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Ne-Yo announces huge Manchester gigs on UK tour with Mario as support

The Miss Independent singer is back.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 17th November 2023

Ne-Yo has just announced details of a huge UK tour, including two night in Manchester.

Setting millennial hearts aflutter, the R&B star will perform at the AO Arena with support from Mario.

Three-time Grammy Award-winning Ne-Yo is bringing his Champagne and Roses tour to the city in 2024, as well as venues in Leeds, Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Newcastle.

The news comes as the star wraps up a sold-out tour of the US and in support of his eighth album Self Explanatory.

Since releasing his debut album in 2006, Ne-Yo has sold 20+ million albums worldwide and racked up hits including Sexy Love, Closer, Because of You, Miss Independent, So Sick and Push Back.

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The Las Vegas-born star has also written songs for stars like Rihanna, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Carrie Underwood, and Celine Dion, among others.

His award-winning lyrics include: “Just one touch and I erupt like a volcano and cover her with my love.” The noughties were a weird time…

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Ne-Yo will be joined on his tour, including his Manchester gigs, by R&B legend Mario, the man behind iconic hit Let Me Love You as well as his recent collaboration with Chris Brown on Get Back.

Ne-Yo has announced a huge UK tour including a Manchester date
Ne-Yo has announced a huge UK tour including a Manchester date. Credit: Publicity picture

Mario also starred in films including Step Up, and on the small screen in Empire.

Tickets for Ne-yo’s Manchester show will go on sale at 9am on Friday 24 November from See Tickets here.

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Tickets for his second date go on sale from 9.30am on Friday 1 December through See Tickets.

Ne-Yo’s UK Champagne and Roses tour dates in full

  • Thu 7 March 2024 – Manchester AO Arena
  • Fri 8 March 2024 – Leeds First Direct Arena
  • Sat 9 March 2024 – Cardiff Utilita Area
  • Mon 11 March 2024 – Newcastle Utilita Arena
  • Wed 13 March 2024 – London The O2
  • Thu 14 March 2024 – Birmingham Resorts World Arena
  • Tuesday 19 March 2024 – Manchester AO Arena

Featured image: YouTube

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Government to introduce price cap on ticket touts and launch consultation on dynamic pricing

Danny Jones Danny Jones UK government to introduce re-sale ticket price cap and dynamic pricing consultation against touts

The UK government are finally set to install a price cap on re-sale tickets for touts and open an official consultation on the growing trend of dynamic pricing.

If you’ve bought a ticket to a live music show over the past year or so, you’ll have noticed that ticket prices in general are on the up – particularly if purchased from a reseller, in which case you might have paid through the nose for the privilege.

Not only does ticket touting remain a prevailing problem in the industry, with tonnes of tickets for big shows, especially, being snapped up in bulk or by bots and listed for re-sale before you’ve even added them to your basket, but the advent of this new dynamic pricing lark has made things even harder.

You only have to look at the controversy and chaos surrounding Oasis’ reunion tour, which ultimately saw some fans paying significant amounts more for practically the same ticket just a few days later in what many dubbed as ‘fraud’ and even ’emotional blackmail’.

Justin Timberlake at Co-op Live Manchester was one of countless gigs where ticket prices fluctuated. (Credit: The Manc Group)

Tackling resellers head-on

Knowing full well that people will go to extreme lengths to try and see the musicians and artists they love so dearly – in some cases being backed into a corner as the final figure displayed on the screen when they checkout suddenly jumps up – the modern ticketing industry is severely broken.

In fact, in the case of Oasis, more than 50,000 tickets were actually cancelled and re-listed for sale given the inordinate and completely extortionate levels of ticket touting.

With all that in mind, the government are now looking to enact more stringent measures on resellers, by announcing a new price cap on tickets put back up for sale which is set to be introduced (hopefully) in the very near future.

Targeting sites infamous for inflating re-sale costs such as Viagogo, StubHub and others, the bill published on Friday, 10 January proposes a price cap of face value plus 10-30% but no more, with an obvious aim to keep that number as low as possible.

According to the current figures, touts reportedly cost music fans alone more than £145 million in extra re-sale fees when purchasing tickets every year – a frankly ridiculous sum. There will always be tickets ending up on re-sale sites, that’s unavoidable, but a price cap could seriously improve the situation.

Oasis break silence on dynamic ticket pricing controversy for reunion tour
The Manc music legends themselves claim they had little control over the situation.

Down with dynamic pricing

Labour, who were voted into power back in July, are also set to try and combat dynamic prices, which essentially sees gigs and events set people back more or less depending on how the popular ticket sales have been up to that point, market trends and general demand. An initial review was called for last year.

Put simply, the more people want to attend a gig, platforms like Ticketmaster feel they are able to jack up their margins even after the initial price point has been established. The European Commission has been investigating these methods since September 2024.

Although it is still unclear as to the exact time scale of when these changes will come in, Labour MP Chris Bryant told NME that although they are still in the early stages, it is “now just a matter of how the government takes action.” And that’s where you come in.

The consultation is also crucially public, with the calling for people to submit their evidence on current pricing practices and continue engaging in the discussion throughout the progress. New Year’s Resolution: let’s curb ticket touts as much as we possibly can.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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The AO Arena is giving away FREE tickets for a year to celebrate 30 years in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Spice Girls performing at the AO Arena Manchester

The AO Arena has announced it’s giving away free tickets for a year to celebrate its 30th anniversary in Manchester.

The iconic music venue has welcomed the biggest names in the world in its three decades, with millions of us making memories for life inside its huge space.

And now you could win VIP tickets for an entire year, simply for sharing those memories with the AO Arena.

Fans who submit their old photos, videos and tickets will be in with a chance to win tickets to all the shows coming up in 2025 – which already includes massive gigs like Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry and Busted vs McFly.

AO Arena wants to dig deep into ‘first gig’ nostalgia territory, using fan-submitted snaps to build a collection of Manchester memories.

Were you in the same room as Taylor Swift, did you party like it was 1999 (because it was) with Spice Girls, did you cry over the sight of Gary Barlow or cry laughing with Peter Kay?

Britney Spears at the AO Arena
Beyonce at the AO Arena
Britney Spears and Beyonce are among the names who have performed at AO Arena in its 30 year history. Credit: Supplied

Whatever your AO Arena memories are, you can share them before the end of the month to be entered into the competition to win VIP tickets for the year.

One overall winner picked at random will get the ultimate VIP experience, including access to a premium suite and The Beautiful North, as well as access to The Mezz with panoramic views of the main stage.

The 30th birthday campaign has been inspired by Adele’s monumental When We Were Young performance at Glastonbury, and all these memories will be projected around the arena before every performance.

You can submit your footage and enter the competition via the AO Arena website HERE.  

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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