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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Paul Heaton announces HUGE headline Manchester gig with ACTUALLY cheap tickets
Danny Jones
Fellow Northerner and firmly adopted Mancunian, Paul Heaton, has just announced one of his biggest-ever shows here in Manchester, and he’s putting the focus back on affordable ticket prices.
And when we say affordable, these ones are ACTUALLY cheap for such an established name, let alone at such a big venue.
Revealing a whole new UK tour to toast the release of his latest album, Jenius, Heaton will be playing to the biggest crowd for a headline gig of his career later in the year, with a bit of help from some very familiar support acts.
Confirming his second visit to the Co-op Live arena this coming autumn, along with nearly a dozen domestic dates up and down the country.
‘Jenius’ the brand new album produced by @IanZBroudie will be released 21st August. New single ‘Favourite Kind Of Idiot’ is out now on all streaming platforms! Pre-order the album at https://t.co/ZdQIADzKAb for UK tour ticket pre-sale access. Tickets only £39.50 (+ticket fees). pic.twitter.com/H1YyeW6ePB
Writing on social media, the ‘Jenius Tour’ isn’t just about the record itself; it will be “celebrating more than 40 years of unforgettable songwriting.”
As you would expect, these concerts will obviously feature plenty of Housemartins and Beautiful South tunes, as well as a wealth of his solo material.
The LP itself, which will be his sixth studio project outside of the bands (including his first release under the old ‘Biscuit Boy’ moniker), features 15 tracks touching on everything from love, pubs and booze, community and counsel, football, the state of the nation right, as well as ‘the overall wisdom of kindness’.
You can tell the Bromborough-born artist grew up in the North West, and we count ourselves honoured for him to have South Manchester.
He may be more Mersey than Manc by birth, but you can tell he’s fully immersed himself in the local culture, by both still finding new and relatable things to write about 23 albums later, but recording it down the road at Blueprint Studios, too.
More importantly, he’s also made sure to set the tickets at a more than reasonable price point, detailing that they start at only £39.50.
He’ll also have serial collaborator Rianne Downey – whose vocals also feature throughout Jenius – on board, not to mention The Lightning Seeds serving as another warm-up and then some.
Fans can find the full list of newly announced shows down below – we’ve taken the liberty of highlighting the Northern ones for you.
Paul Heaton UK tour dates – 2026
October Thurs 29 – Newcastle, Utilita Arena Fri 30 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro Sat 31 – Leeds, First Direct Bank Arena
NOVEMBER Mon 2 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena Tues 3 – Plymouth, Arena Fri 6 – Sheffield, Utilita Arena Sat 7 – London, The O2 Tues 10 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena Wed 11 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena Fri 13 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena Sat 14 – Manchester, Co-op Live
As always, besides enjoying early access by pre-ordering the album/via his mailing list, Co-op Live‘s dedicated venue presale will be available to official Co-op members from 9:30am on Wednesday, 3 June.
Meanwhile, general admission tickets go live at the same time on the following Friday (5 Jun), and once again, from just £39.50. You can get ready to grab yours right HERE.
The White Hotel is a go-to haunt for Mancs seeking a late-night (or indeed, all-night) dance, with a packed programme of music running year-round.
The independent arts venue opened inside a former garage in Salford, just outside Manchester city centre and in the shadow of HMP Manchester.
Not only has The White Hotel defined Greater Manchester’s modern nightlife scene, but it’s become known globally as one of the best underground nightclubs on the planet.
Known for its raw DIY atmosphere and boundary-pushing line-ups, the Salford venue up there among the UK’s most respected club spaces.
But despite ‘continuing to draw full houses’, The White Hotel will close in January, according to The Guardian.
Ben Ward told the paper that the venue has found itself in a flood-risk zone, saying: “Basically, it’s a swamp.”
He added that it was better ‘to go out on our own terms, long before we became a museum’.
When The White Hotel opened in 2015, they planned to stick around for a year, then move to LA – but now a decade on, it’s cemented itself on Manchester’s club scene.
The area where The White Hotel stands will become a wetland park.
Neither artistic director Austin Collings nor Ward are ‘sentimental about losing the premises’, The Guardian wrote, quoting Ward as saying: “It’s come as a surprise that it’s lasted this long anyway.”
Hannah Starkie -
1st October 2021 
