40 years – that’s how long Simply Red have been putting out hit after hit and helping to build Manchester’s legacy as one of the world’s greatest musical cities.
They’re often overlooked when people put together a list of the best bands from our city (they’re not even on our own Top 30 list which is, quite frankly, a huge oversight on our part), but on this Saturday night, back on home turf and celebrating four decades, it’s hard to deny their impact.
This 40th anniversary tour was announced absolutely ages ago (the Co-op Live didn’t even exist yet) and you can feel that anticipation simmering in the audience.
It’s not exactly a gigantic production or build-up before Simply Red take to the stage – the music playing through the venue speakers just sort of turns off at 9pm on the dot and 20,000-odd people sit together in awkward silence until Mick Hucknall shows up a while later.
A VT of a young Mick in 1985 plays as he walks out.
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“I want to be a great singer” says VT Mick.
And as present day Mick launches into the bluesy Sad Old Red, he proves beyond doubt that he has achieved just that.
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His is a distinctive voice and one for the ages, especially here in his hometown.
“Thank you for creating me, Manchester,” he tells us, to rapturous cheers.
Simply Red on stage at Co-op Live in ManchesterSimply Red return to Manchester on their 40th anniversary tour
The rest of the band are mostly lined up neatly on one platform, in tight session musician style – brass, percussion, keys – only breaking free to perform the odd clarinet solo, while their frontman sashays across the rest of the stage in an incredibly snazzy jacket.
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The setlist is in loosely chronological order, which means it’s not long before Simply Red lure everyone onto their feet for Money’s Too Tight To Mention, their breakout 1985 single.
The hits all have similar effect – we sing so loud to If You Don’t Know Me By Now that he accuses us of coming after his job. For Stars, everyone flings their arms overhead and belts it out as best we can.
Fairground is like a very tame carnival, with whistles and maracas in the percussion section, and a slutty little samba step from Mick.
Holding Back the Years is a really, really boring song to end on though. There, I said it – someone had to.
It’s a grateful and engaged crowd at Co-op Live – there are couples dancing in the aisles, groups of pals shimmying, parents and grown-up children looking nostalgic (if you took a snapshot of Block 113 you’d see a mother and daughter wiping away a tear to For Your Babies… oh yeah, that’s me and my mum).
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Simply Red always sell out arenas in this city, their city, and probably always will. See you at their 50th?
Tickets for the remainder of Simply Red’s tour are on sale HERE.
Featured image: The Manc Group
Audio
Greater Manchester music community unites to pay for local band’s new tour van
Danny Jones
In a touching bit of news that just goes to show the power of the grassroots music community here in Greater Manchester, a local band has successfully raised enough money to finally buy a tour van, all thanks to donations from fans like you.
You just love to see it.
The group in question is Spangled, who we’ve been following for some time over on our Audio North page, and they’ve featured as one of Artists of the Month.
More importantly, however, just a few weeks after setting up a fundraiser to help pay for a proper touring vehicle, they’ve smashed their target and then some, meaning they’ll be back hitting the road in no time.
Setting a £10,000 target when they first created the GoFundMe at the end of May, they breached the halfway point on 23 June, and now, just over a fortnight later, they’ve amassed £10,455 and counting.
Incredible stuff.
Writing an emotional post following the conclusion of ‘Project Vangled’, the post-punk rockers wrote: “You lot fucking did it. Somehow we’ve smashed our £10k target for the van, meaning we’re in a phenomenal position to go and buy one as soon as we can over the next few weeks.
“Special thank you to Robert Mitchell – who donated an outrageous £4.5k. We’re truly speechless and blown away. Robert, you are the man. Please drop us a message or an email, as we’d love to do something special for ya in return.
“The next Spangled chapter is upon us. And it’s all down to you, the people. LGFS.”
We’re sure you guys can figure out that final acronym all on your own, but if you’ve even been lucky enough to be at a Spangled gig, you’ll know exactly what it means; at the very least, if you haven’t listened to their stuff yet, you really need to.
Have you checked our first monthly listening round-up of the year? 🎧
Our inaugural cover stars of 2026 are the incredible @Spangledband – or rather the great bit of artwork for their latest single is. 👌
It’s also been great to see the reactions to the news on social media, with fellow industry peers such as promoters This Feeling and music outlet RGM Magazine both popping up in the comments to pass on the congratulations to the lads.
Oh, and big Rob Mitchell, whoever you are, you’re an absolute legend.
We just love hearing stories like this, especially when it involves up-and-coming artists that we know and love, not to mention truly believe can go all the way if given the right kind of access and a helping hand every now and again.
So to all those who have, give YOURSELVES a hand, and continue to show your support for the rising stars of the future like, well, these guys…
Wet Leg proved they’re well beyond the hype with a triumphant Castlefield Bowl debut
Clementine Hall
The Isle of Wight five-piece kicked off their biggest headline shows to date as part of Manchester’s Sounds of the City series.
If you have ever for a moment thought you are even remotely cool then think again, because you are not and never will be as cool as Wet Leg.
On paper, a Wednesday evening in Manchester should be fairly civilised. In reality? Thousands of people screaming the words to Chaise Longue in an old Roman amphitheatre while the sun slowly disappears behind the city skyline. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Wet Leg rolled into Castlefield Bowl with the confidence of a band who know they’re on a serious hot streak.
There was no over-the-top production, no unnecessary gimmicks – just a ridiculously tight live band and lots of attitude.
Rhian Teasdale remains one of the coolest frontwomen around, demanding the crowd with her full-throttle rockstar energy without even breaking a sweat. The chemistry across the band was undeniably magnetic, and every track landed harder than the last.
Tracks from their sophomore album moisturizer sat perfectly alongside fan favourites, with the biggest singalongs naturally arriving with Wet Dream, Mangetout and the unavoidable Chaise Longue.
Of course a special shoutout must go to Leeds band English Teacher, who delivered a blistering support set that deserved far more than polite applause and warmed the crowd up effortlessly (as if we weren’t already warm enough).
Gigs at Castlefield are always special, and this one was no exception.
For a band that’s spent the last few years steadily building momentum, this felt like another significant step forward. Wet Leg looked completely at ease headlining one of Manchester’s best-loved outdoor venues, and if last night’s performance was anything to go by, there are plenty more big stages waiting for them.
Daisy Jackson -
28th September 2025 
