Here we have another list of highlights from our ‘New Manchester Music’ playlist.
Amongst our favourite releases this week is a huge arena-filler from an emerging Manchester band, a track from Mike Dignam’s one-release-a-week project, and the perfect summer road trip anthem.
To listen to them all plus loads more new stuff – including last week’s top picks – head to our Spotify playlist here.
Rosellas – Before the Storm
Rosellas are back with a new track, ‘Before The Storm’.
Since being selected to support Shaun Ryder’s Black Grape at their London show a while back, Rosellas have gone from strength to strength. And with a string of plays from XS Manchester and support from Clint Boon on their last release, the lads have become well respected by the city’s scene.
Now, Rosellas return with another one to catch our attention. With the help of award-winning producer Oliver Shillito, ‘Before The Storm’ has turned out to be a hugely uplifting and atmospheric stadium-ready track.
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Naturally, the band take inspiration from the 90s Manchester bands they walk in the footsteps of. And since they cite The Stone Roses and The Verve as particular influences, you can definitely hear that familiar ferocity in ‘Before the Storm’.
Mike Dignam – Killer
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSKaSr1gOg4/
Soul-pop singer Mike Dignam has been very busy.
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In January of this year, the Manchester-based artist set out on a year-long mission to release a new song every Friday of 2021. And so far, he’s been smashing it, with a full music video to accompany each song, too.
Solid effort, Mike.
Now, he’s well past the halfway mark with this week’s track ‘Killer’, a collab with fellow northerner Liam Craig marking number 32 of 52.
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Singer-songwriter Liam spent some time away writing music for Emile Sande and Naughtyboy, and even touring with Little Mix. But now, he’s back doing his own thing and joins Mike with vocals over this neo-soul beat.
Patrick Saint James – Begging
Patrick’s music is known for its open and frank tone.
Manchester-based singer-songwriter Patrick Saint James was born with a hearing defect. Amazingly, he hears mainly through vibrations and has been using this to write songs ever since he was 15-years-old.
Typically, Patrick’s music falls within the pop genre with influences lying with the likes of Years & Years. He regularly draws on topics of destructive relationships and loves to tell personal stories from his own experiences, adding to his genuine and relatable character.
His new track ‘Begging’ is no different. It’s an up-close-and-personal account of the challenges he faces with bipolar disorder and explores themes of being accepted for who he is.
Recently Patrick signed to Lovers Music ahead of his debut EP which is to follow later this year. So, we can expect to hear more from the Irish-born singer very soon.
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The Covasettes – Before the Storm
The ‘Sun Struck’ artwork was designed by @carltai.
Indie-rock outfit The Covasettes have had an incredible couple of years. And with two sold-out shows this weekend alone, the boys are clearly doing something right.
The newest one from the four-piece, ‘Sun Struck’, gives off a lovely summer vibe, ideal for your road trip playlist.
Their previous tracks have received plays from BBC Radio and XS Manchester, and we imagine this one will follow suit, too.
StreamGM and The Manc have teamed up to show some some serious love and support to the region’s renowned theatres, nightclubs, and live-music venues with the launch of SeeGM – a digital campaign to shine a bright spotlight on many of the amazing events, club nights, gigs and shows in our region.
Girls Aloud to release ‘Sarah’s Version’ of ‘I’ll Stand By You’ for BBC Children In Need 2024
Danny Jones
Pop royalty Girls Aloud are set to release a special edition of their 2004 song ‘I’ll Stand By You’, simply dubbed ‘Sarah’s Version’, for this year’s Children In Need broadcast.
The iconic British girl group returned earlier this year with a huge comeback nationwide tour which obviously sold out and they also won over crowds with their touching on-stage tributes to late singer Sarah Harding during their live performances.
Harding, 39, sadly passed away back in 2021 following a battle with breast cancer and was mourned across the country, especially here in the North, with a commemorative plaque and large mural of the Stockport-born songstress thrown up in her hometown back in May.
And now, as a way to help raise money for the annual BBC telethon and honour her once again, Girls Aloud will be re-releasing the well-known ballad.
