The big day is fast approaching: local lads and global music sensation, The 1975, are returning to Manchester with a massive gig at the AO Arena this weekend.
In case you haven’t already caught wind from the endless clips online, the genre-defying band are currently on a massive world tour simply entitled, ‘At Their Very Best‘, and it looks to be their biggest and boldest yet.
With scenes from their performances across the US and UK are being plastered all over social media night after night, it’s clear that these shows aren’t just like any other ordinary gigs. These lot are putting on a creative, show-stopping spectacle and soon Mancs will be able to see it live.
Rocking up to the legendary venue on Friday, 20 January, the Wilmslow-born outfit will not only be playing tracks from their latest album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, but they will also belting out some of their biggest hits.
Judging by sights like these, you’re not ready and neither are we:
Yeah, if you’ve got a ticket for Friday, you’re gonna have a good time.
That being said, while we firmly believe that no viral clip or prior 1975 shows can prepare you for what’s about to come, we’re still going to do our best to let you know everything they have in store on Friday — to the best of our knowledge, anyway.
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Tickets (we have some bad news…)
As if you haven’t guessed already, these tickets are absolute gold dust and sold out almost instantly, so coming across a spare will take some doing.
On the other hand, we love a trier, and you could always get lucky and spot one on resale sites like Twickets or TicketSwap but, as always, be 100% sure you’re buying from a trusted page and not getting ripped off.
Getting a hold of one of these things is hard enough, we don’t need you adding to your own stress by falling for a scam.
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The 1975 support acts
Bonnie Kemplay
As for The 1975’s warm-up acts at their Manchester Arena gig, there has only been one confirmed support artist: Edinburgh singer-songwriter Bonnie Kemplay, who covered their smash-hit ‘If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)‘ in the BBC Radio Live Lounge back in 2021.
Having joined them for the UK and Ireland legs of their 2023 tour calendar, the 19-year-old songstress has been chronicling her experience on tour with the headliners on social media.
Signed to the same label as The 1975, Dirty Hit Records — where frontman Healy is also the creative director — she is clearly one for the future and has been well-received while opening up for the main event. Watch this space.
Special guests?…
While just one support might sound somewhat surprising for a show of this size, it is also worth mentioning that all manner of special guests have popped up and delivered some incredible performances in various cities across Britain and America so far.
As well as a cameo by Phoebe Bridgers and even guitarist Adam Hann’s wife Carly Holt finally joining the band on stage for her part in ‘About You’, those watching The 1975 first night at the London O2 were treated to Taylor Swift just casually popping up and doing a quick acoustic set. As you do.
With that in mind, we obviously can’t predict who might make a surprise appearance at the Arena gig but given the stops they pulled out for London, we’re betting they have something even bigger up their sleeve for their home gig.
Some fans even think we could get a bit of Harry Styles given that he is and local lad and was spotted at the first London gig. Who knows?
The 1975 stage times
Now, for those wondering what are the set times for The 1975’s AO Arena concert, although the night is jam-packed, they manage to get it all done in around four hours.
With doors opening at 6:30pm, giving you time to grab a drink and maybe some merch on the way in, opening act Bonnie Kemplay will spend just under an hour warming up the crowd.
The band are then due to take to the stage at approximately 8:30pm, with the show expected to end around 10:40pm. On the other hand, Matty does whatever he wants in these gigs so they could go well beyond that, just fair warning.
‘At Their Very Best’ setlist (we think)
Following the release of the new record back in October, fans can obviously expect to hear Being Funny in a Foreign Language (BFIAFL) in full, all played in order with a couple tracks from previous albums breaking up things in between.
Then, after running through the 12 new tunes, the band will be diving into their biggest bangers, with a total of at least 25 songs on the current setlist which even includes cult-favourites like ‘fallingforyou’, ‘Paris’ and the ‘An Encounter’ interlude from their self-titled debut.
Here’s is roughly what they have been playing so far:
The 1975 (BFIAFL version)
Looking For Somebody (To Love)
Happiness
Part Of The Band
Oh Caroline
I’m in Love With You
All I Need To Hear
Roadkill
I Couldn’t Be More In Love With You
fallingforyou
I Like America & America Likes Me (‘Real World’ version)
About You
When We Are Together
If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)
TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME
Chocolate
It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)
Paris
INTERLUDE: An Encounter
Robbers
Somebody Else
Love It If We Made It
The Sound
Sex
Give Yourself A Try
There’s a bit of everything on here, with some of the strongest moments from each of their five albums highlighted. After all, it is The 1975 ‘At Their Very Best’. However, it goes without saying that they have been mixing things up as they go to keep fans on their toes, like so:
Last but not least, if there’s one thing we do know will happen during The 1975’s AO Arena gig, it’s simply whatever Matty Healy wants.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock over the past few months, you’re bound to have heard at least one story of the ever-eccentric singer, songwriter and guitarist getting up to all sorts during this tour.
