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.
Phoebe Bridgers announces long-awaited return with HUGE phones-free arena gig in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
It’s official, Phoebe Bridgers is back on earth.
More than six years since her last studio album, Punisher, was released to the world, cementing her status as one of indie folk’s leading figureheads, Phoebe Bridgers has given fans the news they have been waiting so patiently for.
A new tour North America and EU tour is on the horizon, and she’ll be stopping off here in Manchesterlater this year for a huge arena gig.
Following a sold-out acoustic show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden last night (4 June), Phoebe has now revealed details of ‘The Lost Tour’ for 2026.
Other than the series of surprise pop-up acoustic shows that have wrapped around the country over the last few weeks – beginning in Roswell in New Mexico on 8 May, and continuing on to smaller venues in other US cities before culminating in last night’s dazzling MSG show – this upcoming full band tour marks the first Phoebe Bridgers shows since early 2023.
Phoebe will be taking to the stage at Co-op Live here in Manchester for one night only on 26 November 2026 – with tickets going on sale next week.
And just like the pop-up shows, the use of mobile phones, cameras, and other recording devices will be strictly prohibited on this tour, encouraging fans to be more present in the moment.
This means the Co-op Live event will utilise secure pouches to store all devices during the performance.
Phoebe Bridgers is playing a huge arena gig in Manchester on her UK tour later this year / Credit: Supplied | Raph PH (Wikimedia Commons)
Upon arrival, all phones, smartwatches, and related accessories will be secured in these pouches, the pouches will be unlocked at the conclusion of the show, and any guest observed using a non-permitted device during the performance will be escorted out of the venue.
If the news of Phoebe’s return wasn’t exciting enough for fans as it is, she won’t be the only one making a highly-anticipated return to the stage, as support on the UK & EU leg of the tour is to be provided by former Black Country, New Road frontman, Isaac Wood.
Wood stepped away from the ensemble band – and the limelight as a whole – right before the release of BCNR’s critically acclaimed second studio album, Ants From Up There, in 2022, citing mental health reasons.
Phoebe has also partnered with PLUS1 so that €1/£1 from every ticket sold on the European tour leg goes to local organisations throughout the EU/UK working to support those impacted by sexual assault and violence.
Phoebe Bridgers will be playing Co-op Live as part of ‘The Lost Tour’ on Thursday 26 November 2026.
Tickets officially go on sale first through the Phoebe Bridgers Pass Presale via Fan3, and Co-op Member Presale starting at 10am on Wednesday 10 June, before general sale then begins on Friday 12 June, again at 10am.
UB40 at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
British-based reggae band UB40 are coming to Manchester for a celebration of all their greatest hits live at AO Arena.
Formed in Birmingham in the late 70’s, this predominantly dub and reggae band has gone on to achieve much success, including 50 UK charting singles.
UB40 have also sold over 100 million records, as well as keeping a consistent line-up for almost 30 years, before lead vocalist Ali Campbell decided to leave the band.
Now, the band’s lead vocalist is former Kioko lead singer Matt Doyle, who’s taken on this role since mid-2021 and is ready to soundtrack your night while you enjoy some ‘Red Red Wine’.
There’s no official setlist confirmed for their latest tour, however, this 11-piece band have played an array of European dates with a pretty consistent roster of tracks:
Here I Am (Come and Take Me)
Maybe Tomorrow
Homely Girl
Sing Our Own Song
One in Ten
Home
Please Don’t Make Me Cry
Many Rivers to Cross
Higher Ground
The Way You Do the Things You Do
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
Cherry Oh Baby
Johnny Too Bad
Red Red Wine
Food For Thought
Forever True
Kingston Town
Can’t Help Falling in Love
What are the stage times for UB40 in Manchester?
Anyone up for seeing UB40 play out at Manchester’s impressive 19,000-seater AO Arena will have to get there a tad early.
Doors will open at 6pm with a gig start time of 6:45pm due to the special guests who will be taking to the stage before them.
Make sure you get down early, as you really won’t want to miss the phenomenal duo Aswad, as well as standout vocalist Maxi Priest – It really is a reggae revolution.
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.
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces, including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
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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.
Danny Jones -
23rd January 2024 
