Joy Division and New Order co-founder, Peter Hook, is taking part in a charitable evening of live music and conversation right here in Manchester city centre early next year, and it’s being hosted at one of Manchester’s most beloved pubs, the Star and Garter.
Being held at the legendary city centre pub, which now bears the freshly restored mural of his former bandmate and one of the greatest English musicians of all time, Ian Curtis, the significance of the intimate concert being held at such an iconic music venue is not lost on anyone.
Better still, the special one-off gig, Q&A session and evening as a whole has been set up with the help of local music-driven mental health organisation, Headstock, and will be raising money for their partnered nationwide charity, Shout.
Peter Hook and the Light are merely the latest in a long line of huge names to grace the Star and Garter.
Announcing the gig on Monday, 4 December, the veteran vocalist, bass player and singer-songwriter said of the inspirational fundraising gig, which will also pay tribute to Curtis: “I have campaigned for a long time for Ian and Joy Division to be commemorated anyway and anywhere possible.
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“From the statue in Macclesfield, still ongoing, and the mural there as well; to the mural in Manchester and the upcoming one in Stockport. I will only rest when every town in Great Britain has something.
“I am immensely proud of Ian and our work as Joy Division and to celebrate it in this way is such a pleasure. I am hoping to bring Ian’s best man at his wedding and childhood friend, Kelvin Briggs to join me so fans can get a real insight into this wonderful man and artist.
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“To play at such an iconic venue as the Star and Garter just seals the deal perfectly.”
Speaking on the event, Headstock founder Atheer Al-Salim said, “We are so grateful to Peter Hook and his band who are giving up their time and talent to help us raise much-needed funds to support our charity partner, Shout, and their life-saving text-support service.
“The evening promises to be a poignant moment for Manchester, and an event of huge musical and cultural significance for the city.”
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As for Shout, their CEO Victoria Hornby added: “We’re incredibly grateful to Peter Hook and The Light and Headstock for putting on this very special event which will raise vital funds for us to keep the Shout text messaging support service running 24/7.
“Our volunteers take up to 2,000 conversations with children, young people and adults in urgent need of mental health support every day, and every £10 raised funds a conversation that could save a life.”
Set to play a predominantly Joy Divison-based set in the same year that the famous Manc four-piece finally received their inaugural nomination to be entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there will be just 200 spaces available and the Star and Garter be packed just as it was back in its heyday.
Tickets will be allocated via a ballot on Skiddle, with the first ballot already open and will close on Friday, 2 February 2024. Each successful ballot entrant will be allocated a maximum of two tickets to the event.
The pricing for ‘An Evening of Music and Conversation with Peter Hook’ on 12 April, 2024 is as follows:
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1x ballot entry – £10
3x ballot entries – £15
10x ballot entries – £20
The gig is already selling fast, so secure your spot to see an unforgettable night of music and insight, all for a great cause, HERE.
Appeal launched to find the owner of live chickens found at Creamfields festival
Daisy Jackson
The hunt is on to find the owner of a pair of chickens who were discovered at Creamfields festival.
The two birds were spotted on the grounds of the huge electronic music festival by bewildered festival-goers.
The cockerel and hen were trapped in a hedge, after it appears they wandered onto the festival campsite before the security barriers were installed.
The birds then found themselves trapped inside as around 70,000 music fans poured into Cheshire for a line-up that included Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure, and Tiësto.
The chickens have been safely rescued from the Creamfields festival site and are recovering at a wildlife centre, and now the RSPCA is on a mission to find their owner.
Festival-goers first called the RSPCA on Saturday 29 August to alert them to the cockerel and hen trapped inside the festival, one of whom assisted in the rescue mission.
RSPCA Inspector Leanne Cooper: “I was surprised that they were inside the festival site and I needed to get through the road blocks and security before reaching them on foot through muddy fields. I met the caller who helped me as they were just running up and down the hedge line where there was a wire fence blocking access.
Where the chickens were discovered at CreamfieldsThe RSPCA wants to track their owners down
“We managed to guide them out and I caught both of them with my rescue net which was a bit of a sight for the festival campers.
“I don’t think they were abandoned and they’re more likely to be stray because it’s farmland all around the festival site. They don’t have any health issues, apart from being quite underweight.
“With the fences going up a week before the festival starts they’d probably been unable to get out for some time and had been left foraging in the hedge. Someone mentioned that a third bird was also trapped, although we couldn’t find any others.
“I am really grateful to the festival-goer who found them and alerted us to their plight.”
Data reveals Manchester hotel prices have ALREADY surged by 462% on rumoured Oasis tour dates
Emily Sergeant
Manchester hotel prices have apparently already surged by 462% on rumoured Oasis tour dates, some new data has revealed.
Of course, absolutely nothing is set in stone yet and we are still yet to receive any form of announcement.
But with rumours having been swirling for months now that Oasis will be touring again in 2027, and several videos shared on the band’s social media platforms this week also hinting at that, it’s been revealed that searches for ‘when are Oasis tickets going on sale?’ have soared by 5,000% in the last seven days alone.
After recent data has pointed towards soaring searches for tickets, the experts at SeatPick decided to analyse the average cost of accommodation in Manchester on the suspected concert nights in June 2027 to uncover if prices have surged along with the searches.
Data reveals that Manchester hotel prices have already surged by 462% on rumoured Oasis tour dates / Credit: The Manc Group | Simon Emmett (Press Picture)
And lo and behold, it appears that they have.
The ticketing platform has revealed that hotel prices have surged by up to 462% during Oasis’ rumoured concert nights in Manchester.
The rumoured weekend date of 19 and 20 June has experienced the most noticeable price surge – with a two-star hotel costing an average of £216 for just one overnight stay.
The data also reveals that the rumoured finale on the 27 June has just a £95 difference between two-star hotels (£200) and five-star hotels (£295).
“Our analysis uncovered an enormous markup for local accommodation on nights that Oasis is rumoured to perform in Manchester,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO at ticket platform SeatPick.
“Being aware of these accommodation costs and additional expenses can help fans plan and avoid being caught off guard by inflated prices on concert nights.
“To find the best deals on hotels, concertgoers should scan budget chains in the city or look slightly outside of the centre in hotspots served by local bus routes or regional trains, such as Salford and Trafford.
Danny Jones -
5th December 2023 
