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Paul Heaton announces massive Manchester gig at Co-op Live this year

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Thomas Melia Thomas Melia - 16th July 2024

Coming off the back of a phenomenal Glastonbury slot last month, Paul Heaton has added new dates onto his UK 2024 tour – including a Manchester show.

The music great, known for his involvement in bands such as The Beautiful South and The Housemartins, will be bringing his crew to the city’s newest entertainment venue, Co-op Live. 

Manchester is one of three locations lucky enough to be listed in this new batch of extra dates with Aberdeen and Wolverhampton also receiving a show. 

With a discography as vast as Heaton’s, let’s hope the show is as ‘Good as Gold’. 

His new album ‘The Mighty Several’ is coming out 11 October and features the Brit-centric single ‘Fish ‘N’ Chip Supper’ which details the ups and downs of a relationship tied in with everyone’s Friday night favourite. 

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With two months between the release of the album and playing Europe’s largest music venue, fans have plenty of time to dust off their singing skills.

Paul Heaton announces massive Manchester gig at Co-op Live this year. Publicity Picture
Paul Heaton announces massive Manchester gig at Co-op Live this year. Publicity Picture

Heaton is bringing along Rianne Downey and The Zutons to accompany him on this tour with the latter as a support act. 

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Co-op Live will be full of northern love as Liverpool-formed band The Lightning Seeds will be playing an exclusive set on the Manchester date too.

It’s great to see the love Heaton has had for our North West hometown since the 2006 single ‘Manchester’ is still in the forefront of his mind even after 18 years. 

Headlining the 23,500 capacity venue on 16 December with tickets priced at £35 (plus ticket fees), it’s almost like an early Christmas present to all Mancunians from the Wirral-born legend. 

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Tickets to Paul Heaton’s 2024 UK Winter tour go on presale, Wednesday 17 July at 9.30am, with the general sale taking place Friday 19 July at 9.30am – get your tickets HERE.

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Featured Image Credit: Jamie MacMillan

Audio

Taemin at AO Arena: Take the K-pop world’s ‘Advice’ – you need to watch him live

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

This time last month, South Korean star, SHINee and SuperM boyband member, Taemin showed Manchester the real meaning of ‘The Rizzness’. It was our first K-pop gig and won’t be our last.

Normally, if you ask me what I’m getting up to on a Tuesday night, I’d respond with the usual: “Nothing.” Ask me this random but eye-opening night back in March 2025, and I’d say, “Watching the ‘Ephemeral Glaze’ tour”.

Opening with a song labelled ‘Déjà vu’, ironically, felt from the truth, as the minute the performer stepped onto the stage, the whole crowd was watching what felt like an all-new spectacle come to life – even for some of the already inducted K-pop fans inside the AO Arena.

Following up with ‘Guilty’, I’d be lying if I told you we didn’t love this performance. It wasn’t overshadowed by that unbelievable grand opening either – if anything, it was even better.

A majestic pose from Taemin at AO Arena in Manchester, performing to a lively crowd.
A majestic pose from Taemin at AO Arena in Manchester, performing to a lively crowd.
Credit: Audio North

This was a setlist that just keeps on giving: after this, ‘Advice’ greets our ears and fans erupt in various screams and cries, to which Taemin, 31, certainly appreciated.

It’s high energy through and through, as the next song, ‘Idea’, felt like the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle for those of us not so used to this kind of music, well and truly captivating the Manc crowd.

Closing what was merely his opening segment with this song was definitely a good ‘Idea’… (sorry).

Its title may draw from a comedic viral term used to describe someone with great flirting skills, a.k.a. ‘rizz’, but ‘The Rizzness’ is no laughing matter.

Fans caught on quickly, and as soon as the first note was pumped out into the arena, the atmosphere reached whole new heights and those familiar screams at an other-worldly pitch returned.

I never thought I’d see the day where AO Arena screamed, “You know I got the rizz, the rizzness”, but there’s a first time for everything, I guess.

Taemin live at AO Arena in Manchester.
Taemin and his dancers were electric at AO Arena.
Credit: The Manc Group

Being from Korea, 31-year-old Taemin tried his best to communicate with the crowd throughout the night, taking breaks after back-to-back performances to gauge the audience’s reactions.

The South Korean superstar didn’t take long to warm up to the crowd and showed off his cheeky side, telling the arena, “Only 4 more songs” before finishing the sentence with “I lied”.

‘Criminal’ had me and the rest of Manchester weak in the knees; the choreography was flawless throughout, but this was a true highlight. Ending with ‘Say Less’, Taemin knew exactly what he was doing, putting a song that catchy right at the end, as this was all that replayed in my head on the train home.

Put it this way, we may still be relative newbies to the world of Korean pop music, but with another big name heading to Manchester, we’re definitely keen to find out more.

K-pop boyband ENHYPEN announce HUGE gig in Manchester

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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Hip-hop, soul and R’n’B legend Mary J Blige is coming to Manchester for a massive arena show

Danny Jones Danny Jones Mary J Blige Manchester tickets

Manchester is getting ready to welcome a global icon of hip-hop, soul, pop and R’n’B as Mary J Blige is set to put on a massive arena show.

With a music career spanning more than 30 years, Mary J Blige is an absolute legend of the American music scene, with nine GRAMMY Awards and nearly 40 nominations, along with a plethora of BET, Billboard, and AMA nods over the years.

She was even named Woman of the Year by Glamour back in 2023.

Often referred to as the ‘Queen of Hip-Hop Soul’, we can’t wait to welcome this latest member of music royalty to our city.

Currently on ‘The For My Fans Tour’, jetting quite literally all over and recently adding on even more dates, not only has London been given some love, but so has Greater Manchester – and rightly so.

Announcing the special one-off show and Co-op Live debut this Wednesday, 16 April, Mary J Blige won’t have to wait too long to be part of the ‘Family Affair’.

The 54-year-old from New York will be coming to the state-of-the-art, one of the biggest indoor entertainment venues in all of Europe, in just a few months’ time.

On top of the already well-established AO Arena, this is the pedigree of truly worldwide artists that Co-op Live was built to further attract – and it looks to be working.

It’s been the best part of a decade since she was last in these parts, so she’s sure to get a huge reception.

Roll on the summer.

While most audiences in the likes of North America have been treated to fellow R’n’B favourite Ne-Yo, those watching Ms Blige will be keeping things domestic as long-standing London collective and producers, Soul II Soul, will be joining her for the show.

‘Back to life, back to reality…’

So there you have it! Mary J Blige will be coming to Manchester on Friday, 4 July 2025, with her own pre-sale going live at 10am on Thursday, 24 April, but Co-op members can get there even earlier, with the venue’s early access available from the same time the day before.

As for general admission, you can get ready to grab your tickets HERE from 10am on Friday, 25 April.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press Shot (supplied)/Mark Sebastian (via Flickr)/Audio North

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