It’s not often you get to see genuine music royalty on the big stage just a few minutes down the road, but let it be known that the Foo Fighters’ first gig in Manchester for six years was one we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.
We’re also going to go ahead and confess that this isn’t even a review, not really: consider it an ode to one of the greatest bands to ever do it and it’s only after seeing them live that we truly appreciated their status as the rock gods they’ve been for decades now.
For a long time, the Foos have felt somewhat otherworldly, almost as if they were too big for us to ever believe we were actually seeing them in person.
But pinches of disbelief aside, we did – though not before two extremely impressive support acts.
Getting to catch a glimpse of Manchester post-punk with a hint of funk band Loose Articles as we finally made our way through the queues and crowds was a delight and we’re always buzzing to see local artists being given a platform by bigger acts – and it doesn’t get much bigger than Foo Fighters.
We didn’t hear much of their live set, we’ll admit, but they’ve been on our radar for a little while now and we’re certainly going to be watching them closely as they fly the flag for our city like so many before.
Wet Leg lead singer Rhian Teasdale was also full of praise for the warm-ups. The BRITs Best New Artist and Group of the Year for 2023 had just as much of a job on their hands to keep the thousands of Mancs dancing in the slight but steady rain, but they certainly lived up to the task.
It might not necessarily have been their crowd but moments like the scream in ‘Ur Mum’ and the undeniably catchy bop that is ‘Chaise Longue’ are never going to miss, managing to ramp up the energy a notch just in time for the Foos to take their places.
Seeing Dave Grohl walk out on stage in front of you in the flesh is a feeling we don’t think we’ll ever be quite able to describe but all we’ll say is that it was like the entire crowd inside the Emirates Old Trafford were simply welcoming home an old friend whilst simultaneously losing their minds.
Then the buggers had the audacity to start with ‘Monkey Wrench’ of all tracks, immediately getting everyone moving and rolling back the years as they slipped straight into a personal favourite, ‘Learn to Fly’ and then proceeded to play at least one track from every single album. They have 11, for context.
lt didn’t matter what era they drew from for the setlist and it’s no exaggeration when we say banger after banger. You don’t stay around for this long without putting out quality consistently.
Hearing cult favourite tunes like ‘Generator’, ‘Statues’ and even ‘Under You’, which Grohl was left stunned by as Manchester sang it back to him word for word – despite this being only one of the few occasions he’s played it live and just the first he’s played it entirely acoustic – it was all just so special.
We were also glad to see that Foo Fighters’ first night in Manchester had all the staples of an old-school rock show too, from long guitar solos and each band member getting a nice little intro/breakout moment, and even a 10-minute long jam in the form of ‘The Teacher’.
New drummer Josh Freese was a real standout too, showcasing exactly why the band picked him to follow in such big footsteps, but we can’t lie, there was any moment more emotional than the dedication to the late Taylor Hawkins.
Insisting that all they “ever do is tell Taylor” stories and that “he loved this place”, you could see faces welling up as they proceeded to play his song, ‘Aurora’, as a giant hawk motif appeared on the back of the stage and the applause felt like it would never end.
Another highlight was hearing the chorus of ‘ohs’ as they tried to play ‘The Best Of You’ and Dave simply said, “You win motherf***ers”, having already joked that he’d like to at least try and join in with us.
Manchester crowds hearing one note and running with it as they proceed to start the singalong themselves, voices in full, will simply never get old. It was the first night of the UK tour too; we set an example for everyone else – try following that.
After a truly memorable night, we can categorically confirm that Foo Fighters are as amazing live as you think they are – probably even better. Decades into their career and even with the loss of such a key driving force in the band, it’s incredible to see their stamina and talent haven’t wavered one bit.
These are the gigs you cross off your bucket list and if you’re going along on Saturday, you won’t be disappointed; plus you can still find all the important information you need in our Foo Fighters gig guide. Trust us, you’re going to have an absolute blast.
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Foo Fighters (via IG)
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The story behind one of Noel Gallagher’s best bits of songwriting and greatest ever peformances
Danny Jones
Noel Gallagher is not only one of the greatest songwriters of a generation, but perhaps one of Britain’s best-ever; he’s certainly in the top five of all time from Greater Manchester, but did you know how the story behind how one of his best (you heard) songs, ‘Dead In The Water’ came to be?
Or rather, do you know how one little radio performance produced one of his best vocal performances to date? Keep reading…
In case you’ve never heard the haunting ‘Dead In The Water’, taken from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds LP three, Who Built The Moon?, it is very much just that: an almost ghostly and preciously quiet, acoustic song that became a cult favourite on the LP and even more beloved live track.
