Hayley Williams, lead singer of Paramore, was up to her usual tricks on stage in Manchester last night, pulling audience members up on stage with her.
But the huge crowd at the AO Arena got an unexpected treat when one of the people handed the mic ended up being the singer of a local band.
Jess Branney from Peaness, an up-and-coming all-female group from Chester, shared the same space as the American rock band, and fans have absolutely loved it.
Paramore also invited a pair of best friends up at the same time as Peaness, with Hayley joking that the four of them were The Spice Girls.
On Instagram, Jess’s bandmate Rach Williams shared videos of the insane moment, which saw her catapulted from their usual intimate stage size (like their recent gig at Gorilla) to the mighty 21,000-capacity AO Arena.
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She wrote: “Absolutely LOSING MY SH*T at Hayley Williams talking about Peaness loooool.”
Jess later shared a video where she said: “It’s 2am. I’ve been processing in bed. I’ve calmed down a bit now.
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“Firstly, I’m sorry I messed it up – no one’s more upset than me. But um, what a night, and it’s been nice to see some footage back from different spots in the arena. Because honestly, when I was up there, I didn’t know what was going on.
“My body was reacting, flailing around, having a party, going ‘oh my god it’s Paramore’. What a night.”
Can’t believe that just happened. Like, Hayley Williams knows our band. I pushed my air into her personal microphone. WTFFFFFF
pls help me find my mizbiz partner 🥲🥲🥲 i wanted to send her the pictures but didnt see her afterwards (i peaked in life at 22) (paramore manchester) #paramoremanchesterpic.twitter.com/x3m8SHO2im
She also posted on Twitter: “Can’t believe that just happened. Like, Hayley Williams knows our band. I pushed my air into her personal microphone. WTFFFFFF. Thanks for all the love but holy heck what a night and what a band @paramore are.”
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Other people on Twitter were showering Jess and Peaness with praise after the Paramore gig – although some did struggle with their band name.
One person wrote: “JESS of the p*nis (?) band, wherever you are, please know you slayed mizbiz (i thought for a sec hayley was still on the mic)
Someone else wrote: “Living for Jess from @peanessband getting pulled up onstage to sing with @paramore and smashing it!”
Another said: “Okay so everyone who was at @paramore in Manchester (and actually just everyone regardless) should go and follow @PeanessBand right now. Jess did Miz Biz and they are just the most wonderful band, and deserve all of our love.”
One person tweeted: “Amazing to see @BlocParty and @paramore on the same line up with a little bonus @PeanessBand!”
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Someone posted: “i am having an asthma attack this is so amazing an ABSOLUTELY deserved you absolute legend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEANAMORE TOUR NOW”
‘Manc the Biff’: the Co-op Live crowd made the Clyro boys welcome on debut
Danny Jones
It feels like we’ve been waiting a long time to welcome Biffy Clyro back to Manchester, and they really didn’t disappoint on their Co-op Live debut.
Here’s our review of what was a proper rock show.
After a strong lineup of support acts with The Armed and Soft Play (formerly Slaves) injecting plenty of early energy into the crowds, already knew two things: the Scots wouldn’t disappoint, and a Manc crowd NEVER lets you down.
We knew everyone was on top form from the moment the Kilmarnock icons stepped out on stage under a swathe of blankets to the opener from their latest album, Futique.
Once the curtain was eventually lifted during ‘A Little Love’, which has quickly become one of the most popular singles for some time, you could see the sea of fans below start bouncing.
Rolling into the likes of ‘Hunting Season’ and Only Revolutions classic, ‘The Captain’, those bounces quite quickly turned into a healthy-sized pit, and those up in the stands with us finally got on their feet.
That was maybe our only complaint: we love seeing a seated section pretending they’re in standing from their start, but we get it and each to their own, of course.
In fact, the same goes for the rest of the session players joining them on the road this year.
One thing we weren’t expecting was quite how cool the production levels were going to be. We’ve never been Biffy fans for their creativity when it comes to toying with stage design or lighting rigs, but they threw in some fun effects regardless.
Highlights from the night included ‘Tiny Indoor Fireworks’, ‘Bubbles’, and ‘Black Chandelier’, though we were sad not to hear ‘Victory Over The Sun’, and it was especially gutting that one of our favourite tracks from the new record, ‘True Believer’, didn’t end up on the setlist.
Again, you can’t have anything – we’re just glad we got to be there and see a truly great British rock band proving that they are well and truly an arena-level band.
Lastly, even after all the years and an X-Factor cover trying its hardest to take the credit away from them, ‘Many of Horror’ is still an unbelievable rock ballad, and d’ya know who is an unbelievable rock band? “Biffy. F***ing. Clyroooooo.”
Johnny Depp supergroup Hollywood Vampires have announced an arena gig in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Hollywood Vampires are heading back out on tour, with a huge Manchester gig announced for this year.
The supergroup, which consists of one of the biggest names in Hollywood as well as one of rock’n’roll’s most iconic names, are set to perform at the AO Arena as part of a run of shows.
Hollywood Vampires is made up of A-lister Johnny Depp, as well as rock royalty including Alice Cooper, and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, plus Tommy Henriksen.
They last performed in Manchester with an arena gig back in 2023, making these their first gigs in almost three years.
Hollywood Vampires have now announced a return to the stage, with an AO Arena show on the cards for Tuesday 18 August 2026.
They’ll be supported in Manchester by The Jesus and Mary Chain, who marked their 40th anniversary in 2024 with a new album, Glasgow Eyes.
Johnny Depp supergroup Hollywood Vampires announce Manchester gig. Credit: Aaron Perry
Hollywood Vampires formed in 2012, named after Cooper’s celebrity drinking club of the same name where the aim was reportedly to ‘drink until no one could stand up’.
Over the years, the supergroup has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, and Zak Starkey (formerly the drummer for Oasis).
They’ve now announced a massive UK tour , including a date at the AO Arena.
A Three Presale for tickets will take place from 10am on Wednesday 21 January, followed by a venue presale on Thursday 22 January, then general sale from 10am on Friday 23 January.
Daisy Jackson -
19th April 2023 
