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Olivia Dean at Albert Hall – star stuns in every way in Manchester

The star absolutely stuned the crowd with her immense talent at this intimate gig at the Albert Hall.

Abbie Bartlett Abbie Bartlett - 28th April 2024

24-year-old neo soul singer Olivia Dean was in Manchester last night performing her Mercury prize-nominated album effortlessly with a voice and style made for the stage.

Fans of the star have watched her go from strength to strength over the past year, from being nominated for three Brits, performing at Coachella and now preparing for this year’s Glastonbury festival.

As someone who frequents gigs like they’re going out of fashion, it’s a bold statement but I think this may be one of the best I’ve ever experienced, and Olivia Dean can only be described being a star.

Before we dive into the performance, it’s only fair to take a minute to shoutout what an incredible venue for music the Albert Hall is. The former Methodist hall projects and echos acoustics perfectly and the raised stage and balcony area mean everyone in the building has a good view.

It’s no surprise that given her recent success the show at the Albert Hall was a complete sell-out, appearing on stage in a stunning floor-length silk dress the sea of fans filled the venue with admiring applause.

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Olivia looked stunning in a floor length dress.
The crowd was mesmorised.

With a seven-piece band behind her, the star jumped straight into an atmospheric UFO before a cheery ‘How are we Manchester?’ and raising a can of Red Stripe. She quickly follows with Ok Love You Bye – a track that gets the whole crowd singing along and contemplating their past love decisions (maybe that last bit was just me).

The singer seamlessly glided through her set with ease, tambourine in hand, wowing fans with gorgeous melodies and relatable lyrics.

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Gracefully sitting at the piano the room fell to silence as we heard Everybody’s Crazy and I Could Be a Florist, I’d predict I wasn’t the only person crying at this point.

As the evening rolled on and the songs kept coming the genuine talent Olivia has, not just as a singer but as a lyricist, had the crowd hooked on her every word. Of course she ends with Dive, the standout track from the album that perfectly depicts how it feels to fall in love.

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Olivia Dean 2024 setlist

  1. UFO 
  2. Ok Love You Bye
  3. Echo
  4. Danger
  5. Cross My Mind
  6. Be My Own Boyfriend 
  7. What Am I Gonna Do on Sundays?
  8. No Man 
  9. Messy
  10. Touching Toes 
  11. Everybody’s Crazy 
  12. I Could Be a Florist 
  13. Ladies Room 
  14. Reason to Stay 
  15. The Hardest Part
  16. Carmen

Saying her goodbyes with a ‘I’ve had such a lovely evening’ and telling the crowd how happy she is to be back home in the UK after recent shows in America.

Experiencing Olivia Dean at Albert Hall felt genuinely special, the star is destined for a life time of deserved fame but her voice was made to be experiences in an intimate venue. The opportunity to enjoy her talent in such a perfect venue was nothing short of a divine evening.

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Manchester football fans warned of rise in resale ticket scams ahead of FA Cup final

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester football fans are being warned of a rise in resale ticket scams ahead of the FA Cup final in a couple of weeks time.

History is repeating itself and tensions are building by the day, as Manchester United and Manchester City are facing each other in an all-Manchester final of the Emirates FA Cup at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 25 May.

And, to no surprise, it’s set to be a massive day for football fans in our football-obsessed city.

2023 was the first time the two Manchester clubs battled it out for the FA Cup title in the final in the 151-year-old football competition’s illustrious history, and it was victory for the Citizens, with the trophy was formed a crucial piece of their treble-winning season… but, in what seems to be a repeating turn of events, 2024 is the year of the re-match.

As you’d probably expect, once it was confirmed that United and City would face each other again in the FA Cup final this year, tickets for the match sold out instantly, and there’s only a handful of restricted view seats left now.

Despite Manchester City having even warned that any fans who are found to have resold their ticket will face a ban, there are, however, countless resale sites and individuals are flogging their seats online. 

This is why the digital payment experts at takepayments are urging any fans hoping to travel from Manchester to London for the final to remain vigilant, and make sure they are armed with the knowledge and tips that’ll prevent them from falling for fraudulent ticket scams.

“The FA Cup Final is one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the season and there is always huge demand for tickets,” explained Jodie Wilkinson, who is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at takepayments.

“Unfortunately this means ticket touts will be looking to sell seats at inflated prices, as well as conning fans out of their money with fraudulent tickets, or stealing their bank details using a fake resale site.”

Manchester football fans have been warned of rise in resale ticket scams ahead of FA Cup final / Credit: The FA

She explained that while buying tickets by credit or debit card does cover fans under Section 75 and Chargeback Rules – which is where their card provider could help recover the cost of goods or services if they do not receive what they paid for – paying cash for a ticket doesn’t have the same protection if the ticket ends up being unauthorised.

Research from Lloyds Bank ahead of the new football season last year revealed that the majority of football ticket scams tend to take place on social media platforms via bank transfers, but unfortunately, Jodie admitted that it can be “extremely difficult” to recover money lost from bank transfer scams, as in most cases, victims willingly transfer payment to a fraudster’s account.

“It’s important to only buy tickets from a secure ticket resale site and never send anyone you don’t know and have only spoken to on social media money,” Jodie concluded.

She also said that secure eCommerce websites will have “certain card payment security measures in place” to prevent people from getting scammed, and that fans should be aware of these security measures before making any payments.

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), 3D Secure Authentication, and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certifications, are some of the most common measures sites put in place.

More information on card payment security measures can be found on the takepayements website here.

Manchester United and Manchester City will battle it out to be crowned champions in the final of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday 25 May.

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Kick-off is at 3pm, and the game action is to be shown live on both BBC One and ITV.

Featured Image – The FA

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Parts of ‘extremely busy’ road into Manchester city centre to close for improvement works from this week

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Lane closures will be in place on an “extremely busy” road into Manchester city centre from this week, it has been confirmed.

As part of the ‘Streets For All’ programme being carried out across the city and wider Manchester borough by Manchester City Council, several road improvements are set to be introduced in Oldham Road between Bengal Street and Portland Street – which is just north of the city centre, and described as being “well-used” by the public.

The Council has confirmed that the project to improve the roads and footpaths along the “key road” in the Ancoats area is expected to begin today (13 May).

The first phase of the project starting from today will take up to three weeks to complete.

Some of the improvement works being carried out from today include the improving the safety of cycleways, improving crossings and footpaths across Oldham Road to provide additional safety to any pedestrians crossing, and the installing of new traffic signals at the junction of Oldham Road and Radium Street.

Single lane closures on both carriageways of Oldham Road, between Bengal Street and Poland Street, will be in place from this week while the first phase of the project is carried out.

Manchester City Council says it’s working with its partners to “minimise disruption” as best as possible, but is still advising that people plan their journeys ahead of time.

Parts of ‘extremely busy’ road in Manchester city centre to close for improvement works from this week / Credit: Google Maps

“As part of our ongoing work across the city, we are looking at ways to make journeys safer for all our residents and improve transport links along key transport arteries,” explained Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Environment and Transport at Manchester City Council, ahead of the works commencing this week.

“The Oldham Road corridor is an extremely busy and well-used stretch of road, providing a link to Ancoats and the city centre, which is why it’s important that this work takes place.

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“Updates will be provided as the work progresses, and as ever I’d advise people to plan their journey in advance to make sure any disruption can be minimised.”

According to the Council, the improvement scheme is expected to be completed by this autumn.

Featured Image – Google Maps

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