Nearly half a year ago, Manchester band M60 began a social media campaign to start tagging Manchester United legend turned pundit Gary Neville every single day until he listens to their music.
And, you know, since we’re all about supporting local artists, we thought we’d do our bit by pecking his head in too.
We’ve seen the Manc indie outfit live a couple of times now — including their headline set at Gorilla back in 2023 (at the time their biggest gig to date) — and they’ve never disappointed, be it the performance or their ever-growing cult following of loyal fans.
That being said, we feel we’re only doing Gary Neville and all of you lot a public service by joining them in their efforts to get their name out there. Plus, we’re enjoying all the different ways they’re managing to keep things interesting:
Yep, nearly half a year into these shenanigans and somehow M60 tagging Gary Neville is still funny to us.
If you’ve never come across them before either, the four-piece is made up of a bunch of mates from various towns around the region and is fronted by vocalist and lead guitarist Matthew Morton. Alliterative names always make us think of superheroes and their tunes often make us feel like that too.
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Playing together since their high school days and named after the massive Greater Manchester motorway from 2015 onwards, they’re best known for tunes like ‘I Don’t Mind’, ‘Honey’, ‘Darling’; ‘Fade Away’, ‘Kool-Aid’ and plenty more.
They also recently released their latest debut EP, How Did You Get There? and trust us, it’s a belter. Morton once described their sound as ‘Sweet Mancunian indie rock‘ and we couldn’t sum it up any better ourselves. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Which is exactly why we want ‘r Gary to get on them too.
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Also, we’ve found the whole journey very funny up until this point, so long may it continue — not too long though; we actually really want him to become M60’s newest and biggest fan through sheer persistence and pestering by the local band and yours truly. And by all means, feel free to join us in the good fight.
The local lads themselves have joked about becoming more well-known simply by embracing themselves as the “Gary Neville meme band” as the days pass, but the strategy is still kind of working nonetheless and with more new music on the way, why stop now?
We want to see Gary’s phone blowing up non-stop, right up to the point that he gets more annoyed than he did in that infamous clip of somebody passing his phone number and simply has to see what all the fuss is about it.
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We’re hoping it’s only a matter of time now, after all the ex-footballer is all about Manchester music, having famously chosen The Stone Roses for United’s walkout song and recently inviting another up-and-coming North West artist up on stage at the Apollo. Come on, Gary, we’re counting on you.
And if you’re looking to discover more new artists from in and around Greater Manchester, you can check out the new series spotlighting just that down below.
Featured Images — Press Image/Sky Sports (via screenshot)
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DMA’s confirm highly anticipated Hills End 10th anniversary tour dates
Danny Jones
Indie favourites DMA’s have finally confirmed their highly anticipated Hills End anniversary tour, celebrating 10 years since their breakout debut album with several UK dates – including Manchester.
The Aussie band beloved by Brits and music fans all over have been teasing a reveal of some sort over the past weeks, but now the news is official.
Up there with the Sydney music scene’s finest exports right now, DMA’s have always had a strong following over here, but especially so up North and Manchester in particular, with their youthful, uplifting and moving style often striking up similarities to our own indie rock roots.
Revealing details of the Hills End 10th anniversary shows on social media this Monday, the talented trio have confirmed a number of Northern gigs.
Besides us Mancs being the first stop on the run of live shows (honoured, of course), perhaps the most exciting part about this announcement is that this will be the very first time DMA’s will be performing their maiden LP live in full.
At this time, we’re not sure whether or not they’ll be playing from start to finish in order, but either way, fans are understandably very excited; you can consider us here at Audio North firmly included in that group, by the way.
We’re sure we don’t need to remind you lot reading this per se, but cherished tracks from the record obviously include ‘Delete’, ‘Lay Down’, ‘In The Moment’.
They’ll also be playing working-class outposts like Newcastle and Glasgow, as well as paying a visit to our friends over at The Hoot in Yorkshire. You can see the full list of shows down below.
DMA’s Hills End 10th anniversary tour 2026 – UK dates
February
Friday 06 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
Saturday 07 – NX, Newcastle
Sunday 08 – O2 Academy, Birmingham
Tuesday 10 – O2 Academy, Bristol
Thursday 12 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
Saturday 14 – O2 Academy, Leeds
Monday 16 – O2 Academy, Glasgow
May
Thursday 21 – Rock City, Nottingham
Friday 22 – UEA, Norwich
What an album this is.
“The UK has always felt like a second home for us. Hills End was where our story really began overseas, so it feels right to come back and celebrate it with the fans who’ve supported us from day one.”
Literally almost a full decade on from its release, the DMA’s anniversary tour kicks here in Manchester next Feb and, as of yet, no support act has been confirmed.
Tickets go on sale at 9am this Friday, 17 October; You can get ready to grab your tickets HERE.
Johnny Marr announces huge hometown show at Castlefield Bowl
Danny Jones
Johnny Marr is the latest act announced for next year’s Sounds of the City (SOTC), with the Manchester music legend set for a massive hometown show at Castlefield Bowl.
Not that we’re getting carried away or anything, but the SOTC 2026 lineup is already shaping up to be arguably one of the best ever.
With The K’s confirmed as the first band playing the annual outdoor festival in the city’s stunning amphitheatre, and other names now starting to fly in, the iconic Manc musician becomes number three on the roster.
Detailing his huge homecoming gig on Monday, 13 October, the legendary guitarist and songwriter is coming to Castlefield Bowl next summer.
I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be performing a hometown show at Castlefield Bowl on Thursday, 9 July 2026.
Presale begins Wednesday, 15 October at 10am BST, with general on sale from Friday, 17 October at 10am BST.
While he might be best known for his time with The Smiths, Johnny Marr has remained a noteworthy session player and featured artist alongside various artists ever since.
More importantly, he’s been releasing solo material for well over a decade now, with his recent Look Out Live! compilation record – made up of recordings from his London best of show – having only just dropped this past September.
Better still, he’s bringing fellow native indie and alternative band, Everything Everything, along for an all-Mancunian evening under what we hope will be sunny skies.
As big fans of both here at The Manc, we cannot wait for this one.
In case you missed the previous reveal, number two on the multi-date Sounds of the City lineup is another genre-defining name, as The Streets are set to play Castlefield Bowl once again, having last played the bucket list venue back in 2021.
As for ‘Misery Moz’s mate, the 61-year-old will be coming to the 10-day live event on 9 July, in between The K’s and Mike Skinner’s entourage.
Fans can land early access by signing up for presale via the official Johnny Marr mailing list from 10am this Wednesday, 15 October BST, while general admission tickets will be available from the same time on the following Friday (17 Oct).
Danny Jones -
2nd March 2024 
