Sam Smith’s Gloria tour will finally arrive in Manchester this week, as the singer wraps up the UK leg of their huge tour.
Sam had to pull out of several other UK tour dates after being struck down by a virus.
But after a run of gigs across Europe, they’re back in British soil and ready for their AO Arena gig.
The ‘Unholy’ singer will be hitting the huge stage on Wednesday 24 May – bringing along the giant golden nude statue that they and their dancers perform on.
The Gloria tour is in support of Sam Smith‘s album of the same name, which was released earlier this year.
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Here’s everything you need to know ahead of their AO Arena Manchester gig.
Tickets for Sam Smith in Manchester
Tickets have been selling fast for Sam Smith’s Gloria tour, with just a handful left on sale.
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Seated tickets range between £35 and £80, with standing tickets priced at £60 – plus booking fees.
Sam will be supported by Cat Burns throughout the Gloria tour.
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This British, Brit Award-nominated singer-songwriter shot to fame with her 2020 single ‘Go’, which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart after trending on TikTok.
Sony Music has described Cat Burns as a mixture of ‘gospel and pop influences combined with guitar-led indie music’.
Stage times for Sam Smith at AO Arena
Based on recent shows, you can expect to see Cat Burns take to the stage at 8pm.
Then Sam should start performing from 9pm, with a venue curfew of 11pm.
As always, stage times are subject to change.
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Expected setlist
Stay With Me I’m Not the Only One Like I Can Too Good at Goodbyes To Die For Perfect Diamonds How Do You Sleep? Dancing With a Stranger (Sam Smith & Normani cover) I’m Kissing You (Des’ree cover) Lay Me Down Love Goes Gimme Lose You Promises (Calvin Harris & Sam Smith cover) I’m Not Here to Make Friends Latch (Disclosure cover) I Feel Love (Donna Summer cover) Gloria Human Nature (Madonna cover) Unholy
The venue
The AO Arena seating plan.
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe. Make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
Featured image: Publicity picture
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Rising stars FLO announce intimate gig at iconic Manchester music venue
Thomas Melia
London trio FLO are visiting some of the UK’s most intimate live music spots on their next tour – including a night here in Manchester.
The Brit Award winners have announced their record store tour, which coincides with their debut album release.
Jorja, Stella and Renée, better known as Brit girl group FLO, are checking out what Manchester has to offer as they visit our lovely city for the third time in their musical career.
The girls’ music typically sits in the R&B genre and they’re known for their insane runs and intricate harmonies. This more private tour offers fans a chance to appreciate this, up close and personal.
The band are heading out on their ‘AAA: Intimate Acoustic Shows’ ahead of their debut studio album ‘Access All Areas’ out on 15 November.
The girls are visiting Gorilla Manchester on 21 November to perform singles and tracks from their debut album and if they’re lucky enough, crowds might even hear some older songs intertwined throughout the gig.
FLO have seen much appraisal over the years with two MTV VMA nominations and even managed to scoop a BRIT award for ‘Rising Star’ in 2023.
Fans have already had a taste of the upcoming album with four songs steadily releasing since March this year starting with, ‘Walk Like This’, ‘Caught Up’, ‘Check’ and the soulful ‘Bending My Rules’ being the most recent release in August.
Gorilla is the ideal setting for this series of gigs with a small but mighty capacity of around 600, the Manchester crowd will still be louder than ever.
Tickets to the gig also include a Q&A with all three vocalists where you can ‘Access All Areas’ of FLO, like their album title states.
Their first single ‘Cardboard Box’ started their musical journey in 2022 and in July of this year, the track is now BRIT-certified silver for amassing over 200,000 units.
The UK trio are currently touring North America with fellow R&B artist Kehlani on her ‘CRASH Tour’ which kicked off at the start of September and finishes at the top of November, two weeks before their album drops.
Kehlani has collaborated with the superstar trio on her latest mixtape ‘While We Wait 2’, where the girls feature on a remix of the track ‘8’ which dropped not too long ago in late August.
Johnny Marr denies Morrissey’s claims about obtaining ‘100%’ of The Smiths trademark
Danny Jones
Johnny Marr has come out to deny the claims made by former bandmate Morrissey that he now controls “100%” of the rights to The Smiths trademark and intellectual property.
In case you missed it, earlier this week Morrissey came out with a statement detailing how Marr had recently obtained “100% trademark rights/intellectual property” and can now tour without him.
Fans were already enjoying drumming up suggestions for singers who could take the iconic frontman’s place on stage but don’t get too carried away, as the former lead guitarist has already come out to refute the allegations.
As per a lengthy statement on his social media accounts, Marr not only rubbishes the rumours that any temporary singer or plans to tour are on the cards but explains that ownership of The Smiths right is still shared with Morrissey – he just simply hasn’t signed a document yet.
A spokesperson for Marr writes: “In 2018, following an attempt by a third party to use the Smiths’ name – and upon discovery that the trademark was not owned by the band – Marr reached out to Morrissey, via his representatives, to work together in protecting the Smiths’ name.
“A failure to respond led Marr to register the trademark himself. It was subsequently agreed with Morrissey’s lawyers that this trademark was held for the mutual benefit of Morrissey and Marr.
As a gesture of goodwill, in January 2024, Marr signed an assignment of joint ownership to Morrissey. Execution of this document still requires Morrissey to sign.”
Responding personally via his representation, the 60-year-old added: “To prevent third parties from profiting from the band’s name, it was left to me to protect the legacy. This I have done on behalf of both myself and my former bandmates.”
He also cleared up more claims made by Morrissey, who said the pair had both been met with a potential and ‘lucrative’ deal to tour together as The Smiths once again, to which Marr has now clarified: “I didn’t ignore the offer; I said no.” At the risk of pointing out the obvious by the way…
hate to break it to Morrissey but Marr has been doing this for years already https://t.co/FL6cGGTZO4
So no, while it might have been registered by Marr and his team, he doesn’t own all of the rights to The Smiths; in actuality, it looks as though the Manchester music legend took steps to make sure that both he and Morrissey maintained shared ownership.
Presuming this response clears up all the speculation surrounding the trademark, the 65-year-old could seemingly have avoided all of this by simply giving his signature and completing the document.
Put it this way, if you were somehow holding out hope for an Oasis AND a Smiths reunion, we wouldn’t hold our breaths…
Daisy Jackson -
23rd May 2023 
