It’s been a decade since Girls Aloud went on a hiatus that seemed like it may never end, but end it has, and The Girls Aloud Show has touched down for three nights in Manchester.
A lot has happened since the girl band formed on Popstars: The Rivals way back in 2002, including the tragic death of band member Sarah Harding at just 39 years old.
Girls Aloud promised that this huge arena anniversary tour would honour their late bandmate, and if Sarah was into 10/10, near-flawless pop concerts, they’ve done her justice.
It’s plainly obvious that hours and hours of rehearsal have gone into The Girls Aloud Show. They don’t put a foot wrong in the AO Arena, even if those silly inflatable red dresses played up again.
Even when a song falls a little flat, their performance sails on the wings of the choreography (their all-male troupe of dancers are phenomenal) and the production, and minor imperfections are quickly glossed over by the rest of the girls’ glorious pop catalogue.
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‘Now look over here! Look at the shiny costumes and the harmonies here!’ they seem to say whenever the audience gets fidgety, quickly moving onto another chart-topping banger.
There are a lot to get through – the gig is split into four acts, with a setlist that includes Love Machine, Biology, Something Kinda Ooooh, and Jump, and costumes that range from skin-tight glittering bodysuits to full-length gowns that may have been pinched straight out of The Supremes’ wardrobes.
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Girls Aloud performing in Manchester at the AO Arena. Credit: The Manc Group
The second act, which harks back to their slightly more urban debut album, is a personal highlight. I’ve long maintained that Sound of the Underground is one of the greatest pop songs ever written – but chuck in four scantily clad pop starlets riding airborne motorbikes and it just gets even better.
Did I walk in thinking I knew all the words to every Girls Aloud song ever released? No I did not, but these catchy little bops are apparently neatly filed in my brain ready to come tumbling out with a single wink from Cheryl Cole.
I know everyone has a favourite girlband member, and on stage each one plays to their own persona, whether that’s the impeccably graceful Nicola or the effortlessly cool Kimberly.
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And while on paper Cheryl is the most successful of the lot, this is now 2024 and I think we can all agree that Nadine Coyle is CARRYING this tour. She is an actress. She oozes charisma and camp, beaming the whole time, and looks like she is having the time of her life. It’s totally infectious and the crowd laps her up.
Sarah Harding is incorporated into the Girls Aloud tour throughout the show. Credit: The Manc Group
Of course, it’s a bittersweet celebration without Sarah. She is woven into the fabric of this band and into their live tour too. As hits like Can’t Speak French and Something New play, the original music videos play behind them. And with songs like A Whole Lotta History and I’ll Stand By You, her vocals take the lead along with a moving montage of the young late star, to rapturous applause.
If you’re surprised that Girls Aloud sold out this many arenas in this day and age, you are grossly underestimating the hold they had over British women in the noughties. We all used to buy false eyelashes modelled on their eyes, for god’s sake (personally, a big fan of Kimberley’s), and washed our hair with shampoos with their faces on the bottles.
21 years later and this is proven to be timeless pop music, and the styling of several acts of the show reflects that. Parts feel like they’re from a different era, from the tiny feather bustle stuck to Nadine’s sparkling bodysuit to the dancers in top hats and tails.
And things never feel more ageless than with The Promise, which closes the show.
Some of us may remember the music video, where all five Girls Aloud members time-travelled back to the 1960s, their makeup taking some influence from Twiggy and their hair growing exponentially larger (this was surely about the same time that Cheryl got her L’Oréal contract). The essence of that has been brought to their live show.
They shimmy behind microphone stands and perform choreography with their arms in sparkling gowns.
And then comes the real tear-jerker – this song was always Sarah Harding’s to own, and no one could quite fill those shoes. So instead of replacing her verse, she remains the star.
Sarah’s face beams across the arena, and her original vocals bellow over a tearful crowd, while the other girls turn to watch their late friend shine once again.
The night wraps up in an explosion of colour and sparkle. A properly fitting way to honour Sarah.
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Girls Aloud have two more shows in Manchester at the AO Arena to come – read our full gig guide here.
Girls Aloud setlist
Act I Untouchable The Show Something New Love Machine Can’t Speak French Biology Whole Lotta History Act II Wake Me Up Sound of the Underground Girl Overboard No Good Advice Graffiti My Soul Long Hot Summer I’ll Stand by You (Pretenders cover) ACT III Sexy! No No No… On the Metro Jump (For My Love) Call the Shots Something Kinda Ooooh Encore: The Promise
Featured image: The Manc Group
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Placebo are returning to Manchester with a special re-worked album tour for their 30th anniversary
Danny Jones
Placebo are coming back to Manchester city centre for a very special anniversary show celebrating their seminal debut album, which will be re-worked 30 years on from its release.
The beloved British alt-rock band, which first broke onto the indie, post-glam and pseudo-goth scene back in the mid-1990s, haven’t played here since November 2022, so it’s fair to say fans have been waiting for a return.
Last time out, they played the AO Arena, but this year they’ll be making a maiden visit to one of Europe’s biggest indoor entertainment venues.
