Indie rockers The Magic Gang have announced their they have officially split and will be playing three final gigs here in the UK — and, thankfully, Manchester is one of them.
Having released a much-loved debut EP back in 2016, as well as two albums in 2018 and 2020, respectively, the Brighton-based foursome haven’t released new music since their last outing, have been quite online and slowed the pace of performance-wise, playing a handful of festival slots in 2022.
Confirming the news of the split via a heartfelt social media post, The Magic Gang members revealed that they’ll all be going off and “exploring their own creative pursuits” but that they’ve got three more shows to go before they say ta-ra.
Playing three nights from 21-23 May, Manc fans have one last chance to ‘Take Back the Track’ with a cult favourite when they play New Century Hall on Wednesday, 22 May.
Speaking in a lengthy post, there doesn’t seem to be any hint of the boys not ‘Getting Along’; in fact, writing rather emotionally about the journey the band has been on, it sounds like they’re focusing more on the memories they created over the past decade.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This band started in 2013 in a bedroom in Kris’ parents’ house. I remember it was a sweltering hot day and me (Jack), Kris and Paeris were arguing over band names”, writes frontman and guitarist Jack Kaye.
“Kris wanted to start a band with around ten members, playing an array of percussive instruments and acoustic guitars. With this in mind, we settled on The Magic Gang and Paeris wrote it on the front of a kick drum to make it official.
“We recorded our first song ‘Bruises’ in our shared house in Brighton. Gus happened to be home at the time and was drafted in to play bass. There was something truly magical about that recording; a lightning-in-a-bottle moment you take for granted when you first start a band.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Holding their hands up and admitting it had been a while since their last gig, the post goes on to read: “It’s clear to see how incredible the journey has been. We’ve travelled the world and have had the opportunity to share our music with anyone who cared to listen (and some who didn’t).
“We dedicated everything to the band and I’m so glad we did, because we got the world in return. For now, we’ve decided to call time on The Magic Gang. This band has always been a sum of its parts – four songwriters working in collaboration and doing our best to honour each other’s ideas.”
As detailed by Vice back in 2018, “Three members – Kaye, Krisitan Smith and Angus Taylor – were already frontmen in other projects” and confident vocalists in their own right who all just so happened to “share a love for The Beach Boys’ harmonies”, so the chances they were all going to go off and do their own thing was always there.
ADVERTISEMENT
Drummer Paeris Giles and Taylor had already played together before too, so the potential for the pair to once again spin out together in whatever project comes next is also there. All we can say is we’re excited to hear what they all come up with.
They signed off by adding, “The most natural thing now is for everyone in the band to spend some time exploring their own creative pursuits. You’ll be hearing a lot more from all of us but for now, as The Magic Gang, we’d like to thank everyone who’s supported us over the years by playing a handful of shows.
“We’ll be playing a lot of songs we’ve not performed in years and covering everything from Bruises right up to now. Thank you and good night x”
Tickets for The Magic Gang’s official ‘Farewell Shows’ go live this Friday, 26 January at 9am — you can grab your tickets for their last-ever Manchester date HERE and, meanwhile, we’ll pretend this ‘split’ never happened and quietly keep our fingers crossed for a reunion somewhere down the line.
From a band together for over 10 years to once that’s spanned a whopping 52, they aren’t the only ones to announce they will be playing some of their final shows here in Manchester, as the mighty Eagles have also revealed they will be playing Co-op Live — the last dates they will ever play in the UK.
Major international girl group tipped for reunion tour after teasers at big UK arenas
Danny Jones
A major international girl band appear to be gearing up for a big reunion tour following a number of teasers popping up at some of the largest arenas around the country – including here in Manchester.
In case you haven’t already guessed it from the thumbnail, we’ll give you another hint: there used to be six of them, though it remains to be seen how many will be returning…
Yes, the once-huge all-female pop group, The Pussycat Dolls, looks set to reunite once again, though the full lineup and exact nature of the shows are yet to be fully verified.
