While we’d always recommend travelling as green as possible/using public transport where you can, there are still some car park tickets that you can buy online from the Live From Wythenshawe website for £16.91.
As for those of you catching a ride, there is yellow signage to the north of the site which will lead you to the pick-up/drop-off point on Wythenshawe Road, M23 0AB.
There are also three tram stops to choose from: Wythenshawe Park, Moor Road and Baguley. However, it’s worth noting that both Wythenshawe Park and Baguley will be closed from 9pm so you won’t be able to get back home this way.
Finally, you can always catch one of the shuttle buses back into the city centre, which will set you back just £3.50 on the day. The service will be operating in a loop from Sale and the city centre, running from 1pm-8pm on the way to Wythenshawe Park and then from 8pm-1:30am when heading home.
For more information, you can find all the up-to-date travel stuff HERE or check out (TfGM) Transport for Greater Manchester’s guidance and even use their interactive map below.
Featured Image — @themighti/Sharon Latham/Ignition (via Instagram)/Wikimedia Commons
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‘The Brand With the 3 Stripes’: adidas returns to Market Street with dedicated Manchester Oasis shop
Danny Jones
Manchester’s famous Market Street adidas store has reopened as quite possibly the most mega and, certainly, the most Manc shop on the high street– thanks to Oasis.
Amidst their already iconic collaboration with the global sports apparel name, Oasis have followed up their recently opened pop-up shop with another bold and (go on, we’ll say it) BIBLICAL building dedicated entirely to the ‘band with the three stripes’.
Or should we say brand?*…
You’ll have to have been living under an entire ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ to have missed this crossover, but it really does have to be visited in person to truly appreciate.
The Oasis x adidas shop is sure to be a big Manchester attraction in its own right. (Credit: The Manc Group)
With tonnes of memorabilia, genuine artist artefacts, a shed-load of every adidas Originals shoe model imaginable; dedicated Live ‘25 tour printing, buckets of buckets hats and simply more merch than you can shake a tambourine at, it’s a genuinely incredible space.
In fact, we’d wager you don’t even have to be a fan of the legendary Britpop band to enjoy the massively overhauled rooms.
Put it this way, if you like adidas, the effortlessly cool nature of Manc culture, or even just really, really good quality sports, street and casual-wear, you’ll get something out of this.
Besides the archive walls, photo-booth (which we spent an inordinate amount of time in) and all the other nods to Noel and Liam, there is still a standard adidas Originals floor upstairs.
With a corner still set aside for the usual football stuff, a whole wall of their different shoes with detailed explanation and story behind each type, plus even more fitting rooms.
The Market St shop is almost unrecognisable compared to what it used to be like – you kind of only recognise because it’s still in the same spot – and it really does feel akin to a home for the much-loved brand, the city that wears its logo not just like a uniform but a badge of honour, and a shrine to our Oasis.
Separate from the pop-up merch stores that have appeared over in Spinningfields, London is the only other place that will be getting a store like this, and with stocks of almost every item available quite literally selling out as fast as tickets did, this is one of the few places you’ll still find them.
With that in mind, we couldn’t help but walk away with our own customised Oasis ‘Live 25 World Tour ‘Jacquard’ football jersey, complete with our own branding on the back. Not quite on the same level as adidas or Oasis, but we’ll take it.
You’re damn right we’re framing this one… (Credit: The Manc)
We also still have a competition for you to win two tickets to see the Burnage boys in the flesh on their ‘Live 25 reunion tour this summer, so don’t forget to enter HERE.
Roll on Heaton Park and please let Oasis’ marriage with the adi-trefoil insignia ‘Live Forever’.
Transport ‘masterplan’ announced as more than 300,000 fans hit Manchester for Oasis reunion gigs
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester’s transport ‘masterplan’ has been released ahead of Oasis’ huge run of reunion gigs starting next week.
Manchester is all set for a sensational summer of sound, and as more than 300,000 music fans prepare to descend on our city next week as a little-known band called Oasis (sarcasm detected) reform for the first time in over a decade, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has now announced its plan to transport everyone to and from Heaton Park.
With the Gallagher brothers staging five nostalgia-drenched gigs starting from next Friday (11 July), the transport network wants to make sure no one is left ‘looking back in anger’ over their travel arrangements.
Travel arrangements for the hotly-anticipated reunion shows have involved months of planning by TfGM and its partners, so over the next couple of weeks, you can expect to see additional staff on the network, more frequent, all-double tram services running to Heaton Park from Victoria station, and a shuttle bus service running from the city centre.
TfGM’s state-of-the-art control room will also be operating 24/7 to monitor and coordinate the public transport system and respond to any emerging incidents as they materialise.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Greater Manchester’s transport ‘masterplan’ has been released ahead of the Oasis gigs / Credit: TfGM | Simon Emmett (Publicity Picture)
Travelling by tram
The best way for fans to beat the traffic and get to the 80,000-capacity outdoor venue over the five dates will be to travel using the Metrolink network.
On each night, there will be a six-minute service from Victoria Station to Bury – the only city centre station with a direct tram to Heaton Park – and this service will be capable of carrying 4,000 passengers an hour, with concertgoers travelling from other lines told to change onto a Bury-bound tram at Victoria.
If you have a ticket for front standing, your best option is to get off and on again at Bowker Vale, which is the closest stop to the venue entrance on Sheepfoot Lane, as the Heaton Park stop will be closed at 9pm on all nights.
Both the Bowker Vale and Heaton Park stops are just a few minutes away from the park gates, but as as the Heaton Park stop will be closed at 9pm on all nights, if you have a ticket for front standing, your best option is to get off and on again at Bowker Vale, which is the closest stop to the venue entrance on Sheepfoot Lane.
For the shows on 11, 12, and 19 July, the final trams will leave for the city centre at 2:02am and for Bury at 1:16am, and on 16 July, the last trams will run at 1:32am to the city centre and 12:46am to Bury.
Travelling by tram to Heaton Park is recommended by TfGM / Credit: TfGM
Travel by shuttle bus
Alternatively, there will be frequent shuttle buses from Lever Street in the Northern Quarter from 1:30pm on each event day, with the last bus departing at 7:30pm.
Buses will then start running back to Manchester after the event – with the city centre drop-off point being Shudehill Interchange – from a temporary bus station inside Heaton Park from 10pm, and buses will continue to run until all passengers have cleared the bus station.
Limited shuttlebus tickets, priced at £10, are available, but these must be purchased in advance through the Bee Network app.
Further details on how to buy the tickets can be found on the Bee Network website.
There will be increased congestion and various road closures in place around Heaton Park and the surrounding areas on each of the event dates.
Those who have to drive or need to be dropped off and picked up are encouraged to consider taking advantage of the 24 ‘park and ride’ sites in Greater Manchester, where you can park for free and hop on a tram to your destination.
The park and ride sites on the Bury line are Whitefield, with 331 spaces and 13 disabled spaces, and and Radcliffe with 480 spaces and 22 disabled spaces.
Shuttlebus services will be in operation on all dates of Oasis’ run of gigs / Credit: TfGM
And if all of that wasn’t busy enough as it is, Manchester will also be playing host to a number of other big events during Oasis’ run of shows – including Kool & The Gang at AO Arena and Billie Eilish at Co-op Live.
So as you can see, public transport and roads will be busier than usual during this exciting time, so TfGM encourages everyone to allow plenty of time for their journey and check the Bee Network app or website for the latest travel advice.
Danny Jones -
22nd August 2023 