Announcing the ‘RE:CREATED‘ re-release of their debut album and the accompanying anniversary tour this week, tickets are set to go on sale very soon.
Confirming just a handful of UK shows this December following a more extensive European run in autumn and winter 2026, they are the latest big rock name to book Co-op Live.
Placebo’s self-titled debut album, RE:CREATED
As mentioned, Placebo RE:CREATED features “powerful reworked and embellished versions of all ten tracks from the original album”, as well as two new bonus tracks.
The group say that these new songs are sort of like an ‘amplification’ of what made their inaugural studio outing such a success in the first place.
Speaking in an official statement, they said: “We think of this record as a director’s cut. We haven’t recreated it from scratch. We went back to the original master tapes and brought 30 years of playing these songs live back into the record.
“This project was about finally finishing the record, dragging it into the 21st century sonically, while preserving the integrity and the spirit of the original. It’s not about improving it; there’s nothing wrong with it – it’s about completing it.”
Signing off and getting tails up ahead of the tour, they added: “It’s a celebration of where we began, and a meeting point between who we were then and who we are now; a way of honouring that innocence, while letting the songs exist with the scale, confidence, and energy of the band we’ve become”.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Placebo: 30th Anniversary Tour Playing songs from ‘Placebo’ & ‘Without You I’m Nothing' Friday 4 December https://t.co/qwOm3NNGQH @coopuk members get first in line for tickets. Co-op Member Presale: 09:00 Wednesday 25 March General Sale: 09:00 Friday 27 March pic.twitter.com/MO72ui1ntW
It remains to be seen who, if anyone, will be supporting them for the limited run of domestic shows, but it has been revealed that they will also be playing some fan favourite songs from their sophomore LP, Without You I’m Nothing. You can see the rest of the gigs here in Britain and Ireland down below:
Placebo UK tour dates 2026
2 – Dublin, Ireland – 3 Arena 4th – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live Arena 5th – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley 7th – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
For those looking to secure early access, you can do so by pre-ordering the album (which drops on 19 June), with the pre-sale window opening at 9am on 24 March.
As for general admission, they will be available from the same time the following Friday, 27 March.
You can get ready to grab your tickets to see Placebo at Co-op Live in Manchester for their 30th anniversary gig right HERE.
They’re not the only big rock name that first back in the 90s set for a big Manc arena show this year.
Featured Images — Press shots (supplied via SJM Concerts)
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Review | What we made of Country 2 Country 2026, and why Manchester should be very excited
Danny Jones
Excuse me, but it looks like we might have a new favourite festival on the cards: Country 2 Country – and it’s very rare we gig in London and enjoy ourselves anyway near as much as we do up North, but now we’re already dreaming of just how good C2C Manchester could be.
In fact, scratch that, we know it is.
Billed as Europe’s biggest country music festival, there really isn’t anything quite like it here. Yes, there’s Buckle & Boots Festival closer to home, but there’s nothing in the folk and country world on this kind of massive scale, unless you go all the way to see the actual CMA Fest over in the US.
London’s also been lucky enough to host some very big names at BST Hyde Park too, but this fully-fledged arena weekender, complete with an outdoor festival hub, town square, trading post, a barn full of line-dancers, and SO much more, celebrates every single part of that culture.
By day, the aim is to make a little country town, complete with shops, food, drink and music aplenty. (Credit: Audio North)
But… We think the North can do it better.
So too did some of the acts and punters as well, by the way; we spoke to several people on-site who’d made the trip from all over because it was closer than Glasgow, Belfast or Berlin.
Up-and-coming British country rock artist, Bronnie – who was literally hours away from a move across the pond to pursue her dreams of living the cowgirl turned music artist experience down in the Southern states – said simply: “There’s always this feeling like there’s more fun to be had up North”
Moreover, the friends she’s already made over in America’s ‘Music City’, she says, have claimed that “the vibes are just better”, apparently. Not to sound too biased, but we obviously couldn’t agree more.
However, with the news that C2C is coming to Manchester city centre and Northern England for the very first time, people are already hopping mad at the idea of a Manc debut.
That’s to say that what The O2 in London isn’t special and will always be to most punters, we just know full well that our particular region is going to take to this new annual event like a duck to water.
A lot of the people we spoke to kept repeating the same: that working class connection, simple but relatable imagery, the pure poetry you’ll find not only in Nashville but creative cousins like Manchester.
The Broadway strip in Austin may be the spiritual home of this kind of music, but we Greater Mancunians lay claim to plenty of genres and some of the biggest artistic traditions ourselves.
With that in mind, we are convinced we’re going to leave a lasting impression when our inaugural Country 2 Country Festival comes to the AO Arena next year.
Our line dancing might leave a little to be desired, but we’ve got a whole year to work on it, not to mention plenty of time to dive even further into the UK’s growing country music obsession.
You can see more pictures from our 2026 C2C gallery down below.
Country fashion was everywhereThe official CMA Spotlight Stage was one of the bestNo one shyed away from a partyKruse Brothers were one of our favourite from the weekendAlana Springsteen was incredibleAnd by the evening, it’s a proper hedonist hoedown… (Credit: The Manc)
Daisy Jackson -
24th May 2024 
