You don’t get many chances to see one of the greatest musicians of all time play a huge homecoming show in front of nearly 25,000 of his own, so Noel Gallagher’s massive Manchester gig in Wythenshawe Park was always a must-not-missfor us.
To be fair, you don’t even need to be from these parts to understand how big a deal it was for so many locals to get the chance to see someone from ’round their way hold not only one of the biggest concerts of the year but the first ever live concert Wythenshawe Park has ever seen.
It’s only been a couple of months since Noel and his High Flying Birds released Council Skies, the eldest Gallagher brother’s fourth solo studio album, but we’ve had plenty of time to sit with it since then and can comfortably say it’s some of the best stuff he’s released post-Oasis.
That being said, it felt beyond special to hear something with that title played smack bang in the middle of one of the biggest council estates in Europe and enjoy an album that celebrates a lot of what growing up in places like these is all about among a predominantly Manc crowd. And that was just one part of what was a great day of music.
It was a massively busy day for Greater Manchester as a whole and, in truth, with so much going on in the city centre alone we didn’t manage to make it over to the 109-acre park until around 5ish, just before support act Future Islands got going — a gig we’d normally pay good money just to see on their own.
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However, The Manc office favourites unfortunately only got a few songs in before the weather turned on us and frenetic frontman Samuel T. Herring, already pretty soaked from the rain, had to inform the crowd that they were going off-stage for a little while because of a thunder warning.
Ironically, the break came in what was a moment of calm before the literal storm, as the American synth-wave outfit were playing their latest single, ‘Deep in the Night’: a slower, more solemn tune compared to the likes of ‘Seasons (Waiting On You)’ — a fan favourite hit that they had no trouble getting started with.
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Sadly, however, we weren’t to know that they wouldn’t be coming back on and as the big screen flashed up with the message “temporary show stop”, the thunder and lightning arrived right on cue. What we did here from them was as magical as always and rest assured, we’ll be seeing them again soon.
Noel Gallagher Live at Wythenshawe Park didn’t get off to the best of starts…
Once the deluge had ended and we seized the opportunity to get some proper scran in us as thousands took shelter under tents, trees and the small overhangs of food vans, we ventured back out into the big field with our hoods up and our spirits still high.
The whole scene was as quintessentially Manc as you can imagine: rain falling on a sea of Adidas trainers, parkas, arm-swinging walks, bucket hats and the rest of it. You get the picture.
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We got even more British festival vibes when the second support act, Primal Scream, came out too. Legends in their own right, it almost felt like just any old Tuesday for the Scottish indie pop and alt-rock veterans, who didn’t mess around when it came to understanding the assignment.
Playing all the hits from ‘Movin’ on Up’ and ‘Come Together’, to ‘Rocks’, ‘Loaded’ and more — all while dressed to the nines and backed by an incredible choir of backing singers, might we add — it felt like everyone’s mums and dads were twisting away as the younger lot watched on at them rolling back the years as if to say, ‘oh yeah, they’ve done all this before’.
All time bop.
And then when the moment finally came (after a fairly long break, we have to admit) and Noel himself took to the stage, it felt like the perfect marriage of that same nostalgic feeling and all those who have come along for the journey of listening to his more recent stuff.
From where we stood, at least, it didn’t seem like there was a single song people didn’t know and love. Be it the very first High Flying Birds tunes that people fell ever heard like ‘If I Had A Gun…’, ‘AKA… What a Life!’ and ‘Everybody’s on the Run’, to ‘The Dying of the Light’, ‘Dead in the Water’, ‘Pretty Boy’ and everything in between, we barely heard a word missed.
It was a reminder of just how many incredible songs the 56-year-old has written even in the time since Oasis called it a day. We don’t think you’ll find many other artists that have continued to pump out so many recognisable tunes and incredible lyrics after what most would call their heyday — Noel included.
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Whether you’re on board with his and Liam‘s posturing, opinions and general cocky image they’ve been maintaining for 30-odd years now, one thing you can never dispute is that this particular Gallagher brother remains one of the greatest and most prolific songwriters to ever do it.
Of course, the main event for most people in that field was when he started playing Oasis songs and while we’d waited quite a long time to hear some of those HFB tunes, most of us had waited even longer to hear ‘Little By Little’, ‘Live Forever’, ‘Half The World Away’ and countless other classics live.
Having shoved Pep Guardiola and Man City down our throats for a considerable amount of the night — a bright blue illuminated badge and a cardboard cut-out of the Catalan coach watching over the entire stage — he even got one last dig in by playing B-side ‘Going Nowhere’ and dedicating it to United.
It was all good fun, of course; large sections of the crowd got their boos in and enjoyed banter with each other but as the show drew to its conclusion, they came back together for one last beautiful moment: belting ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ at the top of their lungs. The man himself didn’t need to sing a word.
The fact is, this part of Greater Manchester doesn’t often get the kind of love and respect it deserves but nights like this proved just how much potential this region still has to offer and we’re pretty confident that after this landmark event, Noel Gallagher won’t be the last big name you’ll see playing Live at Wythenshawe Park.
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Sounded a lot better here than it did all them times leaving Fifth.