From sucking people’s thumbs and checking their IDs before bringing them on stage to give them a snog, to getting his chest tattooed live on stage and eating a raw piece of steak in between songs, it’s certainly one of the more out-there productions you’ll see on a Friday night of live music.
The band are always striving to be artistic and push boundaries — the use of the beautifully designed set on this tour alone proves that — but sometimes the stuff that sticks with you the most is the simple things, the random moments only that city got to witness and, of course, the memes.
We hope you enjoy repeating 'don't like menthols' over and over again for the rest of your life. 👍😂https://t.co/ygOP1oET1Y
We are fortunate enough to be going along to watch The 1975 at the AO Arena later this week, so be sure to your eyes peeled on our main Instagram and Manc Audio feeds for a glimpse of the show.
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As for their intimate Gorilla gig scheduled on 1 February, it’s hard to believe anyone managed to cop tickets for that one, so well done to those of you who did.
Nevertheless, we look forward to shouting “don’t like menthols” when the moment of truth arrives (if you know, you know) and, hopefully, we’ll see a few of you there on Friday.
An unmissable Whitney Houston tribute event is returning to Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
A much-adored and cherished Whitney Houston tribute show is returning to Greater Manchester later this year for not one but two different shows, each channelling the charisma and energy of the pop legend.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the phenomenal theatre production, ‘Queen of the Night’, the show is visiting a multitude of stages and venues all across the UK.
0161 had to receive at least one date on this tour, partly due to being the music capital of the North and also due to the fact that this is a city many fans of the 80s diva will forever hold close to their hearts.
Houston played her final ever concert performance of her career here in this very city back in 2010, taking up residence in AO Arena for two nights of world-renowned ballads and mesmerising live vocals.
This tribute show is set to include some of the diva’s biggest and much-loved hits like ‘I Will Always Love You’, ‘How Will I Know’ and ‘The Greatest Love of All’, the audience is sure to be singing along.
Adenike Adewale is taking on the role of the American R’n’B Pop singer and is no stranger to the stage or TV, featuring on The Voice in 2021 where she sang a Whitney classic, making it to the semi-finals.
Fast forward to 1 June and the tour returns to Greater Manchester and legendary city centre space, Bridgewater Hall: an incredible room more than fit for renditions of the powerhouse vocalist.
A pair of stunning venues, two stunning shows and one incomparable voice.
It’s not only our lovely region the Queen of the Night experience will be visiting; our friends over at The Hoot have plenty of nearby opportunities to sing along too, with Yorkshire dates in Hull, Halifax, Harrogate and Bradford to name a few.
I’m definitely saving all my love for when this show visits us later this year in March, and after I buy out the front row for all my friends I’ll certainly relate to the smash 1993 single ‘I Have Nothing’.
Tickets are on sale already now – you can grab yours HERE.
Better Man has bombed at the box office – but is the Robbie Williams biopic any good?
Danny Jones
So, Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man has been out for a little while now and the question on many people’s lips – you know, apart from ‘why is he a monkey?’ – is, quite simply, is it any good?
Many of you may have already seen it, others may have absolutely no interest in hearing about Robbie‘s already well-publicised exploits (be they in ape form or otherwise), or maybe you’ve just been waiting to hear whether it’s any good before heading out to the cinema.
Well, if you’re judging it purely by the current headlines circulating online, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s absolute rubbish. So far, Better Man has ‘tanked’ at the box office, making just over $1 million compared to a budget of nearly $110m (£90.8m).
However, given how pivotal the US viewing figures are, a big chunk of the commercial disappointment has come down to Americans largely not knowing who Robbie Williams even is and it’s no surprise that it’s done a little better here in the UK – though still not stellar. But again, ticket sales aside, is it good?
Better Man – Review
I wasn’t sure a (very good) CGI monkey Robbie Williams film was going to be any good either based solely on the trailer, but they nailed it.
*Once again, some spoilers ahead – though it is his life story, so we’re not really spoiling anything…
I’ll start this off by admitting that for all his foibles and controversies of the years, I am a Robbie fan; his music was always on in my house as a kid and well into my teens. Being born in the mid-90s, he was probably one of the first big pop stars to ever enter my world.
Growing up obsessed with football too, a charismatic, mainstream rock and roll-spirited figure in the mainstream who also loved the beautiful game and even took influence from chants heard around the grounds in his songwriting always made him extra appealing to me.