‘I’ll Stand By You (Sarah’s Version)’ features Sarah on lead vocal throughout using vocals we discovered in the vault from the original recording sessions. The track played a key part in our ‘The Girls Aloud Show’ arena tour this summer & was an emotional moment for us all 🎙
Originally a cover of the 1997 track by The Pretenders and given that they were still so early into their career, the Noughties hitmakers naturally did multiple takes before landing on their final edit.
That being said, a version that has been rediscovered in digging through the archived recording sessions features Sarah Harding on lead vocals and now the band are set to let her voice shine through.
Airing for the first time on Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Wednesday, 6 November, ‘Sarah’s Version’ has already gone down an instant hit 20 years from its release, with the emotional punch of hearing Harding’s clearly hitting listeners hard.
‘I’ll Stand By You’ went straight to the top of the UK Singles Chart when it was first released and was their second-ever number one. We have a very strong feeling that the importance of this re-release will see it do exactly the same – just in time for Christmas, no less.
Fans were left spellbound during what was casually referred to as ‘Sarah’s moment’ on the Girls Aloud reunion tour, where they truly did allow her singing to become the star of the show:
As if the charity single wasn’t a tear-jerking enough prospect already, ‘I’ll Stand By You – Sarah’s Version’ is also set to be released on 15 November, just two days before what would have been Harding’s 43rd birthday. We’re not crying, you are.
In aid of The Christie and the Sarah Harding Legacy Project, more than £1 million has been raised in the Stopfordian’s memory and for breast cancer awareness through initiatives like the creation of the mural and members of the hospital doing charity runs, bike rides, swims and more.
Speaking on social media, the band added: “The track played a key part in our ‘The Girls Aloud Show’ arena tour this summer & was an emotional moment for us all.”
BBC Children in Need 2024 takes place next Friday (15 November) and highlights from their reunion tour, where ‘Sarah’s Version’ was first heard by the masses, will be shown on ITV at 8pm the following Sunday.
Featured Images — BBC Children In Need/The Christie
Music
Circa Waves on their new album, unreal tour lineup, a big health scare and ‘the best band’ around right now
Danny Jones
With Circa Waves announcing a new album and a brand new UK tour early next year, we were very kindly given the privilege to chat with one of the most consistent indie bands of the past decade.
Sitting down with lead singer and rhythm guitarist Kieran Shudall, we were buzzing with questions about their upcoming record, what we’re dubbing as one of the best indie tour lineups in years, what they’re making of the UK music scene right now and, of course, why the North West is the best.
For anyone unaware, it’s been a pretty intense period for the Liverpool lads and their frontman, especially, after a health scare early last year, so we’re more grateful than ever that they’re back and looking in true fighting form ahead of their shows come February 2025.
You can read our full interview with Circa Waves down below.
Audio North interviews Kieran from Circa Waves
Circa Waves live in Kobetamendi, Bilbao at BBK Live 2017.Kieran gave us a really great, in-depth chat.Credit: Dena Flows/The Manc Group
Right off the bat, the sixth studio album is coming out, Death & Love Pt. 1. It’s a big, bold title – what can you tell us about it without giving too much away?
Well, ‘Death and Love’ was basically the first song I ever wrote for Circa. It was back in 2012 or something, but it never got released and it was just a title that was always lying around.
We were trying to think of a title for this record and with what I went through – like a big sort of health scare and then came out the other side and feeling very grateful for life – that seemed like a really appropriate title and I feel like it grabs your attention a little bit.
Feel free to move on if it’s too personal but if you would you mind telling us about the health scare?
We had to cancel a bunch of tours; I got told you have to sign this form that says you have a 100% chance of dying on the operating table, so that’s not cool. It was just mad and I kind of came through the other side feeling super grateful and happy to be alive and in a band, you know
I feel more fortunate now that I’ve got through it all, so a lot of the record is about getting through that and the fears that came along with it. It gave me some good material haha.
For sure, that trauma always serves great art at least. There’s obviously a part one in there too, so is the second done and was this a double album experience in the recording process?
I’m still doing it – finishing it right now actually. We kind of just had too many songs and thought let’s just split it into two. I guess back in the day it’d be like a double album but yeah, the first one is nine songs and this one I’m still deciding. Maybe 10?
