Let’s not lie, we’re all suckers for a bit of a sing-song.
You may do the whole “No, I don’t sing… no really” act, swatting your arms, closing your eyes and shaking your head – but we see you, don’t be shy.
If you’re the type with the spotlight awaiting you, then luckily, Manchester is studded with some cool and quirky karaoke bars for you to release the inner Mariah that’s been hiding inside, and we’ve rounded up some of the best.
Pick one and head down with a mate, partner, stranger, or just your little old self.
Karaoke, nightclub, private rooms, unlimited access to the mic, need we say more?
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K2 is every karaoke queen’s dream as it’s provided with all the essentials to have a cracking birthday, spontaneous night-out, or an unforgettable hen do, with booths to house between two-40 people that are decked out with state-of-the-art touch screen karaoke technology and exclusively-designed sound proofing.
If you’re a weapon on the mic, or maybe need a bit of loosening up before, it doesn’t matter, because at the end of the day, it’s just your mates in the room with you.
Karaoke, bowling, table tennis, pool, shuffle board, and beer pong, and more? These combos are just getting more and more wild.
Tear up the bowling alley, smash everyone at beer pong, and finally unleash Beyonce in the booth as Tenpin in the Printworks is an absolutely class day out for the all the family, and for those 18+, the floor is completely yours after 9pm too.
Crack open the piggy bank because upstairs, all the arcade games are just £1 too – this is what you’ve been saving up for.
That’s your Friday, Saturday, and Sunday sorted then.
K2 Karaoke Nightclub / Credit: K2Vina Karaoke Bar / Credit: Vina Karaoke Bar
Karaoke basically accompanies everything at Brickhouse Social, as it should.
Spice your brunch up with a good-old sing-along and join into a chorus of ‘Wonderwall’ in between mouthfuls of Eggs Benedict, take it too far at a Christmas party by showing your boss your perfected rendition of ‘WAP’, or nurture a hidden talent in a private booth upstairs.
There’s also some phenomenal cocktails on the menu to fuel whatever fun you decide with that Mancunian courage.
If you love karaoke, then Vina is just what you want.
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An unadulterated, not-messing-about, neon cocktail karaoke bar that lets you use your phones to browse the karaoke song library and then submit the request so you’re guaranteed to get your turn under the spotlight, or maybe surprise that special person when “your song” comes on.
Sometimes referred to as the “downstairs one”, Vina is community-driven, which means all are welcome, and there’s no private booths and no judgement.
Soul is the go-to genre over here at The Blues Kitchen, some might say they’re a little biased!
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There’s many reasons you might want to book one of the karaoke rooms at this trusted night-out destination.
Whether your singing voice is just too good for this world or you’re taking advantage of the bottle service delivered straight to the booth, nobody ever has to know!
The party never stops with the rooms available to hire everyday of the week, bliss.
Featured Image – Pxfuel
Manchester
Harry Styles One Night Only at Co-op Live – he’s right, we do belong together
Daisy Jackson
This is not the Harry Styles we left behind in 2023, and he seems quite keen for us all to notice that from the get-go.
The sequin two-pieces have been packed away, the hair’s been cut into a modern mullet, and he’s into synths now.
Harry Styles emerges onto an in-the-round stage at Co-op Live and promptly hunches over a sound desk to mix the intro of Aperture. For a horrible moment, I think it’s going to be like a Fred Again concert – but then he straightens up, picks up the mic, and starts to dance, and we collectively realise we’re about to witness something truly special.
The chance to see Harry Styles on a small (hahahahaha) stage like this isn’t likely to happen again, not when he’s selling out record-breaking runs at Wembley Stadium.
The chance to see him after such a long hiatus, performing brand new music in full, is even less likely.
And the chance to have it all going on right here in Manchester, just days after our city also hosted the BRITs, is (and I don’t say this lightly) an honour.
Harry Styles One Night Only at Co-op Live. Credit: Netflix
For One Night Only, we hear every song off his fourth studio album (Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally) in full – with a few surprises thrown in at the end for good measure.
The whole thing has been filmed for Netflix, with a handful of cameramen chasing around after Harry on stage.
