Blondie will play at Manchester’s AO Arena next year as part of their first UK tour in over four years.
The seminal rock band are booked to perform 10 dates over 15 days in November 2021 – visiting cities across England, Wales and Scotland.
Blondie will be supported by Garbage – the Shirley Manson-fronted rock group with more than 17 million album sales to their credit – for the second time, having already performed side-by-side on their “Rage and Rapture” tour of North America in 2017.
Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry said: “Next year’s UK tour is more meaningful to me perhaps than the very first time Blondie played there in the mid ’70s.
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“The UK has always been a special place to us, and being able to come back to perform there after sitting out most of 2020 is very exciting.”
She added: “All tours are rarely the same, however, I really hope the new Blondie/Garbage concert events are even better. I have always been a fan of Garbage (and of Shirley Manson dating back to her days in Goodbye Mr Makenzie).
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“Along with Butch, Steve, Duke and Eric this band set the stage on fire. I can’t wait to play these shows with them!”
Crowds will get the chance to see live performances of ‘Heart Of Glass’, ‘Atomic’, ‘Tide Is High’, ‘Maria’, ‘Sunday Girl’, ‘Rapture’ and ‘Call Me’, with the band also set to play songs from the latest album Pollinator– which reached Number 4 on the UK charts.
Garbage
Harry’s bestselling autobiography, FACE IT, was released at the end of last year to overwhelming praise, with the paperback edition set for release in Autumn 2021.
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Also coinciding with the new tour is the first Blondie Archive project in the band’s history: “BLONDIE 1974-1982: Against The Odds”. This will be released in four formats and include extensive liner notes, “track by track” commentary by the entire band, complete discography, and unreleased bonus material.
Tickets for the Against The Odds tour go live to pre-sale customers on Wednesday 21 October at 10am.
A second pre-sale will take place on Thursday 22 at 10am, before a general sale 24 hours later.
The full tour dates for Blondie are as follows (all dates are in November 2021):
Sat 6 – M&S Bank Arena Liverpool
Mon 8 – Utilita Arena Birmingham
Tues 9 – AO Arena Manchester
Thur 11 – Bonus Arena Hull
Fri 12 – Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Sun 14 – The Brighton Centre
Tues 16 – Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Thu 18 – The O2 Arena London
Sat 20 – The SSE Hydro Glasgow
Sun 21 – First Direct Arena Leeds
What's On
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving for the first time over 20 years
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving locations for the first time over 20 years.
Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex at the heart of Manchester Museum’s Fossils Gallery, is on the move from one historic building to another, as he leaves his home in the Museum next spring for a spectacular residency in a Grade II-listed Edwardian swimming pool.
That’s right – the famous dinosaur is heading on holiday to Victoria Baths, where he’ll be on display in the Gala Pool, marking the first time he has left Manchester Museum since arriving there in 2004.
The process of moving Stan to Victoria Baths is already being tipped as a ‘gargantuan task’.
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving for the first time over 20 years / Credit: The Manc Group
It’s expected that the move will take a team of specialists a full week, as at 12-metres long and 3.7-metres tall, big boy Stan is roughly the size of a double decker bus and his bones must be dismantled and reassembled in a strict order to ensure counterbalance and stop him from toppling over.
During the residency at Victoria Baths, Stan will be on display to the public but will also act as the centrepiece for a full programme of events – with more details set to be announced soon.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for people to experience this incredible Tyrannosaurus rex in an entirely different context,” explained Georgina Young, who is the Acting Director at Manchester Museum.
“Not only is Victoria Baths breathtakingly beautiful, but their team will bring renewed creativity to encounters with Stan.”
Anthony Baker, CEO of the Victoria Baths Trust, added: “Victoria Baths would like to state for the record that we did not invite a T-Rex skeleton into our Grade II-listed swimming pool. Stan has made his own arrangements and we are simply going along with it.
“He is insisting that we open our doors for free so that as many people can visit him as possible and it is very difficult to say no to a giant dinosaur, especially when he asked so nicely.”