There’s just had a lot of ideas and we thought, well, why not? In this day and age, it’s so easy to kind of put music out and people consume music so fast that it felt like we just may as well.
Absolutely. So where do you think you’ve pushed things sonically this time – is it more of an evolution or a continuation?
I feel like we’ve landed on our feet in what we’re about now, certainly what I think Circa Waves should sound like, so it’s kind of similar to the early records, I guess.
A lot more guitars, sort of raw, scrappy drums, and they feel like festival songs to me but obviously the subject matter is like 10 years on from the first record, so your life experience makes the lyrics different, but I hope that it sort of feels like a refinement of sorts.
And have you guys got a favourite track that you’re particularly excited for people to hear or a personal favourite?
The thing about band members is everyone just likes it when their instrument’s the loudest. I don’t know, there’s a track called ‘Hold It Steady’ which is quite different to anything we’ve done before; I’m excited for that one to be heard but I think they’re all bangers.
We’ll absolutely take that haha. For the tour, you’ve got an unreal lineup of support acts with Peace and our fellow Mancs, Corella – we’ve seen both of them this year and they were great – how did you go around picking your warm-ups?
Peace was a funny one, I sort of have liked them for a long time and I went to the old NME Tour that they were on in probably 2011 or something but I remember watching them being like, ‘Oh wow and man I’d love to do the NME Tour.
Circa Waves didn’t exist at the time and then a few years later we did it ourselves, so they were sort of a big inspiration for me to play indie music, so it was cool to have them on. And then Corella are just ones that have been cropping up every two minutes on my Instagram feed and they’re just like a really good indie band right now.
Peace at Kendal Calling 2024Corella had a pretty iconic moment on the main stage too…
So it all felt like a good fit and we kind of want to just make the night feel like a big festival of music that people will love that type of music really. It’s just a proper guitary indie night, you know?
Lovely, can’t complain about that. In terms of venues, you’ve got some great Northern institutions on there: The Academy in Leeds, Victoria Warehouse here in Manchester and your massive hometown show. How much do you love those dates as North West locals?
Yeah, I love it, man. I mean, there’s nothing better than playing up North and I know that sounds like something that people say to just please people from there but it really is the best.
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Liverpool, obviously, for me is such a big one and my family all go to those ones, so it’s cool for that reason but Manchester’s always been an amazing crowd. I don’t know what it is about Manchester – Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Liverpool are always just amazing.
Bang on, and as for that hometown gig, how special is that Olympia show gonna be and do you have any special treatment up your sleeve?
You know what? I haven’t thought about it. There’s always the temptation of asking someone to get up with you. [Yeah, maybe get Jamie Webster on the go?] Yeah, I’ve been writing with Jamie and Miles [Kane] quite a bit but I don’t know. We’ll keep it all secret anyway.
Yeah let’s not spoil anything. Another one we’re always curious of is how much you consider that famous Manc vs Scouse rivalry in music. Do you buy into it at all?
I don’t know, I think in my life when you have like really p***ed up conversations with someone who’s more into the Manc scene than the Liverpool scene I just think we’ve got The Beatles, so we always win.
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I do think, you know, you’ve got your Joy Divisions and your Smiths and your Oasis and all this – they’re amazing bands, but we’ve got The Beatles. So it’s just you can’t like. [Like the ultimate Top Trumps card] Yeah, in Pokemon, it’d be shiny Charizard.
Fair enough. What about other Northern acts you’re particularly excited by at the minute?
I mean, there’s so many but it’s too hard but the band I think are the best at the moment is Wunderhorse. I met Jacob [Slater] a while ago when he was doing Dead Pretties and I was like obsessed with his writing and he sent me a bunch of acoustic stuff and I was just like man, “You are f***ing annoyingly talented.”
Then when Wunderhorse came out and I was just blown away. It’s amazing to watch it just become this big thing now. It’s cool to see people on TikTok sharing clips of ‘Teal’ and just seeing kids getting into proper music. So yeah, love them, man – I’m so excited to see where they end up.
He’s not wrong, by the way. Their Manchester Academy gig in October was one the best of our lives and not to sound like needy cool kids but we’ve very much backed them from day one.
Hannah Starkie -
6th August 2021 
