Whenever Blossoms perform within the perimeter of Greater Manchester, it’s with a certain kind of swagger.
They’re never more confident and comfortable on stage than they are here in the city where it all began a decade ago, a land where they know they can shout about Offerton, or make jokes about the 192, and the entire audience will cheer and understand the punchline.
Last time they played at Castlefield Bowl, they had one album. Now there are four to play with, and Blossoms whizz back and forth through the years in front of the 8,000-strong audience.
At the sold-out show, we hear everything from their very first song to tracks from their latest release, Ribbon Around the Bomb, with transitions between the songs so smooth you don’t even notice they’re happening a lot of the time.
Highlights include The Sulking Poet, where the eight-strong touring band lay down a complex tapestry of an instrumental while dry ice swirls around them, and If You Think This Is Real Life, where frontman Tom Ogden attacks his vocals with a furious staccato.
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He has more stage presence than ever with his new retro haircut and his flared suit, striding around like he very much runs this town.
Tom tells us about the group getting ‘sacked off by Netflix’ after writing Ode to NYC for an upcoming film – they may have lost the lucrative streaming deal but at least we all got a belting song out it.
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He thanks us all for sticking with Blossoms over the last 10 years, though adds that even at this stage in their music career, he still gets asked for ID.
The band are celebrating their ‘tin’ anniversary, and so when we’re asked to raise a tin to the five-piece, hundreds of cans of cider pop up overhead.
Blossoms at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupBlossoms at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
We may think of Blossoms as part of a new generation of Manc music, but you have to remember that these guys have been around the block a few times now.
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They reek of a band who have grown up together, through the awkward teenage years to their now chart-topping success, with a sort of magical musical telekinesis running between them.
After a brief pause during Blown Rose for an unwell audience member to be pulled out of the packed crowd, they’re able to leap back in to the song exactly where they stopped without a single hiccup.
Throughout the gig, I count only one mistake – and it was Tom forgetting to introduce his own brother-in-law, drummer Joe Donovan, while celebrating each band member’s contributions. I’m sure that’ll be brought up at every Christmas dinner for the rest of eternity.
They are immaculate in their presence and their performance, and have clearly grown up and grown into their sound.
With this 10th anniversary gig at Castlefield Bowl, Blossoms have proven, once again, that they’re a group Greater Manchester can be very proud to call our own.
Oasis release trailer for Don’t Look Back In Anger documentary – watch it here
Daisy Jackson
A new trailer for the upcoming Oasis documentary, ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’, has been released today.
The highly anticipated documentary follows the iconic Manchester rock band as they reunited for a series of epic comeback gigs last summer.
The Gallagher brothers broke up the band 15 years prior to the Live ’25 shows, then returned in spectacular fashion for gigs including five sold-out nights at Heaton Park in Manchester.
The band were followed throughout their triumphant comeback tour by film crews, for the documentary film ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’.
Fans will see never-before-seen snippets of rehearsal, backstage, and onstage, as well as the first joint interview with Liam and Noel in more than 20 years.
It will also explores the profound impact that the reunion had on fans, and chart the global phenomenon that was Oasis Live ’25.
One of the people behind the new documentary is Steven Knight, of Peaky Blinders fame.
Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger will be released in the UK on Wednesday 9 September and you can book tickets HERE.
Watch the full trailer for Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger below:
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
7th July 2023 
