Indie rockers The Magic Gang have announced their they have officially split and will be playing three final gigs here in the UK — and, thankfully, Manchester is one of them.
Having released a much-loved debut EP back in 2016, as well as two albums in 2018 and 2020, respectively, the Brighton-based foursome haven’t released new music since their last outing, have been quite online and slowed the pace of performance-wise, playing a handful of festival slots in 2022.
Confirming the news of the split via a heartfelt social media post, The Magic Gang members revealed that they’ll all be going off and “exploring their own creative pursuits” but that they’ve got three more shows to go before they say ta-ra.
Playing three nights from 21-23 May, Manc fans have one last chance to ‘Take Back the Track’ with a cult favourite when they play New Century Hall on Wednesday, 22 May.
Speaking in a lengthy post, there doesn’t seem to be any hint of the boys not ‘Getting Along’; in fact, writing rather emotionally about the journey the band has been on, it sounds like they’re focusing more on the memories they created over the past decade.
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“This band started in 2013 in a bedroom in Kris’ parents’ house. I remember it was a sweltering hot day and me (Jack), Kris and Paeris were arguing over band names”, writes frontman and guitarist Jack Kaye.
“Kris wanted to start a band with around ten members, playing an array of percussive instruments and acoustic guitars. With this in mind, we settled on The Magic Gang and Paeris wrote it on the front of a kick drum to make it official.
“We recorded our first song ‘Bruises’ in our shared house in Brighton. Gus happened to be home at the time and was drafted in to play bass. There was something truly magical about that recording; a lightning-in-a-bottle moment you take for granted when you first start a band.”
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Holding their hands up and admitting it had been a while since their last gig, the post goes on to read: “It’s clear to see how incredible the journey has been. We’ve travelled the world and have had the opportunity to share our music with anyone who cared to listen (and some who didn’t).
“We dedicated everything to the band and I’m so glad we did, because we got the world in return. For now, we’ve decided to call time on The Magic Gang. This band has always been a sum of its parts – four songwriters working in collaboration and doing our best to honour each other’s ideas.”
As detailed by Vice back in 2018, “Three members – Kaye, Krisitan Smith and Angus Taylor – were already frontmen in other projects” and confident vocalists in their own right who all just so happened to “share a love for The Beach Boys’ harmonies”, so the chances they were all going to go off and do their own thing was always there.
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Drummer Paeris Giles and Taylor had already played together before too, so the potential for the pair to once again spin out together in whatever project comes next is also there. All we can say is we’re excited to hear what they all come up with.
They signed off by adding, “The most natural thing now is for everyone in the band to spend some time exploring their own creative pursuits. You’ll be hearing a lot more from all of us but for now, as The Magic Gang, we’d like to thank everyone who’s supported us over the years by playing a handful of shows.
“We’ll be playing a lot of songs we’ve not performed in years and covering everything from Bruises right up to now. Thank you and good night x”
Tickets for The Magic Gang’s official ‘Farewell Shows’ go live this Friday, 26 January at 9am — you can grab your tickets for their last-ever Manchester date HERE and, meanwhile, we’ll pretend this ‘split’ never happened and quietly keep our fingers crossed for a reunion somewhere down the line.
From a band together for over 10 years to once that’s spanned a whopping 52, they aren’t the only ones to announce they will be playing some of their final shows here in Manchester, as the mighty Eagles have also revealed they will be playing Co-op Live — the last dates they will ever play in the UK.
A new ‘disco den’ nightclub is opening in the Northern Quarter
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new nightclub is set to open in Manchester city centre next month, as our city’s late-night scene ramps up a gear.
Following on from the announcement of the return of Sankeys, this new ‘disco den’ will be an intimate loft space in the Northern Quarter.
As with Sankeys, the location of this new venue is being kept strictly under wraps for now, but they have teased some details to get us started.
It will be a New York-style loft club space, which wants to bring ‘the essence of Studio 54’ to Manchester.
The venue will be taking over the top floor of one of the Northern Quarter’s ‘most famous’ bars, and will have a maximum capacity of 150 people – pretty intimate for a nightlife venue.
The first two nights have been announced too – up first will be ‘Lollipop’, a new night of self-expression, freedom, disco, and drag dancers.
On Saturday 28 February, Mancs will be able to dance to the best house and disco music, from Jon Fitz, DJ Dave Cooper, Electric Emma Eden Binks, and Libby Nolan, with supporting performances from Gisele.
Then on Saturday 14 March, ‘Discolicious’ will take over – an inclusive club night founded by Jemma Bolt and Denise Van Outen.
The event is back from a summer-long residency at Ibiza’s UNVRS superclub.
Expect sequins, feathers, platforms and pure disco ball energy, with a line-up that includes Jemma Bolt, Laura Pradelska, Pips Taylor, Jules Pinkney and Manchester’s own Electric Emma.
Tickets for both events are available from Skiddle, with a password reveal three days before the event.
Discolicious tickets are on sale now HERE, and Lollipop tickets are available HERE.
The smash-hit daytime rave where you can still be in bed early is returning to Manchester
Clementine Hall
That’s right: Day Fever, the daytime rave designed to still get you tucked in at a reasonable hour, is coming back to Manchester city centre this year.
Following their biggest raft of shows across the UK and Ireland in 2025, the smash-hit night out that is very much aimed at those of us 30 and over – but fellow sleepy heads are obviously more than welcome – Day Fever are targeting big things in 2026.
Launched in early 2024 by actress Vicky McClure and Reverend & The Makers frontman, Jon McClure, Day Fever has become a cultural sensation.
From its debut in Sheffield to a tour that sees thousands of ravers hitting the dance floor each month, the message is clear: people want to dance and let loose, but still be in bed before 9pm – and let’s be honest, who can blame them?
The founders (L-R): Jon McClure, James O’Hara, Jonny Owen, Vicky and Chris McClure. (supplied)
Running from 3-8pm, Day Fever provides a proper night out that doesn’t completely write you off for the entire weekend.
“It started as a WhatsApp idea”, says Jon McClure. “Jonny just said, ‘A daytime disco, how good would that be?’ We’re all a bit nuts, so we just said, ‘Come on then!’”
“It feels like a massive house party at your nan’s,” laughs Vicky. “No drama, no egos, just people acting daft, getting dressed up, and having the best time.”
From here in 0161 and our mates over in Leeds, to Newcastle, Glasgow and many more, each Day Fever event has its own unique flavour.
There’ll be local DJs who know their crowds keep the energy high with a nostalgic mix of Northern Soul, disco, indie, and 90s classics. “Manchester goes mad for Oasis,” says Jon, “and if Vicky’s there, we have to play Whitney, it’s non-negotiable!”
For starters, just look at the turnout they got over Christmas:
They last popped up their second home of New Century Hall over the festive period, so it’s no surprise they’re coming back from.
Day Fever will be turning up the speakers at New Century once again on Saturday, 31 January, and we will absolutely see you there. Better still, the organisers have just announced additional shows due to phenomenal demand, including 7 March and 11 April here in Manchester.
Find the rest of their previously announced shows, as well as the extra dates for 2026, in full down below:
24 Jan, 28 February and 25 April – Glasgow, BAaD
24 Jan, 14 Feb and 21 March – Nottingham, Palais
24 Jan, 7 March and 4 April – Sheffield, City Hall
31 Jan, 7 March and 11 April – Manchester, New Century Hall
Danny Jones -
23rd January 2024 
