Local music legend Richard Ashcroft has teased his return to the studio after seemingly teasing new music on social media.
The Wigan icon remains one of the most revered Greater Manchester musicians around, from his years as The Verve frontman to his much-celebrated solo stuff.
However, it’s been a while since we’ve heard new music from Ashcroft, with his most recent release coming in the form of an acoustic collection of classics back in 2021; his last album, Natural Rebel, came out nearly seven whole years ago.
With that in mind, when we hopped on social media to see that the ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and ‘Lucky Man’ singer had uploaded a number of posts along with a date, it’s fair to say we got rather giddy.
The lyricist with the most luscious lips in the game.New Richard Ashcroft music looks to be on the way. (Credit: Richard Ashcroft via X)
Beginning the tease campaign earlier this month, Ashcroft posted nothing but the date “22.05.2025” on his X account, leaving fans scrambling around to try and dig up more details.
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Then, shared just two days later, a glowing image of his face was revealed along with an identical caption in what looks to be a snapshot from a new music video, perhaps?
Sure enough, we got the left-hand image of that instantly recognisable pout on Monday, 19 May, accompanied not only by that same date and the ‘Lover’.
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Although it’s still unclear as to whether this is the name of/album artwork for a long-awaited seventh studio LP or merely the title of a new lead single from whatever his next project is, all we know is Britpop fans are buzzing – us included.
We were already stoked to hear him confirmed as one of the support acts for the upcoming Oasis reunion shows late last year, and now there’s the prospect of hearing him play new material, we literally cannot wait for the summer.
The 53-year-old’s discography is rich enough as it is, but it feels like we’ve waited forever for a new record; that being said, we really do hope we’re getting ‘RA7’.
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Regardless, Ashcroft has never disappointed on the live stage, with his landmark homecoming shows at Robin Park being nothing short of a massive deal for the town.
Here’s hoping we get a full album and a UK tour with plenty of Northern dates to boot. We don’t think that’s too much to ask for. Guess we’ll find out Thursday, 22 May.
Where does he rank among your favourite Manc musicians?
Ticketmaster agrees to change ticketing procedures following Oasis dynamic pricing controversy
Emily Sergeant
Ticketmaster has agreed to change its ticketing procedures following the ‘dynamic pricing’ controversy over Oasis reunion tour tickets.
After a lengthy investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured formal commitments from Ticketmaster, known as ‘undertakings’, to make sure fans have the information they need when they spend their hard-earned cash to see the artists they love.
The leading ticketing platform will now be required to make it clear to fans what they will get for their money, and give more information about different ticket prices.
These undertakings require Ticketmaster to tell fans 24-hours in advance if a tiered pricing, or dynamic pricing, system is being used, and provide more information about ticket prices during online queues, helping fans anticipate how much they might have to pay.
Ticketmaster will also now have to ensure that tickets are described accurately, and do not give the impression that one ticket is ‘better’ than another when that is not the case.
We’ve secured undertakings from #Ticketmaster to provide customers with more pricing information + make sure ticket descriptions are clear.
And finally, the ticketing platform will have to provide regular reports to the CMA to show how it has implemented the undertakings.
As mentioned, the CMA investigation comes following widespread concerns about the Oasis Live ’25 tickets sale.
Two areas were identified as needing investigating following the sale.
The first being that Ticketmaster did not tell fans waiting in lengthy queues that standing tickets were being sold at two different prices, and that prices would jump as soon as the cheap tickets sold out.
The second being that Ticketmaster sold some ‘platinum’ tickets at almost 2.5 times the price of ‘standard’ tickets, and all without sufficient explanation that these offered no additional benefits over some ‘standard’ tickets in the same areas of the venue.
Ticketmaster has agreed to change its ticketing procedures following the Oasis dynamic pricing controversy / Credit: The Manc Group
“Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information upfront,” explained Sarah Cardell, who is the Chief Executive of the CMA.
“We can’t ensure every fan gets a ticket for events as popular as the Oasis tour, but we can help ensure that next time an event like this comes along, fans have the information they need, when they need it – and the changes we’ve secured will give fans more information about prices and clear descriptions of exactly what they are getting for their money.
“If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
Featured Image – Simon Emmett (Press Picture)
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Tame Impala announces massive Manchester gig on new tour
Clementine Hall
Tame Impala is heading out on a huge arena tour, with a massive gig right here in Manchester.
Oh Kevin, it really is great to have you back.
In just a few weeks on Friday 17 October, Tame Impala (Kevin Parker) will release his fifth studio album titled ‘Deadbeat’.
And today, he’s announced a major European and UK tour to go alongside it.
The dates kick off in Porto, Portugal on Saturday 4 April and wrap in Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday 13 of May.
He’ll be stopping off in Manchester near the end of the tour, bringing his synth sounds to the Co-op Live Arena on Friday 8 May.
Image: Publicity Picture
As well as a show at the Co-op Live in Manchester, Tame Impala will perform in London, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Kevin Parker has emerged as one of the most influential voices of the last decade, renowned for carving out a distinct sound all of his own and transcending genre-bending sonic landscapes.
Playing every instrument and acting as writer, producer, mixer and engineer on his projects, it’s not hard to see why he’s been nominated for four GRAMMY awards with one win for his collaboration with Justice on 2024’s “Neverender.” In his home country of Australia, he’s racked up an impressive 13 ARIA Awards and 27 Nominations.
Artist pre-sale begins Wednesday 1 October at 9am BST with the general on-sale taking place on Friday 3 October at 9am BST and you can buy yours HERE.
Tame Impala Deadbeat Tour 2026:
4th Apr – Super Bock Arena – Pavilhão Rosa Mota – Porto, Portugal
5th Apr – MEO Arena – Lisbon, Portugal
7th Apr – Movistar Arena – Madrid, Spain
8th Apr – Palau Sant Jordi – Barcelona, Spain
10th Apr – LDLC Arena – Lyon, France
12th Apr – Inalpi Arena – Turin, Italy
13th Apr – Unipol Arena – Bologna, Italy
14th Apr – Hallenstadion – Zurich, Switzerland
16th Apr – Olympiahalle – Munich, Germany
18th Apr – PreZero Arena – Gliwice, Poland
20th Apr – O2 Arena – Prague, Czechia
23rd Apr – Barclays Arena – Hamburg, Germany
25th Apr – Royal Arena – Copenhagen, Denmark
26th Apr – Avicii Arena – Stockholm, Sweden
27th Apr – Unity Arena – Oslo, Norway
29th Apr – Uber Arena – Berlin, Germany
30th Apr – Festhalle – Frankfurt, Germany
1st May – PSD Bank Dome – Dusseldorf, Germany
3rd May – Accor Arena – Paris, France
4th May – Ziggo Dome – Amsterdam, Netherlands
5th May – AFAS Dome – Antwerp, Belgium
7th May – The O2 – London, United Kingdom
8th May – Co-op Live Arena – Manchester, United Kingdom
9th May – Utilita Arena Birmingham – Birmingham, United Kingdom
Danny Jones -
20th May 2025 
