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.
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“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.”
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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.
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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.
In a statement shared today, the Co-op Live said it has been ‘undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans’.
It said that the shows are being rescheduled to ensure they can ‘run safely’.
The 23,500-capacity arena said this will give them ‘the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly’.
The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May, and Peter Kay on 23 and 24 May.
As for the Bolton-born comedian, he sounds somewhat in disbelief himself:
My apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready and so, as yet, remains untested for a large-scale audience. Consequently, they are having to reschedule my two shows yet again (I know I can’t believe it either).
Co-op Live’s statement reads: “Since making the difficult decision to postpone the live shows at Co-op Live due to take place this week, we have been undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans.
“To ensure that we can run all shows safely, regretfully we have now had to take the decision to reschedule the planned The Black Keys and Peter Kay shows.
“Both The Black Keys and Peter Kay have graciously agreed to reschedule their shows. The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May 2024, and Peter Kay will now perform on 23 and 24 May 2024.
“All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase. Refunds will be available for those who can no longer attend.
“We deeply appreciate the impact this will have on excited fans, and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that this change will undoubtedly cause.
“Rescheduling Peter Kay and The Black Keys will give us the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly.
“This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size to ensure that our fans, artists and staff have the safest experience possible.”
Co-op Live boss resigns just days before venue’s official opening
Daisy Jackson
The boss of Co-op Live, Manchester’s enormous, ground-breaking new arena, has resigned from his position just days before the venue is set to open.
The enormous music-first arena has been taking shape beside the Etihad Stadium for several years, and was due to welcome its first official audiences this week, but has been hit with last-minute challenges.
And now Co-op Live‘s boss Gary Roden has quit the mammoth project, with the news of his resignation announced late Thursday evening.
Oak View Group, which Co-op Live is part of, said in a statement that they would like to ‘thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans’.
Stepping into his shoes as interim general manager will be Rebecca Kane Burton, who previously ran the U.K.’s highest-grossing venue, London’s The O2 arena.
Gary has previously come under fire for saying that some grassroots music venues ‘poorly run’ – a statement that OVG has now distanced itself from.
A separate statement said that ‘neither Co-op Live nor Oak View Group share the sentiment expressed by former Co-op Live General Manager Gary Roden regarding the grassroots industry’.
It continued: “As OVG Chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke has repeatedly stated, Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond, including teaming up with Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham on the Artist of the Month campaign, and as a founding partner of Beyond The Music.
“Co-op Live also donates over £1m a year to the Co-op Foundation to support communities and empower young people to take social action through its new Young Gamechangers fund.
“Oak View Group and Co-op Live remain happy to meet with grassroots organisations once the venue is fully operational.”
Co-op Live boss Gary Roden speaking at the launch of Co-op Live just days before he resigned. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Co-op Live in Manchester
The news of the venue’s boss stepping down comes at a time when all eyes are on Co-op Live, the opening of which has been delayed.
The venue did host a test event with Rick Astley last weekend, but even that faced difficulties, with thousands of tickets cancelled to reduce capacity just hours before showtime.
It’s now set to officially open this Saturday 27 April with a performance by rock group The Black Keys.
The full statement from OVG about Gary’s resignation said: “Gary Roden has decided to resign. We’d like to thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future.
“Rebecca Kane Burton has been named Interim GM, effective today. Rebecca is a seasoned veteran of venue management and live entertainment in the UK having served as VP/GM of The O2 from 2012-2016 and CEO of LW Theatres from 2016-2021.
Danny Jones -
23rd January 2024 