But this tune was never even supposed to be on the album; the deep cut, which was only ever played live a few times during concerts prior to its being released to the world, was taken from a radio show on Irish station RTÉ 2FM – and Noel didn’t even know it was being recorded.
Played during 2015, and it barely even needed ‘mastering’ before being released in 2017.
As explained by RTÉ’s Damian Chennells, Noel was promoting the previous album, Chasing Yesterday (his sophomore HFB outing and just second solo album up to that point), and during the session in the studio, Damian decided to hit record on an otherwise behind-the-scenes moment.
You can actually hear him going back and forth with the sound engineer at the start of the track – one he’d only just finished writing the night before – before he actually starts playing and the rest, as they say, is history.
We love the notion of the piano player didn’t even know what he was doing until Noel started playing.
Taped and ultimately tracked thanks to a spur-of-the-moment decision made in 2FM Studio 8 at the national free-to-air network’s radio centre in Dublin, Oasis and High Flying Birds fans, as well as lovers of Noel and music in general, got one of the most beautiful stripped-back listening experiences imaginable.
Returning to Ireland some time later, and just four years prior to getting Oasis back together for the Live ’25 world tour show that is now well underway, he performed it once again for The Late Late Show, which goes out on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Some might argue he sounds even better this time around, but just as he says in the interview above, there is something truly special and unfiltered about that first raw and ridiculously good live recording.
From 2015 to 2021, and even present day, the story behind the original ‘Dead in the Water’ recording is fascinating.
Many have even speculated that the chatter recorded at the start and played to crowds on just a handful of occasions may have even foreshadowed the eventual reunion, as it seems to feature discussion surrounding Liam
The radio tech himself said in the recent retrospective interview of his own, he felt in the moment that “this song is an Oasis B-side” and was the only one played on the day that could easily slip onto one of their records.
As for Who Built The Moon?, a.k.a. HFB3, the album never featured ever B-sides of its own; instead, it just had one extra bonus track right at the very end of the 48:46 run-time – ‘Dead in the Water (live at RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)’.
So there you have it: one of Noel’s most emotional, in-the-zone/lost-in-the-moment vocal performances in history, and one that so many still rate right up there with his very bits of music, may never have been if it wasn’t for ‘Damo’. So thanks, mate, I guess…
Are there any other tracks like ‘Dead in the Water’ where you love the back-story almost as much as the song itself? Bonus points if they’re by Greater Manchester artists.
Ed Sheeran announces ‘intimate’ Manchester date later this year
Danny Jones
The king of contemporary male pop music, Ed Sheeran, is returning to Manchester for one of his biggest dates ever, as well as his venue debut.
Yep, Teddy’s coming to Co-op Live.
The 34-year-old solo star and songwriting extraordinaire hasn’t played a standalone Manchester show since 2023, when he played the legendary AO Arena barely a year on from playing four sold-out nights at the Etihad Stadium.
And now he’s back for more with his first-ever gig at the city’s newest and Europe’s biggest indoor entertainment space.
Confirmed on Wednesday, 3 September, Ed Sheeran is set to play just a small handful of huge headline spaces this winter, including dates in Paris, Munich, Coventry and Dublin, as well as here in Manchester.
Announced ahead of his new LP and eighth studio album, Play, of which we’ve already heard four new tracks: ‘Sapphire’, ‘Old Phone’, ‘A Little More’ and ‘Azizam’ – the latter of which went straight to number one and stayed there for five whole weeks after it dropped.
These upcoming shows will be an extra and rare chance to see Sheeran before his all-new ‘Loop’ stadium tour, which kicks off in Australia next January.
Revealing details about the limited number of EU dates via his own social media channels, Sheeran wrote: “Coming to play some shows in Europe. These shows will be more intimate than a stadium show, obvz, but still will be incredible.”
We don’t know how he plans to make a room as big as the Co-op Live arena ‘intimate’, but we’re looking forward to seeing what he has in store…
He went on to add that he loves “playing these venues so much”, urging fans to pre-order the new record if they want to get their hands on tickets ASAP.
Play releases on Friday, 12 September, and those who pre-order the album exclusively through Amazon.co.uk before 7pm BST this Sunday, 7 September, can put themselves in with a chance of securing pre-sale tickets.
Elsewhere, early access will also be available to official Co-op members next Wednesday (10/9/25) ahead of general admission going live on Thursday, 11 September.
You can get ready to grab your tickets for Ed Sheeran at Co-op Live on Sunday, 7 December HERE.
Danny Jones -
14th June 2024 
