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
A first look into the highly-anticipated TV soap crossover ‘Corriedale’ has just dropped
Thomas Melia
The wait is nearly over for TV soap fans, as producers behind the highly-anticipated ‘Corriedale’ crossover have just dropped an exclusive first look.
Whether you’re team Coronation Streetor team Emmerdale, this show has all areas covered as it merges both the iconic TV soaps into an hour-long special.
Now, it feels like Christmas has come early as pictures of two very distinctive cast members smiling next to each other while filming the crossover episode have been released.
In the newly-released images we can see Vicky Myers, known for playing the assertive and dedicated DS Lisa Swain, representing the Manchester-based production Coronation Street.
Vicky Myers (DS Lisa Swain) and Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle) pictured together ahead of upcoming TV soap crossover Corriedale / Credit: ITV Press Centre (Supplied)
Stood by her side is Danny Miller known for his role as the complex and vulnerable Aaron Dingle in Leeds-based hit soap Emmerdale.
Both can be seen on-set and are pictured in front of a white trailer filming for the upcoming Corriedale special.
Although the shows are set just a one hour’s drive away from each other, separated by The Pennines, this soap special marks the first time that characters from each drama will have ever crossed paths.
Most details for this soap crossover are being kept very tight-lipped although filming kicked off in September with this latest update marking the first-ever major cast announcement for Corriedale.
ITV Executive Producer for Continuing Drama Iain Macleod said: “It’s beyond exciting that filming is under way on Corriedale.
“There is a massive buzz around both the Leeds and Manchester sites and the images coming out of the shoot are utterly spectacular. And that’s before we’ve even got to all the brilliant transpennine interactions between characters from the different shows!
“As a soap fan myself, I think my head is going to explode when the episode airs next year. It will be mind-blowing, historical and unmissable.”
Corriedale is coming to our TV screens in early 2026 and heralds the start of a new soap power hour with 30 minute episodes of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale to air every weekday.
The Karate Kid – The Musical, inspired by the iconic 80s film, is coming to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Iconic 80s film The Karate Kid has now been reimagined as a stage musical – and it’s coming to Manchester next spring.
The Karate Kid – The Musical will be heading out on its UK premiere tour in 2026, including a run of dates at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The musical follows the same themes as the original, legendary 1984 film, a coming-of-age story that follows the relationship and teachings between Daniel LaRusso and Mr Miyagi.
It’s not just about karate, it’s about resilience, mentorship, and the quiet strength that bridges generations, and on the stage you can expect movement, music, and energetic storytelling too.
The original blockbuster starred Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita and has gone down in history as one of cinema’s greatest films, earning Morita an Academy Award nomination.
It’s become a major global franchise, including three movie sequels, a remake with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, and a Netflix series (Cobra Kai).
The Karate Kid – The Musical made its world premiere in 2022, selling out theatres and earning rave reviews.
Those iconic cinematic moments are brought to life on the stage by a Tony Award-winning design team.
The Karate Kid – The Musical is heading on a major UK tour before it hits the West End and Broadway.
It’s written by Robert Mark Kamen, screenwriter of the original 1984 movie, with music and lyrics by Drew Gasparini.
Kamen says: “William Goldman said about Hollywood “No one knows anything.” He was right.
“Who knew that 43 years after I wrote the original script for THE KARATE KID, we would see these very same characters acting and singing on the British stage in a story that is as fresh and universally relevant as it was four decades ago.”
The Karate Kid – The Musical is at the Palace Theatre from Tuesday 12 to Saturday 23 May 2026, with tickets on sale now HERE.
The Manc -
20th October 2020 