All that is just to say that I’m fully aware there’s probably some bias here, so I’ll still try to be as impartial and ‘objective’ as you can be with a film review. But back to the point, the short answer is yes: it’s good – very good, in my opinion.
If you’re similarly fond of the frenetic, funny and ferocious showman, you’ll obviously have a vested interest in looking back on his career thru a (somewhat simian) Lens, but even if you’re not, I still think you can get a lot of of the film and a greater insight into a captivating life story.
Monkey see, monkey do—make me sad, very sad…
This scene (among many) had us welling up. (Credit: Paramount Pictures)
For starters, put simply: as daft as it may seem, the monkey thing does work. It may come across like a strange gimmick when you first see the trailers but it doesn’t take much digging to realise that there’s quite a well-thought-out three-pronged approach behind it.
One of the first things the 50-year-old singer said on the press tour for this film is that he’s always felt “unevolved” and it’s something that’s brought up a couple of times in the film itself, so making him an ape rather than a modern Homo sapien is one way to way to communicate that.
Plus, not only does it obviously make any sad moments – and there are a lot of them – even more emotional and tear-jerking, especially during the scenes during Robbie’s childhood, but it also plays into the sad reality that he’s felt like a performing monkey for the majority of his life.
When you stop and think about the reasoning behind it feels a lot more considered than on first impression, and it certainly helps you empathise and, more importantly, sympathise with the troubled character you’re seeing on screen.
Robert vs Robbie
A very clever movie poster to boot.
And that’s pretty much the rub right there: this was always going to be at least a somewhat self-indulgent watch, not just because it’s a biopic but because it’s Robbie and that’s what his persona is about – but it is and always has been a performance in every sense of the word and the film does a great job of trying to distinguish ‘Robbie’ from Robert.
From seeing the origins behind being given that name specifically, his younger years and affectionate albeit mostly fraught relationship with his father; how the boom of Take That engulfed his entire world and even more so once he went solo, as well as the version of himself he’s shown to the world for last three decades, it’s clear he’s often struggled to find the line between the two himself.
It’s also very important to state the cheeky, cocksure Robbie Williams you were expecting to watch the rise of throughout this biopic has wrestled with a much lower opinion of himself than you could ever imagine. It’s a driving force behind the film and manifests in all manner of problematic and unpleasant ways, just as it did in real life. You see him see a lot of them in the crowd throughout the duration, in fact.
Because for anyone who isn’t aware, a lot of Robbie’s experiences are problematic and unpleasant; the early days as a boyband commodity, his substance abuse, struggles with mental health and beyond are all laid bare on screen in fairly graphic detail at times. A lot of the situations these issues spring from would feel hard to believe were it not for the fact it’s a true story with very little embellishment, if at all.
Manchester references are a bonus
One of the things that did stand out as a particularly surreal aspect of the film was the handful of references to Robbie’s intersection with Mancunian culture, which simultaneously felt familiar and somehow like going back in time to peep behind the curtain at a world that very few saw first-hand.
Again, the behind-the-scenes examination of how Take That transpired and those very dangerous, inappropriate and frankly unlawful series of events in nightclubs over on the likes of Canal Street feels like a fever dream (as it did for Robbie).
Perhaps the biggest buzz we got was the not-so-surprise appearance by the Gallagher brothers and ‘The Robster’s obsession with Oasis. The look is exactly what you’d expect and Liam‘s accent might not be perfect but it still gave us a thrill without feeling like pointless lip service.
All that being said, is the much-talked Robbie biopic a good enough film to warrant popping out to the pictures? Well, I’d certainly say so. Not only are the visuals and the CGI itself pretty flawless, but the motion capture is done so well that it never felt like I was taken out of the film at any point – even the very particular Stoke and Cheshire accents of Robbie and Gary Barlow are very convincing.
We knew there was going to be lots of humour too but there’s also a lot of impressive stuff the director does that I wasn’t expecting.
One of those is the transitions: there are lots of clever tonal switches done with great camerawork and effects (particularly during one driving sequence and some of the flashback frames) and they really do help covertly shift the mood so some of the darker moments don’t give you full on whiplash.
And lastly, the director’s fingerprints can be felt all over the movie as Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman pedigree certainly makes sections of the film feel more like a musical than I was expecting – but in a good way. Big bold cabaret choreography fitting of the man himself.
After all, we all know most Robbie tunes are bangers but seeing them brought to life in these new and interesting ways really does make Better Man a better film than we’d even hoped for and it’s certainly good enough to be performing a lot better than it is at the box office right now. Maybe give it a go.
As far as I’m concerned, big stunning set pieces like this are just the tip when it comes to what makes the Robbie biopic a good film.
Danny Jones -
18th January 2023 
