Gigs & Nightlife

Emotional scenes in Manchester as Tom Parker joins The Wanted back on stage

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 14th March 2022

There were emotional scenes at the AO Arena Manchester last night when The Wanted’s Tom Parker joined his bandmates back on stage.

The Bolton-born singer, who is battling brain cancer, joined the group for their hit single Glad You Came.

The 33-year-old sat in a throne wearing dark sunglasses and beamed as his hometown screamed their support.

Tom’s friend and bandmate Max George draped a banner that read ‘We love you Tom’ across the stage.

Videos shared from their homecoming gig last night show crowds at the AO Arena screaming with delight at the sight of Tom on stage.

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He picks up his microphone to say: “Come on Manchester, let’s enjoy this.”

Tom manages to sing several lines from the chart-topping song, with Max and Jay McGuiness kneeling by his side.

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The remaining The Wanted members Siva Kaneswaran and Nathan Sykes are seen in the footage running between the main stage and Tom.

Tom posted on Twitter after the gig: “Wow you lot are *loud.”

One fan posted: “The love in that Manchester arena tonight for you was unreal.”

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Another wrote: “Had the best time ever tonight. Thank you @thewanted for doing this again for us and Thank you @TomParker for being the strongest most amazing man ever. Yous are one in a million and I’m so glad I get to be a part of it all.”

Earlier in the evening, Max shared a video of Tom relaxing backstage with a beer in his hand.

He later posted a story where he said: “Thank you so much. That was so so special. So good. We’ll see you all soon.”

Tom Parker having a beer backstage in Manchester. Credit: Instagram, @maxgeorge

Pop star Tom first revealed he had been diagnosed with an incurable and inoperable grade 4 glioblastoma in 2020.

He missed the early stages of The Wanted’s reunion tour due to a delay to his treatment in Spain.

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Tom was also named our Manc of the Month in November last year.

Featured image: Twitter @thewanted / Instagram @maxgeorge

Gigs & Nightlife

Government to introduce price cap on ticket touts and launch consultation on dynamic pricing

Danny Jones Danny Jones UK government to introduce re-sale ticket price cap and dynamic pricing consultation against touts

The UK government are finally set to install a price cap on re-sale tickets for touts and open an official consultation on the growing trend of dynamic pricing.

If you’ve bought a ticket to a live music show over the past year or so, you’ll have noticed that ticket prices in general are on the up – particularly if purchased from a reseller, in which case you might have paid through the nose for the privilege.

Not only does ticket touting remain a prevailing problem in the industry, with tonnes of tickets for big shows, especially, being snapped up in bulk or by bots and listed for re-sale before you’ve even added them to your basket, but the advent of this new dynamic pricing lark has made things even harder.

You only have to look at the controversy and chaos surrounding Oasis’ reunion tour, which ultimately saw some fans paying significant amounts more for practically the same ticket just a few days later in what many dubbed as ‘fraud’ and even ’emotional blackmail’.

Justin Timberlake at Co-op Live Manchester was one of countless gigs where ticket prices fluctuated. (Credit: The Manc Group)

Tackling resellers head-on

Knowing full well that people will go to extreme lengths to try and see the musicians and artists they love so dearly – in some cases being backed into a corner as the final figure displayed on the screen when they checkout suddenly jumps up – the modern ticketing industry is severely broken.

In fact, in the case of Oasis, more than 50,000 tickets were actually cancelled and re-listed for sale given the inordinate and completely extortionate levels of ticket touting.

With all that in mind, the government are now looking to enact more stringent measures on resellers, by announcing a new price cap on tickets put back up for sale which is set to be introduced (hopefully) in the very near future.

Targeting sites infamous for inflating re-sale costs such as Viagogo, StubHub and others, the bill published on Friday, 10 January proposes a price cap of face value plus 10-30% but no more, with an obvious aim to keep that number as low as possible.

According to the current figures, touts reportedly cost music fans alone more than £145 million in extra re-sale fees when purchasing tickets every year – a frankly ridiculous sum. There will always be tickets ending up on re-sale sites, that’s unavoidable, but a price cap could seriously improve the situation.

Oasis break silence on dynamic ticket pricing controversy for reunion tour
The Manc music legends themselves claim they had little control over the situation.

Down with dynamic pricing

Labour, who were voted into power back in July, are also set to try and combat dynamic prices, which essentially sees gigs and events set people back more or less depending on how the popular ticket sales have been up to that point, market trends and general demand. An initial review was called for last year.

Put simply, the more people want to attend a gig, platforms like Ticketmaster feel they are able to jack up their margins even after the initial price point has been established. The European Commission has been investigating these methods since September 2024.

Although it is still unclear as to the exact time scale of when these changes will come in, Labour MP Chris Bryant told NME that although they are still in the early stages, it is “now just a matter of how the government takes action.” And that’s where you come in.

The consultation is also crucially public, with the calling for people to submit their evidence on current pricing practices and continue engaging in the discussion throughout the progress. New Year’s Resolution: let’s curb ticket touts as much as we possibly can.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

Gigs & Nightlife

Free animated projection to create dazzling display on major Salford building

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

A staple Salford landmark is undergoing a huge transformation for two nights only as part of a free animated event suitable for all ages.

Next week, the former Swinton and Pendlebury Town Hall, which is now known as Salford Civic Centre, will look a little different to usual, as the historical building is hosting a special animated display which will be projected onto it.

All of the frontage, situated on Chorley Road, will be lit up with a dazzling display depicting a collection of imagery titled ‘Swinton Ark’.

Salford Civic Centre, where ‘Swinton Ark’ will be projected onto / Credit: Supplied

Some of the visuals that visitors can expect to see alongside the ark include infamous Swinton objects, moments and memories.

This project is really wholesome too, as artist Lowri Evans got involved to help create and fill the ark with meaningful objects that the locals requested.

Evans perched up a mini stand in Swinton and asked a wide range of locals the question: “If you could save one object, what would it be?”, and she received a huge amount of responses.

Residents of the local area will be able to see their suggestions of precious items and special trinkets loaded onto the ark to save from the flood.

Salford Civic Centre has a 70-metre facade, and with all the cargo that the community want to bring onto the boat, it’s a good thing the building is so wide.

Don’t worry about missing a thing either, as this 12-minute projection will run every 15 minutes for just over three hours across two nights on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 January, meaning you can watch the projection until your heart’s content.

Artist Lowri Evans asking Swinton a very thought provoking question / Credit: Supplied

The whole display will be supported by some phenomenal sound and music arrangements too, and the animated screen will really come to life as it will also be 3D.

You can drop in at any point over the two days, and whether you watch the projection a thousand times over, or even just want to catch a glimpse of it, everyone is invited – and better yet, it’s free.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image – Publicity Picture (Supplied)

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