Ian Brown replaced by James for Neighbourhood Weekender festival
Ian Brown has dropped out of Neighbourhood Weekender as the festival reschedules for September - posting tweets about refusing 'proof of vaccination' in the aftermath.
Ian Brown was due to play the Saturday headline slot at the Warrington festival
Ian Brown has dropped out of Neighbourhood Weekender as the festival reschedules for September – posting tweets about refusing ‘proof of vaccination’ for entry.
Festival organisers revealed that Brown would be replaced by James for the event – which will now be held over three dates (Sep 3-5) at Victoria Park in Warrington this autumn.
The Stone Roses lead singer confirmed he would no longer play at Neighbourhood, posting a tweet about ‘vaccine proof’ in the process.
Brown stated: “My Saturday night headline show at NHBD Weekender Festival will now not happen!
“I refuse to accept vaccination proof as condition of entry. Refunds are available!”
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There has been no communication or confirmation from Neighbourhood Weekender as to whether proof of vaccination would be required upon entry to the event.
My Saturday night headline show at NHBD Weekender Festival will now not happen! I refuse to accept vaccination proof as condition of entry.Refunds are available! X
Brown has posted conspiracy theories online at various points throughout the pandemic.
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Back in February, the musician claimed he would “never sing to a crowd who must be vaccinated as a condition of attendance”. Last year, he claimed the pandemic had been planned “to make us digital slaves”.
Many of his tweets have since been deleted.
The addition of James to the Neighbourhood Weekender lineup has been well received, and the festival has thanked fans for “their patience and continued support for the event”.
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Full update on #NBHDWKND21 below. We can't wait to see you this September!
The festival’s line-up is a big one – with Gerry Cinnamon headlining on Friday night before Sam Fender, Shed Seven and The Coral play on Saturday alongside James.
Sunday headliners will be Catfish And The Bottlemen – with Miles Kane, The Wombats and Sea Girls also on the bill.
All tickets remain valid for new dates.
More information is available on the Neighbourhood Weekender website.
Music
Inside Sifters Records, the time capsule record shop that inspired Oasis
Harry Quick
The date the world never thought was coming is set. Manchester’s most famous brothers have against all the odds put their differences aside for music’s greater good. Oasis are BACK.
I suppose it is only good news at the moment if you were one of the lucky few who managed to secure a ticket to one of the 17 gigs (actually, now 19 with two new dates added) in the Oasis 25′ Tour. If you didn’t – hard luck – but there is arguably one shop owner who deserves one more than most.
Fans of our most iconic band from all around the world should show their gratitude to a little record store in Burnage for helping to make that happen. Some might say, Sifters Records is the home of the Gallaghers’ love for music. The two brothers were brought up just a stone’s throw away from here on Cranwell Drive and were regular visitors of Sifters throughout their teenage years.
Noel has previously mentioned how he used to stroll around to Sifters on Fog Lane and pick up records by the likes of The Smiths, Joy Division and The Happy Mondays, which would help inspire some of the world-renowned anthems Oasis would later go on to create. The relationship between the Gallaghers and Sifters Records is emblematic of their deep roots in Manchester’s music scene.
If you feel like you’ve heard the name before, you probably have as Liam mentions the store in the song ‘Shakermaker’. In the final verse of the song – before the closing Shake Along with Me / Them interlude – he gets his special mention.
The lyrics “Mr Sifter sold me songs when I was just sixteen, now he stops at traffic lights but only when they’re green” pay homage to its main road location and the lads’ musical upbringing before the international stardom.
Sifters Records inspired Oasis’ love of music – and gets a namecheck in Shakermaker. Credit: The Manc GroupSifters Records inspired Oasis’ love of music – and gets a namecheck in Shakermaker. Credit: The Manc Group
If the lyrics alone don’t put an image in your head, the official music video for the song pictures Liam stereotypically swaggering towards the shop front in a parka and shades on the hunt for some new music. After flicking through a few 12″ vinyls he shows Red Rose Speedway to the camera by Paul McCartney’s – Wings. I wonder if he bought it that day or could it still be in there?
In a brand new 30-minute interview filmed ahead of the 30th anniversary of Definitely Maybe, Noel revealed how he wrote the infamous lyric in an off-the-cuff moment directly outside the shop.
“I have to say this shop has not changed a bit. I bought a lot of my records in here, it’s where I discovered my love of ‘best of’ albums.
“Every time I hear Shakermaker I remember pulling up in that car and looking over and seeing the song.”
It’s no wonder this was Noel’s favourite place to scope out new tunes growing up. It’s still one of Manchester’s most impressive collections with hundreds, if not thousands of vintage LPs.
Most of these are from the personal collection of ‘Mr Sifter’ himself Pete Howard who has run this musical mecca since 1977. The building itself has an unchanged charm – a time capsule of fading band posters, windows of unrelated local advertisements and well-trodden carpet from the thousands of feet on a pilgrimage from far and wide.
Fans from across the globe have rocked up for a word with Pete and the admiration for his store only keeps growing, which he sometimes struggles to believe how fortunate he got. If you pop in looking for any Oasis discography, good luck, it doesn’t stick around long.
When ‘Definitely Maybe’ dropped in ’94 he said he recognised the members of the band straight just from the album cover.
Now, with a deluxe edition re-release 30 years later, and a reunion tour around the corner, it’s undeniable that the whole world does – let’s just hope they stay mates this time!
When tickets for the original shows went on sale last Saturday, demand was so great that several ticketing platforms crashed and people spent up to six hours in virtual queues.
And then as the day wore on, Ticketmaster suddenly utilised ‘dynamic pricing’, removing the general admission tickets from sale and replacing them with ‘in-demand tickets’.
With that came a jump in price from £148.50 to £355.20. Ouch.
Oasis have faced a lot of criticism for the use of dynamic pricing – but in a new statement, they have stressed that they did not have ‘any awareness’ that it would be used.
They said that decisions on both pricing and ticketing are ‘left entirely to their promoters and management’.
Oasis said in a statement released on their behalf yesterday: “As for the well reported complaints many buyers had over the operation of dynamic ticketing: it needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used.
“While prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band’s management resulted in a positive ticket sale strategy, which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting, the execution of the plan failed to meet expectations.
“All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience, but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve.”
As for those final two Wembley shows going on sale, Oasis has said that tickets will be sold by an ‘invitation-only ballot process’ to manage the phenomenal demand.
They wrote: “Applications to join the ballot will be opened first to the many UK fans who were unsuccessful in the initial on sale with Ticketmaster. More details to follow.”
Oasis claims that they “at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used” for their reunion tour.
The band has finally spoken out about the fiasco surrounding the handling of ticket sales for Oasis Live ‘25, which saw Ticketmaster implement their… pic.twitter.com/1rbrEMWupf
The Manc -
4th March 2021 
