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Rick Astley is returning to Manchester for his 2024 Swinging Christmas show

Rick rolling into the festive season. (this article contains affiliate links)

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 7th October 2024

The mighty Rick Astley is heading back to Manchester this festive period for the return of his smash hit Swinging Christmas show.

Move over, Mariah and Micky Bubble, ‘r Rick needs room to thaw out in time for the holiday season too.

The past couple of years have seen Rick Astley more than re-endear himself to the British public and beyond, not just getting himself back on the map thanks to big gigs with Blossoms and stunning festival sets at the likes of Glastonbury and Kendal Calling but with some genuinely wonderful new music.

To be brutally honest with ourselves, we all took the ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ singer for granted; he’s well and truly reminded us of what a wonderful performer he is and with the holiday season coming up, he set to deliver his stunning Christmas set once again.

This tour is just the second time ‘Swinging Christmas’ has been brought to the masses after its debut back in 2022 and follows Rick’s lifelong passion for the golden age of big band and swing.

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He’ll be performing festive classics in stunning venues, including right here at Manchester Bridgewater Hall, to truly capture the magic during the most wonderful time of the year.

For a man who is arguably the contemporary king of covers in this country, the first iteration of the show was a dream come true and he’s even more excited to be pulling these old classics once again to a crowd who have been crying out for another edition.

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Speaking on the upcoming tour, Rick said: “These classic songs have been a part of me for so long. Singing them with a big band was a dream come true. I can’t wait to share this special experience with you again this Christmas. See you there!”

Trust us, with plenty of Rat Pack covers under his belt, not mention numerous nods to iconic old-world orchestras, he knows a thing or two about big band-style cabaret celebration.

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Better yet, Manchester is fittingly the final festive stop of Rick’s seasonal tour, rounding off a run of shows in Brighton, Wolverhampton, Portsmouth, London and Edinburgh.

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The Newton-le-Willows-born singer brings his festive show to Bridgewater Hall on Friday, 20 December 2024 and now we’re thinking more about this than we are the big day itself.

What better way to get into the festive spirit than a true celebration of Rick’s love of music, the roaring swing sound, classic tracks and many more?

Tickets for Rick Astley’s Swinging Christmas go on sale at 9:30am on Friday 11 October – you can get ready to grab yours HERE.

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

Featured Images — Raph_PH (via Flickr)/Press Images (supplied)

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Olly Murs cancels Manchester gig after walking off stage six songs into huge arena show

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Olly Murs has addressed his abrupt exit from the stage ahead of his Manchester gig

Olly Murs has now officially cancelled his show in Manchester tonight, a day after walking off stage just six songs into a huge arena gig.

The Heart Skips a Beat star had been performing in Glasgow last night when he abruptly stopped the show, apologised to fans, and left the stage.

The gig was cancelled around 30 minutes into his show, which is part of a huge UK arena tour that was meant to be heading to Manchester tonight.

A tearful Olly said that he was seeing a doctor last night and would update fans of the rest of his shows ‘as soon as I know anything’.

It’s now been confirmed that his gig at the AO Arena will not be going ahead.

Olly Murs said in a statement: “30 minutes into my set in Glasgow I lost my voice & unfortunately had to leave the stage midway through the show. This has never happened before and not something I take lightly.

“I’m sorry to all the fans who came out to the show last night and am forever grateful for your support.

“To everyone in Manchester and Birmingham I’m deeply sorry, but am unfortunately going to have to cancel my shows this weekend. I have contracted a respiratory infection and have been instructed to go on a strict 48 hour voice rest by the doctor to ensure no further damage to my vocal cords.

“I have been enjoying this tour so much, and am so sorry to let down my fans – but have to put my health first. I’m hoping to be fighting fit in a few days to finish this amazing 15 year celebratory tour with a bang.”

In a video he shared to Instagram last night, Olly Murs said: “Firstly I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I had to walk off after six songs and cancel the show. I’ve never done this in 15 years.

“Most of the time as singers you can kind of get through it if your voice isn’t 100% – I walked out tonight thinking my voice was great, I maybe felt a little bit run down but I didn’t think I couldn’t do the show. I wouldn’t have come out there otherwise.

@bethanh2004

Olly Murs cancels Glasgow concert after 5 songs… gutted 😭 #ollymurs #glasgowovohydro #concert #blue #fyp

♬ original sound – Bethan Hewitt

“So to walk off after six songs, as I said, I’m so sorry. As you can probably hear from my voice, I just sounded rubbish and it’s unfair for you guys that spent all that money to come and see me. You deserve the best show and me being at my best, and I’m so sorry from the bottom of my heart.

“Hopefully I can recover from this.

“I’m actually going to see a doctor tonight which is great, so I’ll give you guys an update as soon as I know anything. Obviously I wanna try my absolute best to make these shows possible at the weekend.

“So yeah, so sorry for everyone tonight, apologies from the bottom of my heart. Gutted.”

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Featured image: Instagram, @ollymurs

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Major star pulls out of Parklife festival due to ‘scheduling conflict’

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Lola Young has pulled out of Parklife 2025

One of the biggest attractions of this year’s Parklife festival line-up has pulled out just weeks before the event.

Rising star and TikTok sensation Lola Young will no longer be performing at the huge Manchester festival.

She’s the voice behind ‘Messy’, that song you can’t get out of your head (or off your For You Page), and has already earned herself two BRIT Award nominations.

Lola Young was one of the biggest names announced on this year’s Parklife line-up, which has headline slots from Charli XCX, 50 Cent, Jorja Smith and Peggy Gou.

She was set to perform on the Saturday of the festival, taking place on 14 and 15 June.

But Parklife has now confirmed that Lola Young has dropped out of the lineup owing to a ‘scheduling conflict’.

In a post on Instagram they wrote: “Due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict Lola Young will not be performing at Parklife 2025.

“We would like to apologise for any disappointment.

“Full set times will be published at 5pm Tuesday 20th May on the PL25 App where we will also be announcing some surprise additions to the weekend in the run up to the festival.”

Parklife will be taking place next month in Manchester – you can keep up with the latest HERE and grab final tickets HERE.

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Featured image: Publicity picture

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