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A club night paying tribute to legendary indie club Jilly’s Rockworld is back in Manchester

Night out of dreams.

Daisy Jackson - 6th April 2023

All of us who were students in Manchester in the late 2000s will have fond memories of Jilly’s Rockworld – and now some 13 years after it closed for good, it’s got its very own tribute clubnight on the way.

The A Tribute to Jilly’s Rockworld night is set to take over the massive space at the O2 Ritz, for a night of floor-filling indie, rock and heavy metal.

It will bring back all the glory days of the alternative music haven, with the original club widely considered to be one of Manchester’s best.

The huge party will have all the rock n roll favourites that made the club so iconic, with music blasting all the way through to 4am.

Former Jilly’s DJs including Dave Kelly will be on the decks to recreate the magic of the long-lost club.

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A Tribute to Jilly's Rockworld in Manchester — A Tribute to Jilly’s Rockworld in Manchester. Credit: O2 Ritz

Before it was Jilly’s, the venue was known as Fagin’s, and hosted famous faces including Cliff Richard and LuLu.

Beneath Fagin’s was Rafters, or Music Box, which welcomed performances from Motorhead, Joy Division and Depeche Mode.

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The club would stay open until 7am on Fridays, with Pot Noodles sold behind the bar to keep people dancing until dawn.

The O2 Ritz posted: “Get nostalgic with A tribute to Jilly’s Rockworld, remembering the iconic Manchester rock and heavy metal club night. Here on Saturday 15 April.”

Tickets are £7.30 each and are on sale now with Ticketmaster.

Featured image: O2 Ritz

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The Streets announce big change for Castlefield Bowl gig in Manchester amid World Cup clash

The Streets announce big change for Castlefield Bowl gig in Manchester amid World Cup clash. Credit: Ben Cannon

One of the biggest gigs taking place in Manchester this summer has announced a pretty major change to its plans.

The Streets are set to perform two nights at Castlefield Bowl this weekend, taking to the magnificent outdoor stage in the heart of the city.

But one of those shows happens to clash with a pretty major event – England’s quarter final World Cup match against Norway.

But The Streets have got the nation’s interests at heart, and have announced a plan to make sure fans can watch both their gig and the football.

Mike Skinner et al will be shifting their entire Saturday gig forward by a full hour, which means gig-goers should be able to escape Castlefield Bowl and peg it to the nearest pub in time for the footy.

“Fear not,” they wrote in an update on Instagram today. “Saturday’s show will begin early to accommodate England vs Norway at 10.”

It also means their support acts – Mancunian artist Antony Szmierek, and rap and grime MC CASISDEAD – will be playing an hour earlier than planned.

The Streets’ gig on Friday will remain at the time originally planned.

Doors to Castlefield Bowl will open earlier ahead of Antony Szmierek’s performance at the revised time of 5.50pm.

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A post shared by The Streets (@thestreetsofficial__)

Then CASISDEAD will perform at 6.15pm, with The Streets on stage at 7.45pm.

Fans have been delighted with The Streets’ decision to move their Manchester Saturday show forward, with one writing: “THANK YOU CASTLEFIELD BOWL AND MIKEYYYY. We had a very difficult decision on our hands today, this is what dreams are made of. See you Saturday!!!!”

Many more are calling for the England games to be screened at Castlefield Bowl, but no plans have been confirmed for that just yet. Watch this space…

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Featured image: Ben Cannon

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Liam Gallagher says he’s ‘ready’ to make a surprise appearance at the World Cup final

Liam Gallagher 'ready' to sing 'Wonderwall' at World Cup final if England make it

Liam Gallagher has said that he is “ready” to play at the World Cup final should England make it all the way to the last two later this month.

He may have just been having some fun on social media as usual, but you never know – after all, we never actually thought we’d see him and his brother reconcile, but look how that turned out…

Yes, much like incessant posts about getting the band back together over the past few years, the legendary Oasis frontman has been enjoying seeing Three Lions fans and players alike singing to ‘Wonderwall’ after every game, and hasn’t shied away from embracing the co-option by supporters.

In his words, he may have “Irish blood”, but the Manchester-born Britpop and rock icon has an English heart, and after one person online said it’d only be right for him to fly out for the conclusive fixture if Thomas Tuchel’s side make it all the way, he gave a typically off-the-cuff response:

We’ll see I’m ready
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) July 6, 2026

You could argue there’s not much in this besides an impromptu comment from a famously keyboard-happy lead singer, but stranger things have happened.

For instance, it may have come after a gradually increasing barrage of old tweets, pestering and a bit of positive peer pressure in full view of the public eye, but we did at long last get to witness an Oasis reunion with the ‘Live ’25’ world tour; however surreal it felt, it’s soon set to be relived in a documentary.

This reply comes as a response to LG’s initial post on X, in which he wrote: “It’s hard work that singing Harry Kane cmon ENGLAND cmon WONDERWALL.”

It also isn’t the only time he stoked the fire of this still only pie-in-the-sky idea, either, as after another user similarly asked if he’d fly out and sing it at the final, he simply responded, “Oh I’ll show Harry how it’s done.”

He’s not the only one to have made a rather big public proclamation this tournament, either.

Wayne Rooney ‘agrees’ to bizarre bet ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals

The England and Man United legend set himself up for a fall.

As for the 53-year-old musician, he also jokingly quipped at the expense of those less keen on the idea with just as straightforward a clap-back: “Stop crying your heart out.”

Now, obviously, we’re taking this one with a big pinch of salt (enough to season ‘some lasagneee’, you could say), but who knows? There’s been plenty of big and strange showbiz stuff happening at this year’s competition in North America.

Maybe we all need to just keep tagging the Burnage boys, FIFA, England and the official World Cup page as much and hope for at least some kind of Oasis-centric surprise.

Come on, just imagine how much this would go OFF if even one of the Gallagher brothers was in the crowd, let alone this unthinkable hypothetical…

No, seriously. ⬇️#England #WorldCup2026 https://t.co/9o9wWhBEO1
— The Manc (@TheMancUK) June 18, 2026

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Featured Images — Press shot (via Warner Music Sweden)/ITV (screenshot)/Audio North