JLS have delighted fans with probably the best news they’ll hear all week by announcing a massive UK comeback tour later this year.
And of course, they’re paying a trip to visit us here in Manchester.
You may remember the popular 00s boyband’s tour in 2021 was hugely-successful and proved to be one of the hottest tickets in town, with the quartet playing a whopping 29 dates at arenas across the UK and Ireland to more than 350,000 people at sold-out shows – and when something was so good the first time round, they might as well have another crack at it, right?
Aston, Marvin, Oritsé, and JB are back this autumn for the ‘EVERYBODY SAY JLS: The Hits Tour’.
Kicking off in Dublin on 20 October, the lads will take to the stage in several major UK cities such as Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, and Liverpool, before they make their way over to see us in Manchester at the AO Arena.
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Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, and Nottingham are some of the other cities on the list, as well as two nights in London at the O2 Arena.
After stealing hearts on ITV reality singing competition X Factor, finishing runners-up, JLS then broke through in 2009 in the biggest way possible as their debut single ‘Beat Again’ shot straight tonumber one on the UK Top 40.
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Their chart-topping success then continued with the follow-up singles ‘Everybody In Love’, ‘The Club Is Alive’, ‘Love You More’, and ‘She Makes Me Wanna’.
Another five top 10 hits, a self-titled number-one debut album, three more top-three records, two BRIT Awards, and five MOBO Awards all came, before they said goodbye with their 2013 ‘Greatest Hits’ album.
Not all goodbyes are forever though, as the lads continued their own successful careers outside of JLS, and remained the best of friends, before reuniting for the first time back in 2021.
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And now, it’s time for their second comeback in 2023.
“We couldn’t be more excited to announce another UK and Ireland arena tour,” the boyband said in a statement.
“Last time out was totally surreal and we’ve been eagerly awaiting the right time to do it all over again, as playing live and seeing our amazing fans is definitely the best part of being JLS.”
JLS will stop off at the AO Arena in Manchester on Thursday 2 November 2023 as part of the ‘EVERYBODY SAY JLS: The Hits Tour’.
Tickets will go on general sale from 9am on Friday 3 March, and you can grab yours here.
Featured Image – Mark Hayman
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Paddy McGuinness announces work-in-progress shows ahead of first stand-up tour in eight years
Danny Jones
Beloved British comic Paddy McGuinness is heading back out on his first live stand-up tour in eight years this year and has announced a new run of work-in-progress shows in preparation, including one right here in Greater Manchester.
McGuinness hasn’t been out on the live comedy circuit for the best part of a decade but announced his long-awaited return late last year, with the 50-year-old heading out on the road this October.
However, as he looks to get stage sharp shape ahead of his ‘Nearly There’ tour, Paddy has picked a pair of local North West venues for the WIP sets, with a trio of shows at The Met in Bury, as well as half a dozen over in Darwen, Lancashire.
Just like the tour itself, these are sure to go quickly.
The Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy star is playing nearly half a century of shows across the UK and Ireland from this fall onwards before closing out his tour in Dublin by April 2025.
His last tour, ‘Daddy McGuinness’ ran from 2015-16 and got pretty decent reviews across the board, with the focus largely revolving around his journey into parenthood, but his latest material is set to be quite the shift in tone.
Speaking ahead of the tour, the former Take Me Out and Top Gear host said: “It’s been eight years since my last tour and there’s lots of things to laugh about! I’m looking forward to getting back in front of a live audience, along with running the gauntlet of cancel culture, clickbait and fake news!”
Paddy also made a bit of a stir around these parts recently after he declared Bolton as still being part of Lancashire. No likey, no lighty on that one – sorry Paddy.
But never mind all that, we’re glad to see him getting back to his roots. The Farnworth-born funny man was also recently given a permanent role on BBC Radio 2 after becoming a firm favourite amongst the listenership. He will now run the 11am-1pm slot on Sundays.
As for his tour, after his warm-up shows in Bury and Darwen, the household name will be heading to The Lowry in Salford in March next year, with other nearby shows in the likes of Blackburn and Blackpool.
Tickets for Paddy McGuinness’ work-in-progress dates go on sale Friday, 3 May at 10am.
There’s a big listening party for Taylor Swift’s new album happening in Manchester this week
Emily Sergeant
One of the biggest, if not the biggest, popstars in the world right now will be releasing a brand-new album this Friday, and there’s a dedicated listening party happening in Manchester especially for the occasion.
In case you aren’t a Swiftie, or you just generally weren’t aware, Taylor Swift announced back in early February that she would be unleashing her eleventh studio album, titled The Tortured Poets Department, on the world on 19 April.
Just like anything the 34-year-old singer-songwriter does, the surprise announcement of the new album – which is a follow-up to her 2022 critically-acclaimed and GRAMMY award-winning album, Midnights – pretty much broke the internet when it happened, and her dedicated fans have been counting down the days ever since.
Now, after months of eagerly waiting, the big day is finally happening this Friday, and in a bid to properly mark what a massive day it will be, one popular Manchester venue has decided to host a dedicated listening party, so that Swifties can unite under one roof and celebrate the special occasion together.
Fairfield Social Club (FSC) which has recently opened its doors in the heart of Manchester city centre, is inviting fans to “gather with your closest Swifties” and head on down to its Green Quarter venue this Friday for a night that’s “dedicated to Tay Tay and her legacy”.
Not only will you get to hear The Tortured Poets Department in full from start to finish surrounded by dozens of fellow fans, but there’ll also be a bunch of other Swift-themed activities too.
These include a Taylor Swift pub quiz with questions to all about her life and groundbreaking career to test your knowledge, friendship bracelet-making sessions, and just the chance to share the love and swap stories with other Swifties.
If all of that didn’t sound brilliant enough as it is, there’s also set to be a selection of themed cocktails to sip whilst you spend time ruminating on what Taylor meant in the lyrics of her songs only released a few hours prior.
Oh, and the best bit? FSC promises there “won’t be a Scooter Braun in sight” on the night.
The Tortured Poets Department Listening Party is taking over Fairfield Social Club this Friday 19 April from 7pm right through until 10pm – with tickets now on sale setting you back just £6 each, and already selling fast.