The beloved Lottery Winners of Leigh have announced their new album, featuring some seriously exciting collaborators, along with a trio of massive Manchester shows.
Flying the flag for the local hamlet and borough of Wigan as a whole since 2008, The Lottery Winners’ rise over the past few years has been a joy to watch, earning their first number-one record with A.R.T back in May 2023, headlining multiple festivals and supporting some seriously big names on tour.
Now, following on from that theme, the announcement of the fourth studio album is also accompanied by a fair few famous faces lending their musical talents to the project as well, already declaring this next chapter “without doubt our best ever work.”
Big words you can’t help but get excited about – especially given that they’re doing not one, not two but three Manc gigs. Roll on 2025.
The Greater Manchester band have just released the first single, ‘You Again’, featuring Sheffield favourite and Day Fever festival co-creator Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers – it’s a really uplifting and reminiscent indie banger, by the way – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
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Teasing some of the other collaborators who have worked on the new album, simply entitled KOKO (i.e. Keep On Keeping On), fans can expect the return of Frank Turner for a third time on a Lottery Winners record, fellow Northern icons Shed Seven and, get this: Chad Kroeger of Nickelback…
Unreal, we know.
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The four-piece supported the Canadian rockstars on their European tour and even joined them on stage for an epic Oasis cover when they landed here at the AO Arena this past May, so we already knew they were good friends – we just didn’t expect to hear Chad confirmed as a featured artist.
Sadly, the song he features on isn’t called ‘KOKO-graph’. A missed opportunity, we know.
It’s unclear as to whether they have any other surprise up their sleeves before the album drops early next year but we’ll settle for this being plenty, to be honest. As mentioned, not unlike the now sold-out Blossoms gigs, they all announced a mini-Manchester residency and none other than Academy 1.
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Dubbing the run of shows the ‘Burning House Party’ in honour of their much-loved single from last year, they’ll be playing what is Manc live music rite of passage, they’ll be closing out what has been an incredible 2024 for them with three special sets on December 27, 28 and 29.
KOKO is set to release on 21 February 2025 via the ever-growing Modern Sky record label and general admission for The Lottery Winners’ Burning House Party shows go live this Friday, 27 September at 10am, but you can access pre-sale by pre-ordering the new album now.
Scouting For Girls announce stacked UK tour with Manchester date
Thomas Melia
British boyband Scouting For Girls are heading out on an extensive UK tour with dates up and down the country, including right here in Manchester.
If the first thing that pops into your mind when you read this headline is “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know how we’ll make it through this”, then you’re on the right side of history.
Nearly 20 years since their single ‘She’s So Lovely’ reached catastrophic heights and had everyone putting on their best Roy Stride accent, Scouting For Girls are heading back on the road.
This UK tour announcement comes two years after their last project, The Place We Used To Meet, reached our ears and was coined by the band as “Our best work since our debut”.
It’s been 18 years since this Brit trio captivated our hearts with their eponymous debut album, which sold over one million copies and went number one on the UK official charts for two weeks.
Whether you know them for ‘Heartbeat’ or ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’, it’s clear to say this band had their fair share of smash hit singles throughout the noughties.
This tour, however, celebrates the sophomore follow-up: Everybody Wants To Be On TV, which went on to continue their legacy and secure them their only number one, ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’, back in 2010.
Now, the boys are treating UK fans to an array of live performances, and if you can’t make one date, fear not because there are 20 different locations for you to choose from.
The group will also be playing the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and a whole host of other Northern cities, so you have plenty of chances to catch them.
If you can’t wait all the way until March 2026 for your next Scouting For Girls fix, lead singer Stride has his own cameo account where you can get the star to read out a message or even sing you a song: “‘Michaela Strachan’ in full, please?…”
Scouting For Girls are coming to O2 Apollo in Manchester on 21 March 2026, with tickets going on sale next Friday, 2 May at 10am HERE.
You can get FREE tickets to watch The Voice UK in Manchester
Thomas Melia
Fans of The Voice UK can apply to get free tickets to watch the filming of the upcoming series taking place right here in Manchester.
Anyone looking to get their late-night fix more up close and personal than just sitting on the sofa will be delighted to know that The Voice UK is returning, and you could see this show in the flesh.
The music competition show is returning to its usual filming spot right here in MediaCity UK in Salford and offers members of the public the chance to showcase their vocals in front of music icons.
The Voice is known for attracting some of the biggest musical stars, with judges of past seasons including Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Hudson, Meghan Trainor, Ricky Wilson and more.
Last year’s judges included American country-pop superstar LeAnn Rimes and the first-ever double-chair, which seated McFly members Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher.
Fortunately, these tickets aren’t to take part in the show, instead they’re to appear in the studio audience, although we all know Mancs love a good sing-along.
There are three various filming dates all taking place at MediaCity UK in Salford, meaning Mancs have a few opportunities to see the judges discover the next best thing in music.
Although the judging lineup for The Voice 2025 hasn’t been officially announced yet, there are two music mentors who have been on the show since it very first launched here in Britain.
Anyone considering attending is almost guaranteed to see the legendary Sir Tom Jones, as well as notable producer and recording artist Will.I.Am, as both music legends have been on the judges panel since it first aired back in 2012.
It is just us, or does it seem hard to believe it was that long ago?
The Voice UK starts filming at MediaCity UK in Manchester from Thursday, 5 June until the following Saturday (7 Jun), with tickets to all three dates still available HERE.
Danny Jones -
23rd September 2024 
