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Rick Astley’s AC/DC drums cover crowned one of Glastonbury 2023’s best moments
He won over even his harshest critics.
Glastonbury has drawn to a close for another year.
As thousands of festivalgoers woke up bleary-eyed today after three days of eclectic shows, and with the usual massive clean-up operation now underway down at Worthy Farm, viewers and critics have been reflecting back on what was another successful year for the UK’s – and probably the world’s – biggest music event.
And by the looks of things, it seems one local star has stolen the show.
We are, of course, talking about none other than Rick Astley – who is now no longer a self-professed “Glastonbury virgin” after taking to the world famous Pyramid Stage on Saturday for one of the festival’s most talked-about sets.
It may have been 36 years since the iconic singer-songwriter from Newton-le-Willows first shot to fame with his massively-popular 1987 hit song ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, but Rick Astley is arguably a more prominent force in popular culture now than he ever has been before.
Over the past couple of years, the 57-year-old has been amassing new fans left, right, and centre, and has even claimed the strongest run of album chart positions of his entire career.
Fans will know that Astley had already teamed up with Blossoms to perform a selection of their favourite The Smiths songs back in 2021, and it went down so well the first time, that the Stockport indie rockers decided to bring Astley up on stage with them again for a surprise set to entertain the Glastonbury masses with some of the iconic Manchester band’s most well-known songs.
Taking over from Morrissey on vocals, Rick belted out some of the classics from The Smiths’ back catalogue – including ‘This Charming Man’, ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’, and ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’ – with the Stockport lads doing a brilliant job of providing the instrumentation.
But still, that’s arguably not what Astley’s Glastonbury debut year will be remembered for the most.
As it was his unexpected drums cover of AC/DC’s iconic 1979 classic ‘Highway to Hell’ that’s got viewers branding it one of the festival’s best moments.
As Astley took to the Pyramid Stage for his highly-anticipated Saturday slot, the enthusiastic showman had the expansive crowd in the palm of his hands and appeared to win everyone over with his impressive vocals – but it was when he took a seat behind the drum kit for the penultimate song on his setlist that he won over even his harshest critics.
“My respect for Rick Astley has gone through the roof after this,” one viewer wrote on Twitter.
And they weren’t the only one to take to Twitter to sing Astley’s praises, as social media was flooded with viewers complementing his unexpectedly good drumming talents, and his set as a whole.
“I didn’t know how much I needed to see Rick Astley crushing AC/DC’s Highway to Hell on the drums at Glastonbury,” another fan wrote on Twitter.
Someone else even called Astley “the human equivalent of flare jeans” as both are “making a comeback in 2023”, while another person called the cover a “legendary performance”, and more fans called to “Protect Rick Astley at all costs.”
One fan wrote on Twitter in praise: “Watching him play every instrument in every genre while covering vocals without mimicking the original singer like a single trick cover band singer is really quite something.
“The man appears to just love music.”
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“Rick has been one of the pleasant surprises of Glastonbury,” another fan summed it up best, adding that he’s “a proper ray of sunshine.”
Featured Image – BBC
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The K’s book Castlefield Bowl for their biggest ever headline show
Danny Jones
High-flying indie rock outfit, The K’s, are set to play a landmark headline show right here in Manchester, as the local lads have been confirmed as the first act for Sounds of the City 2026.
The cult favourite working class heroes from down the road in Newton-le-Willows have had an incredible couple of years, climbing their way up the ranks around the North, playing bigger venues and festivals up and down the country, and now they’re on a fully-fledged European tour.
It’s been brilliant to watch their rise thus far, and we couldn’t be more buzzing to hear that they’ve booked none other than Castlefield Bowl for the single largest standalone gig of their careers to date, and you can bet The K‘s army will be out in full force.
Announced alongside another massive outdoor venue this week, the toast of Earlestown will be one of several artists set to play the Sounds of City (SOTC) concert series next year.
Confirming Castlefield Bowl alongside the magnificent Piece Hall in Halifax for summer 2026, the four-piece will make their way from Merseyside, not only down the M62 to Manchester but over to Yorkshire for what is one of the most stunning outdoor venues in the country.
These two incredible atmospheric amphitheatres are not only incredible spaces for live music, but in the case of our very own city centre stunner, Castlefield Bowl boasts a capacity of approximately 8,450 – making it comfortably The K’s biggest show yet.
Having opened for the likes of Blossoms at Live From Wythenshawe Park last year, and playing huge festival slots at the likes of Kendal Calling back in just last month, they’re no strangers to big crowds – but this will be something special.
Speaking of Kendal, we were in the field ourselves when the group got to revel in the moment of announcing their second album, Pretty On The Internet, had reached number one just in time for their main stage set.
You can watch the magical moment down below:
Official artist presale access will be available this Wednesday, 17 September from 9:30am by signing up to their mailing list, but general admission tickets for both dates will go live at 9am the following Friday (19 Sep).
You can get ready to grab yours HERE.
Once again, we can only say well done on the number one; having been there to discuss their debut record’s release while they threw plastic balls around a room, we couldn’t be more gassed to see how far they’ve come.
‘SYDTF x’
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Featured Images — Press shot (supplied)/Audio North
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Lewis Capaldi announces huge outdoor Manchester gig at Wythenshawe Park next summer
Emily Sergeant
Lewis Capaldi has announced a run of huge outdoor shows next summer, and he’ll be stopping off here in Manchester.
After unprecedented demand saw one of the biggest-ever rushes for tickets across both pre-sale and general sale earlier this year, Lewis Capaldi is currently blazing through a triumphant 200,000-ticket sold out 17-date UK arena tour as we speak – and is set to take to the Co-op Live stage for two huge Manc gigs this weekend.
But he shows no signs of slowing down soon, as he has today announced his biggest ever UK and Ireland headline gigs for next summer.
Wythenshawe Park is fast becoming one of Manchester‘s go-to outdoor gig venues, and Lewis’s visit next summer is only helping the reputation, as the Scottish 28-year-old will be headlining the park for one night only next August.
The announcement of the run of summer outdoor shows comes amid Lewis’s first return to touring in two years following his triumphant Glastonbury 2025 return after an extended break to take care of his mental health break, and following the release of his comeback track ‘Survive’, which shot to the top of the UK charts and became the fastest-selling single of 2025.
The response to Lewis’s current tour has been ‘electric’, according to critics, who have been unanimous in their praise for him.
Prior to his comeback, Lewis played a run of Scottish warm up shows in May that saw him return to the stage as a guest of mental health charity CALM, in celebration of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Lewis Capaldi – Summer Outdoor Gigs 2026
- Wednesday 24 June – Marlay Park, Dublin
- Friday 26 June – Thomond Park, Limerick
- Sunday 28 June – TX Maxx presents Live at Powderham, Exeter
- Tuesday 30 June – Blackweir Fields, Cardiff
- Saturday 4 July – American Express presents Roundhay Festival, Leeds
- Saturday 11 July – American Express presents BST Hyde Park, London
- Thursday 20 August – Vital, Belfast
- Saturday 22 August – Wythenshawe Park, Manchester
With no pressure and no level of expectation, the shows allowed Lewis the space to gauge his comfort and emotional response before returning to the spotlight – a move which ended up proving nothing short of a triumph.
Lewis Capaldi will be coming to Wythenshawe Park in Manchester on Saturday 22 August 2026, and tickets go on pre-sale this Thursday 18 September at 9am, before general sale commences the following day (Friday 19 September), again at 9am.
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Get your tickets here.
Featured Image – Supplied