Stan the T-Rex will be at Victoria Baths from 22 March to 19 April 2027, and he’ll be free to pop in and say hello to.
Featured Image – Stephen Gidley (via Flickr)
What's On
Full list of road closures for Manchester Village Pride 2026
Emily Sergeant
The full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Village Pride this weekend have been released.
Manchester Village Pride is a beloved celebration of LGBTQ+ life in Manchester, known for bringing thousands of people into city centre every August bank holiday weekend for four fun-filled, glitter-covered, disco-driven days… and although 2026 may look a little different to usual, you can always count on the city to welcome everyone in.
Every year, the lineup offers a wide range of activities for the LGBTQ+ community and allies to join together and celebrate, as well as provide opportunities to advocate for equality, engage families and young people, and celebrate queer arts and culture.
This year’s event is set to kick off this Friday 28 August and round out on bank holiday Monday (31 August).
🏳️🌈 On Saturday [29 August], it's the #PrideParade so you'll see plenty of rainbows in the city centre.
To allow the parade to take place: – There will be road closures in place – Some buses may operate on diversion – Trams in the city centre may experience minor delays
And of course, for the celebrations to all take place as safely and seamlessly as possible, a number of road closures and restrictions will need to be put in place, and Manchester City Council has now published a list of everything you need to know.
It’s advised that anyone making their way into and around the city centre this weekend use other modes of transport – such as buses, trams, and trains.
But for those who need to drive, you’ll want to pay attention to this list before setting out on any journeys.
The full list of road closures for Manchester Village Pride 2026 has been released / Credit: The Manc Group | Supplied
Saturday 29 August
All roads in this list will be closed from 6am to 7pm:
Liverpool Road (Water Street to Deansgate)
Wollam Place (30m south of Liverpool Road to Liverpool Road)
Potato Wharf (Castlefield Hotel entrance to Liverpool Road)
Old Medlock Street
Lower Byrom Street (40m north of Liverpool Road to Liverpool Road)
Duke Street (Rice Street to Liverpool Road)
Stone Street (Liverpool Road to Bridgewater Street)
Barton Street (Bridgewater Street to Tonman Street)
Southern Street (Bridgewater Street to Liverpool Road)
Bridgewater Street (Collier Street to Deansgate)
Tonman Street (Liverpool Road to Longworth Street)
Saturday 29 August
All roads in this list will be closed from 9am to 7pm:
Deansgate (Trafford Street to Peter Street)
Quay Street (Little Quay Street to Deansgate)
Peter Street (Deansgate to Oxford Street)
Camp Street (Deansgate to Longworth Street)
St James Street (Deansgate to Longworth Street)
Jerusalem Place (Jacksons Row to Deansgate)
Marron Place (Jacksons Row to Deansgate)
Watson Street (Windmill Street to Peter Street)
Museum Street (Windmill Street to Peter Street)
Mount Street (Windmill Street to Bootle Street)
Southmill Street (Windmill Street to Bootle Street)
Lower Mosley Street (Windmill Street to Oxford Street)
Oxford Street (Peter Street to Whitworth Street)
Chepstow Street (Great Bridgewater Street to Oxford Street)
Portland Street (Oxford Street to Abingdon Street)
Princess Street (Faulkner Street to Whitworth Street)
Whitworth Street (Beaver Street to Fairfield Street)
Samuel Ogden Street (Bombay Street to Whitworth Street)
Sackville Street (Bombay Street to Whitworth Street)
Fairfield Street (Whitworth Street to London Road)
Minshull Street (Fairfield Street to Aytoun Street)
Back Acton Street (Fairfield Street to Ebden Street)
Minshull Street (Fairfield Street to Ebden Street)
Bus lanes will also be suspended on Bridge Street from Gartside to New Bailey Street, Whitworth Street West from Deansgate to Albion Street, and Portland Street from Princess Street to Newton Street, on the Saturday (29 August) too – running from 6am to 7pm.
The Manc -
20th October 2020 
