Manchester music heavyweights Noel Gallagher and Blossoms have been confirmed to play this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust gig series at the historic Royal Albert Hall.
Britpop and global rock and roll icon Noel Gallagher will be bringing his High Flying Birds and the local lads from Stockport along to the legendary London venue as two of the very first names to be confirmed for the annual fundraising concert series.
Scheduled as the third date in the upcoming run of gigs, the former Oasis frontman will be pleased to have his fellow Manchester City fans joining him as special guests this March.
Other names already confirmed for Teenage Cancer Trust at Royal Albert Hall 2024 include adopted Manc electronic group, The Chemical Brothers; The Who, Squeeze, Young Fathers and many more.
Noel and Blossoms follow veterans The Who and Squeeze as the first musical acts on the 2024 lineup.
The Teenage Cancer Trust’s long-running partnership with the Royal Albert Hall has entered a momentous year which will see fellow rock legend and The Who frontman Roger Daltrey, who created and founded the series back in 2000, bow out as the driving force of these very special concerts.
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Stepping down as the official curator after 22 years, this year’s series will celebrate his work as he looks to continue as a Teenage Cancer Trust Honorary Patron but step back from his tireless role and allow for the next generation to take over fundraising and advocating for the charity.
For over two decades, Roger has persuaded some of the world’s greatest artists on the planet to perform unique, one-night-only gigs to raise money for the cause, generating over £32 million in vital funds through ticket sales alone and spreading the word of the charity’s extraordinary work.
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Enough to pay for over a million hours of specialist care from Teenage Cancer Trust nurses, or 13 whole TCT hospital units — having been staffed by just five units with just a fraction of those nurses and youth support workers back when it started — the gig series has proved to be life-changing for so many.
Speaking on the significant anniversary, Daltreysaid, “The £32 million raised from these concerts has been the foundation for the 28 specialised units within the NHS, as well as specialist nurses and youth workers to be there for a young person when cancer has turned their world upside down.”
As for Noel, he said: “The Teenage Cancer Trust continue to make a real difference to teenagers in what undoubtedly must be the most challenging years of their lives. Having performed at the very first event back in 2000 it is a charity very close to my heart. 24 years and counting is a triumph in itself. NGHFB will be there en masse. Together we will make the night unique. I’d buy a ticket if I were you.”
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Following what was a massive year for the Blossoms, they’ll no doubt be buzzing to kick off 2024 with such a special performance.
You can see the lineup for Teenage Cancer Trust at Royal Albert Hall so far in full down below.
Set to play on Thursday, 21 March, 2024, tickets for the concertgo on sale at 9am on Friday, 12 January, with proceeds going straight to the Teenage Cancer Trust.
And for all other Manc music news this year, be sure to follow our dedicated The Manc Audio page over on Instagram. Happy gigging, you lot.
Featured Images — Press Image (via Spotify)/The Manc Group
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HAIM announce huge UK arena tour with Manchester date
Daisy Jackson
Everyone’s favourite musical siblings are heading back on tour – and for once, I am not referring to Oasis.
HAIM have just dropped details of a huge UK arena tour later this year, which includes a gig right here in Manchester.
The rock trio of siblings will be playing six dates in support of their upcoming album I Quit.
HAIM will be performing at the biggest venue in Manchester, the Co-op Live arena, this October, alongside shows in Nottingham, London, Glasgow and more.
The Los Angeles sisters, Alana, Danielle and Este, haven’t performed here since 2022, when they played the much smaller O2 Victoria Warehouse.
HAIM are best known for hits like The Wire, If I Could Change Your Mind, and Falling, with three already-released chart-topping albums.
They announced their fourth studio album on stage last week at a set of surprise shows in LA, promising classic rock inspiration that’s been crafted for live performance.
It follows their 2020 release, Women in Music Pt. III, which earned them a Brit Award for International Group as well as two Grammy Award nominations.
Fans who pre-order the album will be able to access a pre-sale from 10am on Wednesday 30 April, ahead of general sale on 10am on Friday 2 May.
Featured image: Publicity picture, Terrence O’Connor
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Sterephonics frontman Kelly Jones reveals that Noel Gallagher is back in the studio
Danny Jones
Stereophonics lead singer Kelly Jones has graciously revealed to music fans that new Gallagher tunes could be on the way, as he confirmed that Noel has been back in the studio and working on new material.
The big question is, has Liam been in there with him?…
Broken rather nonchalantly in an interview with NME, Jones didn’t so much let the news slip as much as he seemingly just casually dropped it into conversation, mentioning that he bumped into the older Gallagher brother recently.
As he puts it – frustratingly briefly, might we add (sorry, fanaticism will do that to you) – the Oasis icon and High Flying Birds frontman has been doing some songwriting, but the details were scarce.
The 50-year-old ‘Phonics frontman, who was discussing the release of their 13th studio album as well as his own solo project last year, was asked his thoughts on the legendary Britpop band’s upcoming reunion shows and the impact they had on his own career.
“Funnily enough, I found some old pictures of me and Noel rehearsing when he used to have a studio down in Windsor recently, just before we toured America”, said Jones. “We were having a laugh about them and I asked him what he’d been up to and he said he’d been doing some writing in the studio.
The unmistakable Welsh vocalist went on to add: “I’m assuming he’s doing some writing for either his stuff or if they’re [Oasis] gonna bring out a couple songs, I don’t know.”
It seems the pair are still more than friendly, though he gave little away about his relationship with Liam Gallagher; the two British rock groups did share somewhat of a rivalry in the 90s and 2000s, with Stereophonics making no secret of Oasis inspiring their own music.
Describing the band in their heyday, Jones described the period “kind of chaotic and mayhem but it was all very joyous”, insisting that things are very different nowadays but that he is not the less excited than a whole new generations of fans are going to be able to see them live for the first time
As for whether he and his bandmates will be able to find the time, he revealed in a subsequent chat live on Radio X that their own tour clashes may mean they’ll miss out on the Live ’25 tour experience.
Further reflecting on the age of streaming, content overload and what some would argue is an overabundance of media, Kelly said of art and music in particular that “people need it now more than they’ve needed it in a long time.”
We don’t know whether or not Noel’s return to songwriting is for the next High Flying Birds record or whether the rumours are true and new Oasis music really is on the way.
As much as we love his solo stuff, PLEASE let it be the latter.
We do know that the siblings are said to be getting on swimmingly so far and even spent some of the Easter break together, according to LG himself. Here’s hoping they were throwing around ideas for another instant hit.
Danny Jones -
8th January 2024 
