The 1975 are releasing a live album version of 2024’s ‘Still… At Their Very Best’ tour show at the AO Arena in Manchester.
As someone who was there in the flesh, trust us, it’s a performance worth reliving.
With the Wilmslow-formed Manc adoptees looking like they might be gearing up for another album cycle, not to mention being named as one of the headliners on the 2025 Glastonbury lineup, it seems as though they break from the spotlight is coming to an end.
It’s been two years and a half years since they dropped their last album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, but they’ve been touring around the world pretty much ever since and now they’ve decided to press one of their concert highlights onto vinyl.
As you can see, perhaps the most striking thing about the upcoming live LP is the artwork for it. Although we can’t put our finger on exactly where it is, the imagery looks to be taken from a housing estate somewhere nearby.
ADVERTISEMENT
To be honest, it wouldn’t matter whether it was in Greater Manchester or somewhere in their home county of Cheshire, for that matter: there’s just undeniably familiar and undeniably Northern-looking about the whole thing.
How on Earth they’ve managed to look something so normal and mundane somehow poetic and interesting we’ll never know, all we can guarantee is that the recordings pulled for this latest release are guaranteed to be brilliant.
ADVERTISEMENT
Following the first world tour of their critically acclaimed fifth record, we waxed lyrical over the performance and after witnessing the evolution of that admittedly barmy live set all over again just over a year later, we went so far as to dub them among “some of the best performers on the planet”.
The only dilemma we have is deciding which one we prefer more: January 2023 or February 2024. Having said that, one did include a very special surprise guest…
We’re standing by that claim we made above, by the way; maybe it’s because of just how good that Manchester energy was and exactly why The 1975 boys have decided not just to document it but immortalise that particular gig as a live album.
ADVERTISEMENT
Not only was it their de facto homecoming gig following a gargantuan world tour, but as it was the second iteration of that first ‘At Their Very Best’ show, the chances were it was always going to get better and more refined.
The setlist included the typical title track opening, ‘Looking For Somebody To Love’, ‘Happiness’, ‘Part Of The Band’ and ‘Oh Caroline’; ‘Robbers’, ‘Fallingforyou’, ‘Somebody Else’, ‘Chocolate’, ‘I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)’, ‘People’ and many more.
You can find the full tracklist and pre-order The 1975 ‘Still… At Their Very Best live album, taken directly from the AO Arena performance in Manchester, right HERE.
The cover for The 1975 Manchester live album and the moments it captures. (Credit: Dirty Hit/Audio North)
Featured Images — Dirty Hit Records/The Manc Group
Audio
James Blunt announces huge Manchester gig on new European arena tour
Daisy Jackson
Singer-songwriter James Blunt is heading back out on tour next year, and has announced a massive Manchester gig as part of his run of arena shows.
The singer, perhaps best-known for his iconic 2005 pop ballad ‘You’re Beautiful’, is hitting the road again in 2027.
The newly-announced European tour is in celebration of his new album Airplane Mode, which is set for release this autumn.
James Blunt will kick off his tour in Leeds next spring, before heading over for a night at the almighty Co-op Live in Manchester.
Then he’ll head to more cities including Newcastle, Birmingham and London.
His new album, Airplane Mode, is being released on 6 November and will, according to his press release, be ‘exhilarating’.
James has already released the first single, ‘Tastes Like Summer’, and ‘Weight Of It All’, with 10 more songs to come on the record.
Airplane Mode was recorded with James’ brilliant long-standing live band, who’ll be back on tour with him next year.
Speaking of the new album, and recording in Pig Music Studios, he said: “Somewhere back there, I lost my way, but found it again in a studio in Banbury.”
James Blunt will be at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on 3 April, 2027. Tickets go on sale from 10am on 9 September.
Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
Danny Jones -
7th March 2025 
