It’s been a year since the Live from Wythenshawe Park kicked off its first-ever event and now the new gig series returns for its sophomore edition and the return of true Manc music royalty in the form of New Order.
Set to play the massive Greater Manchester park, which boasts a max capacity of roughly 30,000, this weekend, New Order will be just the second headliners to ever grace the outdoor venue.
Fellow Manchester icon Noel Gallagher smashed Wythenshawe’s opening day festival in August 2023, proving to be one of the biggest local music events in decades as tens of thousands of natives descended upon the fields, so they’ve got a tough act to follow.
That being said, when you’ve got the people behind not one but two of this city’s greatest-ever groups in New Order and Joy Division before them, we’re pretty confident it’ll be a walk in the… well, you get it. Here’s everything you need to know about New Order Live from Wythenshawe Park this Saturday.
First things first, do you still have a chance of grabbing tickets for New Order at Wythenshawe Park this weekend or are you just going to have to cling on to ‘True Faith’ of picking up a spare?
Not to worry, the big bonus about huge open-air gigs like this is the capacity is just as enormous as the name, so there are still plenty of ticket options.
General admission is priced at £61.60 plus booking fees and VIP tickets – which grant you faster entry, a dedicated bar for drinks and additional food traders, plus a chill-out area – will set you back £137.50.
Oh, and in case you hadn’t just heard, just a day later Stockport iconic Blossoms will also be playing their biggest-ever headline show in the very same field, so you can even opt for a full weekend pass at £89.60 if you’re hoping to head to both. Whatever your tier, you can grab yours HERE.
Who is supporting New Order at Wythenshawe Park?
It’s going to be a jam-packed 24 hours of live music too, in case you weren’t aware; the whole thing kicks off in the early afternoon and is more of a day festival than it is your typical gig.
Taking the stage first for the weekend will be local alternative outlet Kyris, Tyneside’s finest Nadine Shah still fresh off her latest album back in February, as well as the incomparable Irish songstress Róisín Murphy and, of course, The Smiths guitarist turned solo star Johnny Marr.
I mean, come on, how good a set of openers is that? You’ll be plenty warmed up come time for New Order to close out the show.
As for when you can expect these wonderful artists to perform, stage times are always subject to change but this is the current schedule you’re looking for the Live from Wythenshawe Park 2024.
3:50pm — Kyris
4:50pm — Nadine Shah
6pm — Roisin Murphy
7:30pm — Johnny Marr
9pm-10:50pm — New Order
The venue’s curfew is 11pm, so you can expect to be exiting the fields not long after New Order wrap up and with plenty of time to catch the last raft of public transport services.
Setlist
We’ll have a clearer idea of New Order’s full running order when they play the first date on the current set of summer shows in Cardiff as part of The Bay Series on Thursday, 22 August, but you can always turn to trusty old Setlist.fm to get a decent idea of the average track selection.
Have a look below to see what they played at a gig in California back in November, but you can also see a more recent festival slot HERE.
Tristan und Isolde: Prelude & Liebestod (Richard Wagner song)
Touched by the Hand of God (God Biff & Memphis remix)
Crystal
Regret
Age of Consent
Ceremony
Restless
Isolation (Joy Division cover)
Your Silent Face
The Perfect Kiss
Be a Rebel
Sub-Culture
Bizarre Love Triangle
Vanishing Point
Plastic
True Faith
Blue Monday
Temptation
Encore:
Atmosphere (Joy Division cover)
Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover) — obviously…
Last but not least, there’s just the small matter of getting there. While we’d always recommend travelling as green as possible/using public transport where you can, there are still some car park tickets that you can pre-book online from 10am this Thursday.
As for those of you catching a ride, there is yellow signage to the north of the site which will lead you to the pick-up/drop-off point on Wythenshawe Road, M23 0AB.
There are also three tram stops to choose from: Wythenshawe Park, Moor Road and Baguley. However, it’s worth noting that both the Park stop and Baguley will be closed from 10pm so you won’t be able to get back home this way.
Finally, you can always catch one of the shuttle buses back into the city centre, which will set you back just £3.50 on the day. The service will be operating in a loop from Sale and the city centre, running from 1pm-8pm on the way to Wythenshawe Park and then from 8pm-1:30am when heading home.
For more information, you can find all the up-to-date travel stuff HERE or check out (TfGM) Transport for Greater Manchester’s guidance and even use their interactive map below.
Featured Images — Warren Jackson (supplied)/Audio North
Audio
Beloved British boy band Five are BACK in FULL for the first time in 25 years
Danny Jones
No, your eyes don’t deceive you: all five members of the beloved British boy band Five are set to reunite for the first time in a quarter of a century.
Formed way back in 1997 and dominating the charts throughout the period in and around the millennium, the iconic pop group was the UK’s answer to the Backstreet Boys and NSNYC, as well as a much-needed replacement for Take That just after their split.
And they did exactly that for a number of years, with hit tracks like ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Keep On Movin”, ‘Everybody Get Up’, ‘If Ya Gettin’ Down’ and more still firmly stuck in our memories.
