Some of the biggest artists of the 90s will be coming together for a nostalgic night of music at the AO Arena Manchester.
The 90s Baby gig will bring together pop stars including Aqua, Atomic Kitten, Liberty X, the Cheeky Girls, Five and B*Witched.
The huge pop show this autumn will see more than 20 legendary artists perform in front of thousands at the AO Arena.
Europop legends Aqua will be performing their multi-platinum hit Barbie Girl, while Eiffel 65 will bring their 90s anthems like Blue (Da Ba Dee) and Move Your Body back to the live stage.
Eiffel 65 will perform at 90s Baby. Credit: Supplied
The soundtrack to an entire generation’s birthday parties, Macarena, will be on the bill with Los Del Rio joining the 90s Baby line-up.
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The sing-along vibes continue with Mambo No. 5 from Lou Bega, and Eurodance banger Freed From Desire from Gala.
Then it’s over to Heather Small, of M People fame, who fronted the Manc band when they won Best British Dance Act at the BRIT Awards in both 1994 and 1996.
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Lou Bega
Las Ketchup
Heather Small
Liz McClarnon and Natasha Hamilton, two members of Atomic Kitten, will be back together to perform their hit singles such as Whole Again and The Tide Is High.
Irish girl group B*Witched, who were behind chart-toppers like C’est La Vie, Rollercoaster, and Blame It on the Weatherman, join the bill for the 90s Baby gig too.
2 Unlimited will perform their legendary acid-house track Get Ready For This, while Corona will be on stage with The Rhythm of the Night.
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Italian dance act Whigfield will get everyone dancing along to Saturday Night, as will global sensations Las Ketchup, with The Ketchup Song (Asereje), which sold more than seven million copies.
Big Brovaz are coming back to the stage. Credit: Supplied
One of the 90s biggest boy bands, Five, will be back together to sing Keep On Movin’ and Everyone Get Up.
20 years after they were brought together on reality TV show Popstars, Liberty X will hit the stage once again with their back catalogue of hit singles, like Just A Little and Got to Have Your Love.
Also on the bill at 90s Baby are British boyband Damage, who had success in the 1990s with singles like Forever – Lady of Soul and Ghetto Romance.
5ive
2 Unlimited
S Club All Stars
With more than 15 million record sales under their belts, 911 will be performing at the AO Arena, as will British girl group The 411.
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Big Brovaz, who sang Booty Luv, will deliver even more nostalgia, and there’s a real blast from the past with The X Factor’s Chico singing his debut single It’s Chico Time.
True noughties icon Gareth Gates, who won Pop Idol in 2002, will be back performing his tracks What My Heart Wants and Go Your Own Way.
Three members of the S Club empire (Bradley and Tina from S Club 7 and Stacey from S Club Juniors) have now formed S Club Allstars, to perform some of their most iconic tracks.
British R&B girl group Honeyz, whose singles include Finally Found and Won’t Take It Lying Down, join the packed 90s Baby line up.
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And finally, The Cheeky Girls will be performing their Cheeky Song live.
90s Baby will take over the AO Arena Manchester on Saturday 29 October.
Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday 29 April – you can sign up here.
Featured image: Supplied
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Hip-hop, soul and R’n’B legend Mary J Blige is coming to Manchester for a massive arena show
Danny Jones
Manchester is getting ready to welcome a global icon of hip-hop, soul, pop and R’n’B as Mary J Blige is set to put on a massive arena show.
With a music career spanning more than 30 years, Mary J Blige is an absolute legend of the American music scene, with nine GRAMMY Awards and nearly 40 nominations, along with a plethora of BET, Billboard, and AMA nods over the years.
Currently on ‘The For My Fans Tour’, jetting quite literally all over and recently adding on even more dates, not only has London been given some love, but so has Greater Manchester – and rightly so.
Announcing the special one-off show and Co-op Live debut this Wednesday, 16 April, Mary J Blige won’t have to wait too long to be part of the ‘Family Affair’.
The 54-year-old from New York will be coming to the state-of-the-art, one of the biggest indoor entertainment venues in all of Europe, in just a few months’ time.
On top of the already well-established AO Arena, this is the pedigree of truly worldwide artists that Co-op Live was built to further attract – and it looks to be working.
It’s been the best part of a decade since she was last in these parts, so she’s sure to get a huge reception.
While most audiences in the likes of North America have been treated to fellow R’n’B favourite Ne-Yo, those watching Ms Blige will be keeping things domestic as long-standing London collective and producers, Soul II Soul, will be joining her for the show.
‘Back to life, back to reality…’
So there you have it! Mary J Blige will be coming to Manchester on Friday, 4 July 2025, with her own pre-sale going live at 10am on Thursday, 24 April, but Co-op members can get there even earlier, with the venue’s early access available from the same time the day before.
As for general admission, you can get ready to grab your tickets HERE from 10am on Friday, 25 April.
Fri 18 April – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley (Sean Paul, Ashanti and Big Joe)
Sat 19 April – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Sun 20 April – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
22 April – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
23 April – Brighton, UK – Brighton Centre (Sean Paul ONLY)
24 April – Bournemouth, UK – BIC (Sean Paul ONLY)
Sean Paul and Ashanti tickets for AO Arena gig
Just like Ashanti’s 2002 hit, you’d have been ‘Foolish’ not to get tickets when they first came out, however, there’s still a chance for you to ‘Get Busy’ like Sean Paul’s ‘02 throwback.
There’s a limited run of tickets left throughout the venue, including standing, seated and even an option to watch the show from ‘The Mezz’ if you’re after a VIP experience – AllHERE.
There’s no official setlist yet, however, if you consider the past selection of hits from their previous separate gigs, fans are in for a jam-packed night.
Sean Paul:
So Fine
Get Busy
Ever Blazin’
Cheap Thrills
Baby Boy
Bailando
Hot Gyal Today
Infiltrate
Breathe/ Make It Clap
Give It Up To Me
Got 2 Luv U
Mad Love
No Lie
Boasty
Love Me Ladies
Tip Pon It
Volcano
Bring It
Greatest
I’m Still In Love
Light My Fire
Punkie
Rockabye
Like Glue
Deport Them
Trumpets
She Doesn’t Mind
Temperature
Ashanti:
Happy
Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)
Mesmerise
Only U
Baby
Southside
Down 4 U
Body On Me
What’s Luv?
Ain’t It Funny
Always On Time
Foolish
What are the stage times for Sean Paul and Ashanti in Manchester?
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm; anyone attending this link-up of a lifetime can enjoy their night knowing they’ll be ‘Ever Blazin” after a full night’s sleep.
Doors for the ‘Bring It Tour’ are scheduled for 6pm with a kick-off time of 7pm, with no confirmed or mentioned support acts as of yet.
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
Getting there by car and parking
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
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About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so 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.