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Paul Heaton announces HUGE headline Manchester gig with ACTUALLY cheap tickets

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Danny Jones - 28th May 2026

Fellow Northerner and firmly adopted Mancunian, Paul Heaton, has just announced one of his biggest-ever shows here in Manchester, and he’s putting the focus back on affordable ticket prices.

And when we say affordable, these ones are ACTUALLY cheap for such an established name, let alone at such a big venue.

Revealing a whole new UK tour to toast the release of his latest album, Jenius, Heaton will be playing to the biggest crowd for a headline gig of his career later in the year, with a bit of help from some very familiar support acts.

Confirming his second visit to the Co-op Live arena this coming autumn, along with nearly a dozen domestic dates up and down the country.

‘Jenius’ the brand new album produced by @IanZBroudie will be released 21st August. New single ‘Favourite Kind Of Idiot’ is out now on all streaming platforms! Pre-order the album at https://t.co/ZdQIADzKAb for UK tour ticket pre-sale access. Tickets only £39.50 (+ticket fees). pic.twitter.com/H1YyeW6ePB
— Paul Heaton (@PaulHeatonSolo) May 28, 2026

Writing on social media, the ‘Jenius Tour’ isn’t just about the record itself; it will be “celebrating more than 40 years of unforgettable songwriting.”

As you would expect, these concerts will obviously feature plenty of Housemartins and Beautiful South tunes, as well as a wealth of his solo material.

The LP itself, which will be his sixth studio project outside of the bands (including his first release under the old ‘Biscuit Boy’ moniker), features 15 tracks touching on everything from love, pubs and booze, community and counsel, football, the state of the nation right, as well as ‘the overall wisdom of kindness’.

You can tell the Bromborough-born artist grew up in the North West, and we count ourselves honoured for him to have South Manchester.

He may be more Mersey than Manc by birth, but you can tell he’s fully immersed himself in the local culture, by both still finding new and relatable things to write about 23 albums later, but recording it down the road at Blueprint Studios, too.

More importantly, he’s also made sure to set the tickets at a more than reasonable price point, detailing that they start at only £39.50.

He’ll also have serial collaborator Rianne Downey – whose vocals also feature throughout Jenius – on board, not to mention The Lightning Seeds serving as another warm-up and then some.

Fans can find the full list of newly announced shows down below – we’ve taken the liberty of highlighting the Northern ones for you.

Paul Heaton UK tour dates – 2026

October
Thurs 29 – Newcastle, Utilita Arena
Fri 30 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Sat 31 – Leeds, First Direct Bank Arena

NOVEMBER
Mon 2 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
Tues 3 – Plymouth, Arena
Fri 6 – Sheffield, Utilita Arena
Sat 7 – London, The O2
Tues 10 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
Wed 11 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
Fri 13 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
Sat 14 – Manchester, Co-op Live

As always, besides enjoying early access by pre-ordering the album/via his mailing list, Co-op Live‘s dedicated venue presale will be available to official Co-op members from 9:30am on Wednesday, 3 June.

Meanwhile, general admission tickets go live at the same time on the following Friday (5 Jun), and once again, from just £39.50. You can get ready to grab yours right HERE.