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Take That add SEVENTH Manchester date despite grumbles over ticket prices

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Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 4th October 2023

Take That are basically moving into Manchester’s Co-op Live arena next spring it seems – the pop trio have just added a SEVENTH date to their run in their home city.

Their first shows sold out at light speed and Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen have added even more dates to their This Life On Tour tour.

Take That will now be gigging at Manchester’s soon-to-open Co-Op Live arena on 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12 May – then coming back for more on 11 and 12 June.

They’ve also added a sixth date at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, bringing their tour up to 41 dates across the UK and Ireland.

The trio will be joined by Olly Murs as the support act in Manchester.

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The phenomenal ticket sales come despite a fair few grumblings about Take That ticket prices, which started as soon as the pre-sales went live.

With prices between £69 and £129.50 for general admission, and up to £242.70 for VIP packages, fans have labelled the pricing structure ‘crazy’.

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The smart bowl at Co-op Live arena. Credit: Supplied

One person wrote (and I don’t know why she’s directly targeting Gary Barlow here): “Wow, @GaryBarlow the price of the Take That tickets are totally out of reach for a lot of us this time round . Two tickets approx £490, that’s a food shop for 5 weeks . Enjoy the profits.”

Another person said: “You know what @takethat you don’t need to charge a bloody fortune for the tickets, you’ve got enough cash yourselves and not every artist does it. I went to see Paolo at the Hydro 3 times for the price of 1 ⫩ ticket Ripping off your fans! Tickets are 4 times the price of 2015.”

Someone else said: “Prices are crazy…first time in 30 years that I’m not even trying for tickets.”

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Another person commented: “Prices are ridiculously expensive, I got through to buy tickets for Birmingham but refused to pay £70 to sit at the very back of the arena.”

General sale tickets for Take That’s newest date are available through Co-op Live from 9.30am on Friday 6 October, and you can grab them here.

Take That are heading on a huge tour including seven nights in Manchester

Take That tour dates for Manchester’s Co-op Live arena in full

  • Tuesday 7 May – SOLD OUT
  • Wednesday 8 May – SOLD OUT
  • Friday 10 May – SOLD OUT
  • Saturday 11 May – SOLD OUT
  • Sunday 12 May – SOLD OUT
  • Tuesday 11 June 
  • Wednesday 12 June

Take That ticket prices for Manchester

  • Take That Premium Floor Seat Package (includes a gift, a limited-edition city-specific signed print, a souvenir laminate, and an exclusive VIP tote bag) – £242.70 including booking fees.
  • Take That Premium Tiered Seat Package (includes a gift, a limited-edition city-specific signed print, a souvenir laminate, and an exclusive VIP tote bag) – £242.70 including booking fees.
  • Seats – £129.50
  • Seats – £107.50
  • Seats – £91.00
  • Seats – £69.00

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Featured image: Publicity picture

Audio

Inspiring new 360° immersive David Bowie experience to open in Manchester

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant David Bowie: You're Not Alone

Music lovers will get a glimpse inside the mind of a creative genius when a new immersive experience opens later this year.

Factory International has this week announced its programme of events for the upcoming autumn-winter season, and by far one of the stand-outs on the list has to be the return of Lightroom for a new 360° experience called David Bowie: You’re Not Alone – which is set to immerse audiences in the iconic performances and creative mind of one of the world’s most visionary and influential artists.

Bringing together a wealth of visual material from a wide range of sources, the experience combines rare performance footage, photography, drawings, lyrics, personal notes, and audio recordings from the late Bowie himself. 

You’re Not Alone will showcase some of Bowie’s landmark performances that redefined popular culture, using a mix of iconic, rarely seen, and even never-before-exhibited material.

Selected from thousands of hours of film in the vaults of the David Bowie Archive in New York, you can expect to see everything from Space Oddity and Diamond Dogs, through to Heroes, Black Star, and more.

Each track has been newly reconfigured by multiple Olivier and Tony award-winning sound designer, Gareth Fry, to utilise Lightroom’s specialised spatial audio system.

The 360° experience is set to be both a multimedia spectacle and an intimate self-portrait in one, giving audiences a unique insight into Bowie’s perspective on the subjects that were most important to him, like theatricality, spirituality, songwriting, and the transformative power of creativity.

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David Bowie: You’re Not Alone is being made in close collaboration with, and has been authorised by, the David Bowie Estate.

It’ll run at Aviva Studios from 8 December 2026 through to 10 January 2027.

Featured Image – Supplied

Audio

Parklife has quietly added a major DJ set from Happy Mondays’ Bez

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Bez has quietly been added to the Parklife 2026 line-up

Parklife has quietly added a DJ set from Bez this afternoon, joining an already stacked festival line-up.

Eagle-eyed users of the Parklife app (aka, us) have spotted that as the big weekend nears, a few new stages have popped up on the plans.

And that’s included a new Beatbox Stage, which on Saturday will host a mega set from the icon that is Bez, from Happy Mondays.

Bez isn’t the only nostalgic name who’s been added to the line-up for Saturday – the Beatbox Stage will also host a set from Artful Dodger.

The 2000s garage icons will be taking to the stage at 3pm for a set that will hopefully include their massive hits like Moving Too Fast, Re-Rewind (with Craig David), and Woman Trouble.

On Sunday, the newly-added Beatbox Stage will be hosting DJ Fat Tony, who you might know for getting stuck into the middle of the Beckham family feud – but he’s also one of the most in-demand A-list DJs, having spun for icons like Madonna, Prince, and Elton John.

Parklife has also quietly added a few secret sets to the bill, which we’ll be keeping a close eye on.

They join existing Parklife headliners including Calvin Harris, Zara Larsson, Chris Stussy, Sammy Virji, Skepta, and East End Dubs.

On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June, thousands of music-lovers will be flocking to the fields of Heaton Park ready for this year’s instalment of Parklife.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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