They were a big chart-topping act throughout the noughties, and some of the famous faces are still doing bits in around showbiz today; they’ve been away for a long time, but Co-op Live and more have just fans getting ready to “loosen up their buttons”.
Sharing the big digital advert splashed at the top of the venue on Wednesday, 11 March, Co-op couldn’t have made it any easier for fans to guess.
Choosing one of the most obvious lyrics turned puns and asking Mancs, “Don’t Cha Wish you knew who we’re announcing tomorrow (Thurs, 12 Mar)”, it didn’t take any time at all for people to figure it out.
With the comments across social media platforms now filled with people sharing gifs of their old performances and dance routines, or simply sharing their general excitement, the hype train is already well and truly on the way.
The O2 in London also appear to be readying their announcement, though Co-op Live will have the luxury of being the biggest venue on the list at a capacity of 23,500.
And then, as if things weren’t already blatant enough, the Pussycat Dolls’ official page has also shared a short clip ahead of the inevitable reveal featuring the words, “PCD Forever”, along with pointing them towards a website listed under the same name.
Now, the last time they performed was not long before the pandemic, with most of the original lineup performing on The X Factor, releasing their first new song in over a decade, ‘React’, which was supposed to signal the start of a reunion.
However, the planned comeback tour was ultimately cancelled in January 2022, and we hadn’t heard much else since – until now. Fans are crossing fingers that they get at least a trio of Nicole Sherzinger, Ashley Roberts, Carmit Bachar, Kimberly Wyatt, and Jessica Sutta, but we’ll find out very soon.
They’re not the only big female artist set for a big Manc date this year – and, fortunately, this one’s already been confirmed.
Gig Review | The ‘West End Girl’ heads up North – Lily Allen at Aviva Studios in Manchester
Lonnie Bowes
Last night at Aviva Studios, the home of Factory International, Lily Allen performed the first of two intimate theatre shows in Manchester – here’s our review…
As part of her ‘West End Girl Tour’, Allen is performing in more considered spaces up and down the country alongside the bigger sold-out venues you might normally expect.
It’s a refreshing change of pace. Seeing a pop star slow things down and lean fully into theatre, something that perfectly aligns with the drama that’s surrounded her in recent years.
Supporting the show was a special ‘Dallas Minor Trio’: an orchestral string group that elegantly warmed up the crowd, taking on instrumental Allen classics, including ‘F**K You’ and ‘LDN’ to set the tone nicely, with a screen behind them as the patient Manchester crowd settled in and enjoyed an early singalong.
When the lights dimmed, Allen emerged through the curtains and opened with the tour’s namesake, ‘West End Girl’. From the moment she stepped onto the stage, she asserted herself firmly in the space – a set designed to resemble her own small apartment.
This is when the real show began. As Allen moved through the performance, the set behind her transformed from song to song, adding to the theatrical feel of the evening.
During ‘Madeline’, she appeared armed with a feather duster, fully committing to the domestic setting, while for ‘Relapse’, she dramatically spills the contents of her handbag across Factory International‘s adjustable floor.
Anyone who has listened to Allen’s recent material will know she’s been keeping all the receipts on her ex (can’t remember his name).
Credit: Henry Redcliffe (supplied via Factory International)
Elsewhere in the set, Allen delivered standout performances of ‘Pussy Palace’, ‘Nonmonogamummy’ and ‘Beg for Me’, songs that leaned fully into the confessional tone of the evening.
Each track landed with a mix of sharp humour and raw honesty, with Allen balancing moments of biting lyricism with the kind of self-aware storytelling that has long defined her songwriting.
By the end of the night, the performance felt less like a traditional pop concert and more like a piece of confessional theatre.
In the intimate surroundings of the Aviva Studios space, Lily Allen proved that sometimes scaling things down can make a story feel much bigger – and that her ability to turn personal chaos into compelling performance remains as sharp as ever.
Danny Jones -
23rd January 2024 