It doesn’t matter how long it’s been, we still remember all the words and the dance moves to go along with them – and we’ll be able to prove it when the Five UK reunion tour comes to Manchester.
Although the London-formed group has reformed every now and again in different configurations over the years for special occasions, anniversary events, etc., this is the first time that the original lineup has been together for 25 whole years.
That’s right, Abz Love, J Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon will all be reuniting on stage for a limited UK arena tour – because anything less simply wouldn’t be enough to mark this throwback celebration.
More importantly, if you don’t think every single one of these massive rooms is going to sell out in a flash, then you clearly can’t count to five.
As for the Manchester crowd, fans will be welcomed inside the equally legendary AO Arena for the ‘KEEP ON MOVIN’ 2025’ Tour later this year and we can’t wait.
Fellow domestic DJ and producer Naughty Boy will also be joining them as the main support act. We’re rolling back all the memories this autumn.
You can see the rest of the tour dates below, including equally massive shows at The O2 in London, the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, a First Direct Arena date in Leeds and more.
We really can't wait to get back on stage together and see you all in person, it's gonna go OFF!! Let's goooooo! International fans, make sure to sign up there so we know where in the world you are too 👀
Scott says: “This has been a long time coming and it really does feel right for all of us now – 25 years on and we’re so ready for it. Reconnecting as a 5 over the last year has been special and I know I speak for all the boys when I say we can’t wait to do this all over again. Hope you’re ready!”
Another fifth of the throwback boy band, Abz, added: “We really can’t wait to get back on stage together & see the fans, it’s gonna go OFF! Buzzing to have Naughty Boy on tour with us too… 5 bad boys and a naughty boy, that sounds like a lot of fun. Let’s gooooo!”
General admission for Five’s 2025 UK reunion tour goes live on Friday, 7 March from 10am but die-hards can access the exclusive pre-sale window on Wednesday, 5 March by signing up for the mailing list.
2000s indie rock icons The Enemy continue comeback trail with must-not-miss UK tour
Danny Jones
For fans of old-school indie and noughties contemporary rock, you do not want to miss the one because The Enemy are not just back making music but they’re heading out on a pretty big UK tour and, of course, they’ll be stopping right here in Manchester.
The Enemy first reformed back in 2022 for a limited run of shows, but it turns out the Coventry-formed trio were satisfied with a one-off reunion and a fifth studio album officially being worked on, the fierce Brit rock throwbacks have announced a series of pretty large UK tour dates.
Following on from some hugely successful comeback performances at TRNSMT, Isle Of Wightand a headline slot at Godiva Festival 2023, not to mention the instantly hit ‘Indie Til I Die’ shows last year – including an absolute stormer at Victoria Warehouse – they returning for more.
One of the few bands to make their way back to the live music circuit fully intact, with all three members still performing together, nothing has changed other than a few more grey hairs.
If you weren’t there at the outset, The Enemy’s debut LP We’ll Live And Die In These Towns (2007) was one of the most seminal domestic releases of its time, with songs like ‘You’re Not Alone’ going on to become indie anthems of the era.
To be honest, we’d argue their sophomore outing Music For The People just two years later is the better album, with tracks such as ‘Be Somebody’, ‘Elephant Song’ and ‘No Time for Tears’ still in plenty of our playlists to this day – but, you know, each to their own.
The point is, we’re very glad these lads are back and having played with everyone from Oasis and The Killers to even The Rolling Stones, we’d wager lots of other music lovers are too.
Set to play New Century Hall in Manchester as well as the legendary Leadmill in Sheffield, Beckett Students’ Union in Leeds, Rock City in Nottingham and more, it’s going to be a big tour.
We're absolutely buzzing to be back on tour & in some of our all time favourite venues.
We'll be trying out new material for the first time in years ahead of the new album we're making, we're all really excited to try some new tunes and see what you think whilst we finish it!
Frontman Tom Clarke, who has put out two solo records of his own in past years, said of the announcement: “We’ve been working long days in the studio recording new material, so we’re really excited to get out on the road again.
“The plan is to experiment with some of the new tunes, maybe different ones on different shows to see how the crowds react and which ones connect with fans, and let that guide the track listing on the record which is nearing completion.”
Co-songwriter and bass player, Andy Hopkins, added: talking about the upcoming tour: “My favourite part of being in a band is having those nights with the fans where the atmosphere is electric – I think this tour is going to be really special for the 3 of us.
“It’ll be the first time we’ve been back to some of these cities in a long time, in venues we absolutely love and have been really important to us on the way up – Electric Ballroom was the first venue we ever played in London supporting The Fratellis, I drove us there with all the amps & guitars in my Fiesta!”
The Enemy come to New Century, one of our favourite live music venues in all of Greater Manchester, on Saturday, 1 November.
Pre-sale has already been snapped up in the blink of an eye, which is no surprise whatsoever, but general admission will go live from 10am this Friday, 28 February.
Danny Jones -
20th August 2024 
