In just three short years, the indie four-piece have seemingly done everything right. Their successes have led to the release of their debut album ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’ last Friday. And within the past seven days, the four boys from Wigan are on track to knock Drake off the top spot in the UK Album Charts.
Clearly, the band are on the brink of something huge.
Forming in 2018 in their west Manchester hometown, the four of them have come a long way from gigging local pubs in front of a crowd of 20 people. When Tim Burgess handed them a last-minute slot to perform at Kendal Calling in 2019, the social media hype in the 24 hours that followed forced the crowd to spill out beyond the perimeters of the tent when they took to the stage.
Then within a year, they had recorded their debut appearance for Later… With Jools Holland and joined the BBC Sound Poll 2021 list of tipped acts at the end of 2020.
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Fast forward another year and that same hype is still alive and well.
The Lathums will play a huge sold-out headline gig at Victoria Warehouse on October 16. Credit: The Lathums/IG
In the past couple months alone, it’s been hard to pin them down.
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From countless festival slots, performing at Neighbourhood Festival earlier this month, to their album launch tour including dates at Wigan’s The Monaco, Gorilla and Liverpool Arts Club, to supporting The Courteeners in front of 50,000 people, there’s been stopping them as they’ve travelled the length and breadth of the country introducing thousands to their music.
Made up of frontman and songwriter Alex Moore, guitarist Scott Concepcion, bassist Jonny Cunliffe and Ryan Durrans on drums, the four mates symbolise the purity and hope of the youth of today. And having been described as “four bright, wild flowers growing between grey paving stones”, you get an idea of what the band are all about.
Taking inspiration from real-life experiences and growing up in a complicated and confusing world, it’s the personal touches in Moore’s song writing that give the band that approachable edge. This is especially true, when you learn that some of the songs on the album were written with his mum during that long, hot lockdown summer of 2020.
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How Beautiful Life Can Be is out now.
Despite having youth very much on their side, the band have produced a mature storytelling soundscape, made up of deeply-affecting, honest and optimistic tracks on ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’.
Moore has consistently maintained that the band’s music has to feel right. It has to mean something – to him and to others. This wholesome commentary shows, above anything, his intent to do good with his music and accurately portray life’s pains and struggles as a young adult.
Intended to deepen the comparisons with bands of a similar nature – say, Arctic Monkeys and The Smiths – the album represents a new wave of emotive and impactful indie music. And delivering these relatable lyrics is Alex Moore’s characterful and charming Manc accent, too. A familiar and recognisable sound for us fellow Mancunians.
All in all, we’re faced with a genuinely likeable set of tracks, and even more likeable band members. Something that’s fairly difficult to find in the indie music scene, as it can possess far too many egos for its own good sometimes.
So, time will tell if the band are able to knock current top spot Drake down a place or two in the UK Album Charts. Keep your eyes peeled to find out.
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In the meantime, have a listen to ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’, here.
Track list:
Circles Of Faith
I’ll Get By
Fight On
How Beautiful Life Can Be
The Great Escape
I Won’t Lie
I See Your Ghost
Oh My Love
I’ll Never Forget The Time I Spent With You
I Know That Much
Artificial Screens
The Redemption Of Sonic Beauty
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Manc music legends James announce MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
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Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.