How bizarre it must be to be Pitbull. This is a man with, by all accounts, a pretty successful music career – but how bizarre for his trajectory to kick up so sharply now, 20 years after his debut album.
Watching the rapper, now 44 years old, dominate sold-out arenas across the world and become a social media sensation and something of a cult phenomenon is a joy to behold.
Who else could lead tens of thousands of people a night to party wearing a bald cap and a drawn-on goatee? Manchester donned their Pitbull costumes en masse and town looked all the better for it yesterday.
For anyone having even a hint of ‘I don’t get it’ in their minds, you’ve forgotten what nightclubs were like in the late 2000s. An era where we would post 80 blurry photos on Facebook from one night out, and our makeup bags were just Dream Matte Mousse and a kohl eyeliner.
It’s the same era where dance floors were absolutely dominated by Pitbull hits, from Hotel Room Service to Give Me Everything to International Love.
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So his tour returning to Manchester feels like stepping back in time for all the 30-somethings in town, who all (myself included) decided to party like there were no consequences (currently staring into my cup of tea and remembering why I don’t usually drink wine on a school night).
The best thing about this gig is the way it strips all pretension away from all 23,500 people inside the Co-op Live. While we’d normally spend hours pampering and preening for a show to look our best, here we all stick a bald cap and a suit jacket on just let loose in a sea of people wearing the exact same uniform. I have never heard so many people breathlessly giggling their way through a show before.
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And while the gig itself is quite silly and camp (there are scantily-clad dancers everywhere and the guy in charge of the pyrotechnics is pretty trigger-happy), there are some properly talented musicians on stage too.
Pitbull is backed by multiple percussionists, keyboards, guitars, woodwind and more, and his Latino roots shine with songs like Culo and Gasoline, where the dancers salsa and his hips get extra wriggly.
Pitbull staring out at his fans between songs in ManchesterPitbull brought the party to Manchester
We came because it’s silly but we stayed because it’s GOOD.
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Prolific songwriter (‘Life is not a waste of time, time is not a waste of life. So let’s not waste any time, get wasted, and have the time of our lives’), party-starter, and philanthropist (he’s funded tuition-free schools in his hometown of Miami), Pitbull is soaking in every inch of the success that’s come his way.
On stage at Co-op Live in Manchester, the lights come up between songs to Pitbull stood on his little platform, grinning cheesily and looking over his assembled mini Pitbulls like a proud overlord. This man is having the time of his life.
‘Manc the Biff’: the Co-op Live crowd made the Clyro boys welcome on debut
Danny Jones
It feels like we’ve been waiting a long time to welcome Biffy Clyro back to Manchester, and they really didn’t disappoint on their Co-op Live debut.
Here’s our review of what was a proper rock show.
After a strong lineup of support acts with The Armed and Soft Play (formerly Slaves) injecting plenty of early energy into the crowds, already knew two things: the Scots wouldn’t disappoint, and a Manc crowd NEVER lets you down.
We knew everyone was on top form from the moment the Kilmarnock icons stepped out on stage under a swathe of blankets to the opener from their latest album, Futique.
Once the curtain was eventually lifted during ‘A Little Love’, which has quickly become one of the most popular singles for some time, you could see the sea of fans below start bouncing.
Rolling into the likes of ‘Hunting Season’ and Only Revolutions classic, ‘The Captain’, those bounces quite quickly turned into a healthy-sized pit, and those up in the stands with us finally got on their feet.
That was maybe our only complaint: we love seeing a seated section pretending they’re in standing from their start, but we get it and each to their own, of course.
In fact, the same goes for the rest of the session players joining them on the road this year.
One thing we weren’t expecting was quite how cool the production levels were going to be. We’ve never been Biffy fans for their creativity when it comes to toying with stage design or lighting rigs, but they threw in some fun effects regardless.
Highlights from the night included ‘Tiny Indoor Fireworks’, ‘Bubbles’, and ‘Black Chandelier’, though we were sad not to hear ‘Victory Over The Sun’, and it was especially gutting that one of our favourite tracks from the new record, ‘True Believer’, didn’t end up on the setlist.
Again, you can’t have anything – we’re just glad we got to be there and see a truly great British rock band proving that they are well and truly an arena-level band.
Lastly, even after all the years and an X-Factor cover trying its hardest to take the credit away from them, ‘Many of Horror’ is still an unbelievable rock ballad, and d’ya know who is an unbelievable rock band? “Biffy. F***ing. Clyroooooo.”
Johnny Depp supergroup Hollywood Vampires have announced an arena gig in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Hollywood Vampires are heading back out on tour, with a huge Manchester gig announced for this year.
The supergroup, which consists of one of the biggest names in Hollywood as well as one of rock’n’roll’s most iconic names, are set to perform at the AO Arena as part of a run of shows.
Hollywood Vampires is made up of A-lister Johnny Depp, as well as rock royalty including Alice Cooper, and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, plus Tommy Henriksen.
They last performed in Manchester with an arena gig back in 2023, making these their first gigs in almost three years.
Hollywood Vampires have now announced a return to the stage, with an AO Arena show on the cards for Tuesday 18 August 2026.
They’ll be supported in Manchester by The Jesus and Mary Chain, who marked their 40th anniversary in 2024 with a new album, Glasgow Eyes.
Johnny Depp supergroup Hollywood Vampires announce Manchester gig. Credit: Aaron Perry
Hollywood Vampires formed in 2012, named after Cooper’s celebrity drinking club of the same name where the aim was reportedly to ‘drink until no one could stand up’.
Over the years, the supergroup has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, and Zak Starkey (formerly the drummer for Oasis).
They’ve now announced a massive UK tour , including a date at the AO Arena.
A Three Presale for tickets will take place from 10am on Wednesday 21 January, followed by a venue presale on Thursday 22 January, then general sale from 10am on Friday 23 January.
Daisy Jackson -
9th June 2025 