And there are definitely moments where you are conscious you’re watching a Netflix special being made, like when he ventures down the catwalk for Ready, Steady, Go and no spotlight follows him, but a camera does.
That’s not a reflection on Harry though, who performs for the audience first and foremost. He seems taken aback at how thoroughly we’ve all studied the lyrics to his hours-old album already, welling up with emotion as he returns to the live stage for the first time in three years.
Harry Styles on stage, in the round, in Manchester
“There’s so much danger in the world,” he says. “But love is powerful and kindness is powerful. The world could use a little extra peace right now.”
Unusually, too, the show had a strict phones-free policy, with the poor venue staff doing their level best to enforce Harry’s wishes to keep cameras in pockets for one night only.
I would love more gigs to be phone free. The crowd is DARK, and present, with both hands in the air, and it lets Harry shine. I don’t believe anyone could honestly say they had a worse night for not being able to film it.
As for those new songs which had their live debut last night, Season 2 Weight Loss makes a lot more sense live, with real thudding drums, than it does on the album (I ranked it my least-favourite of the record); Coming Up Roses translates beautifully with a live orchestra; and Pop is a certified bop that’ll have those stadiums boogying.
Harry Styles One Night Only. Credit: Netflix
If you listened to Dance No More and thought it was set up for a call and response, you were correct, even if we do all clumsily tiptoe around the lyrics a bit.
Carla’s Song is a perfect closer in every setting, whether it’s in your headphones listening to the album or as one final collective moment in an arena.
It wasn’t just the new album we got at the One Night Only – Harry also dug into the archives to play a few extra treats for us all – From the Dining Table (live for the first time in almost a decade), Golden, Watermelon Sugar, As It Was, and Sign of the Times.
The show opens and closes with Aperture, the lead single from the album, and his one night only proves his point from the song – we really do belong together.
Nearly 300 new ‘social rent’ homes given go-ahead as part of £500m Wythenshawe regeneration
Emily Sergeant
Nearly 300 new homes are set to be built in Wythenshawe as part of a wider £500 million regeneration scheme.
In case you didn’t know, Placemaker Muse and Wythenshawe Community Housing Group submitted three separate planning applications for 422 new affordable homes back in December 2025, following a public consultation with locals.
Now, works on two of the three new communities can begin, with the third expected to get the green light in the coming weeks.
Brotherton House – which is a former office building – will be transformed into 216 new homes, including an extra care apartment building with 109 homes for people in later life and those living with dementia, while C2 The Birtles, also currently retail and office space, is situated next to the former market square and will be replaced with 81 one and two-bedroom apartments.
Alpha House, which is currently awaiting a planning decision, has now been demolished and will be rebuilt to provide 125 one and two-bedroom apartments – including 16 wheelchair accessible homes.
According to developers, all the homes will be ‘affordable, high-quality, and energy-efficient’, with additional outdoor and communal spaces to promote health and wellbeing.
The approval given to build these new homes forms part of the wider ‘ambitious’ plan to transform Wythenshawe over the next decade.
The wider masterplan for Wythenshawe will see up to 2,000 new homes created over the next 10 to 15 years, which will complement the wider investment currently underway in Civic – supported by £20 million of Government funding, and £11.9 million from Manchester City Council.
Nearly 300 new homes have been given the go-ahead as part of a £500m Wythenshawe regeneration scheme / Credit: Muse (Supplied)
New community facilities in the town include the Culture Hub – which is now underway – the Food Hall, currently awaiting a planning decision, new workspaces, and improvements to the outdoor spaces in Civic, all designed to create a ‘greener and more welcoming’ town centre.
“For us, this is about delivering the truly affordable homes local people have told us they need,” explained Andrea Lowman, who is the Executive Director of Development at Wythenshawe Community Housing Group.
“Every one of these homes will be for social rent, giving more families, older residents and people with additional needs the opportunity to live well in the heart of Wythenshawe.
“As the local social housing provider, we are focused not just on building new homes but on creating sustainable communities and making sure this investment strengthens the town centre for existing and future residents alike.”
Dolly Busby -
15th October 2021 