Bez and Shaun Ryder are starring in a new gangster movie – nope, not kidding
Danny Jones
No, you didn’t misread the headline and you’re not on acid: Manchester music legends Bez and Shaun Ryder are set to feature in a brand-new gangster film.
Yes, the ones from the Happy Mondays – why are you having such trouble processing this?
Seriously though, we did a little double-take ourselves when we came across this news, but the familiar Manc faces look to be among the ensemble of a brand-new gangster movie by Irish writer, actor, producer and filmmaker, Ciaron Davies.
And this is just a little leak or rumour that may have been blown out of proportion: you can take it from the horse’s mouth as Happy Mondays frontman, Ryder, recently shared the news on social media.
As you can see, the new film is called Geezers and is billed as a “British crime caper” written and directed by Davies, featuring Shaun as hard-man Robbie and Bez as ‘Monk’. If you saw Ryder shaking off that snake biting his hand like it was nothing then you already know he’s hard as nails.
Although it’s not strictly listed as a comedy per se, ‘caper’ would suggest plenty of humour and light-heartedness, so we’re thinking more like The Gentleman, Italian Job, or maybe even Four Lions, rather than a serious crime thriller.
Now, while we’ve seen both of the Salfordians on screen before not only in the likes of music videos, interviews, panel shows and even as two of the funniest guests to ever go on Celebrity Gogglebox, this latest venture will serve as their respective acting debuts.
According to the IMDb page, the synopsis of the film is as follows: “Crime caper about a stolen bag of money. Caught in the crossfire are ‘The Geezers’ a bunch of wannabe criminals who have bitten off more than they can chew. With 24 hours to grab the cash, London may just go up in smoke tonight.”
Shame it’s not set on the mean streets of Manchester, or better yet Salford, but you’ve still very much caught our interest.
You can see the first promotional poster for the film down below.
As for Davies, he has been involved with a number of small-budget TV film projects, as well as appearing in shorts and even video games, so it’s fair to say that getting 62-year-old Ryder and his ever-energetic hype man, 60, involved is quite the coup for his movie-making career.
Although the film has no release date just yet, we know that filming locations having included parts of Warrington and Pinewood Studios, will be produced by Loose Gripp Films and distributed by publishers High Fliers.
Given the high-octane nature of Geezers and its genre, the feature will involve lots of action, stunts, violence and even martial arts – though how much kung-fu these two will have learned for the project remains to be seen…
All we know is that the film is supposedly “coming soon” and if you don’t want to see Bez and Shaun Ryder doing their best impression of a Guy Ritchie gangster movie then you’re lying to yourself. Praying for a Rowetta cameo to put the cherry on top.
Featured Images — Shaun Ryder (via X)/Loose Gripp Films/IMDb
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Blossoms at O2 Ritz Manchester – five-night hometown residency is already a triumph
Daisy Jackson
Blossoms are a band who were born and forged here in Greater Manchester, and now they’re back retracing their steps with a five-night residency across the venues that launched them into the big leagues.
Their star has risen all the way to arena level and headline shows at Wythenshawe Park at this point, especially here in their hometown, so the chance to see them back in these cosy-ish little venues is special, and a little bizarre.
For night two of their landmark sold-out gig series, it was the turn of the O2 Ritz, that sweaty spot off Oxford Road where the floor bounces downstairs and you stick to the carpets upstairs.
Poetically, the first time I ever saw Blossoms was in this very room in 2016, when they had the mid-afternoon slot at Neighbourhood festival and the queue to get in went all the way back to St Peter’s Square.
Since those days, Blossoms have come a long, long way, and their live show has evolved and matured from five lads thrashing on their instruments to this well-oiled, hip-swaying, flares-wearing, chart-topping machine.
There’s even choreography now – how fancy!
A stand-out moment from the show is actually a song from their new, fifth studio album Gary, which is still barely eight weeks old.
A spoof recording of legendary Manchester indie club 42s rings out, then all five band members abandon their stations, slinging keytars and marching drums around their necks so that they can dance together in front of neon signs.
Blossoms have just done their second of five shows in Manchester, this time at the O2 Ritz. Credit: The Manc GroupBlossoms on stage at the O2 Ritz in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Blossoms promised more disco with this album and they bloody meant it. It’s not just the flares and the blow-dries and the moustaches (though those do help) – it’s in the funk and groove that’s gradually crept into their music exponentially with each album release.
This is still indie rock but it’s the most danceable of its genre. Good luck keeping your shoulders from wiggling and jiggling in here. Good luck keeping that grin off your face.
And Gary is one of the most unexpectedly fun albums to be released in the last year – the fact they called it Gary, named after a giant fibreglass garden centre Gorilla, should’ve been our clue. It could border on silly were it not such a masterpiece.
It seems like the only thing Blossoms are trying to prove is that you can be wildly successful without taking yourself too seriously. They just seem like a group who want to have a good time and it’s totally infectious.
Case in point – when each band member is introduced, keyboardist Myles Kellock plays the riff of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi and The Biz. Unexpected.
Blossoms also clearly give a sh*t about their live shows and graft at it – I’ve seen these guys an awful lot and it’s because their tour dates are plentiful and consistently worth the ticket price.
This is definitely the biggest era of their career so far, but have they peaked? Not even close.