Music Festival News

The Manchester Evening News Arena is one of the most popular music venues and events venues in the country.

Upcoming events include World Championship Boxing - Amir Khan & Alex Arthur, Nickelback, Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, WW£ Survivor Series, Lee Evans, Tina Turner and Many More

List of Manchester Evening News Arena Tickets

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The M.E.N.’s seating capacity is one of Europe’s most flexible for an indoor venue. It is often chosen by touring acts because its design and layout makes the venue ideal for any type of performance. The seating is split into an upper tier (bowl) and a lower tier, separated by 44 hospitality suites.

One of a new breed of all-girl groups, in a way The Slits epitomised everything that was great about punk, and in the process did a pretty good job of highlighting a few of those things that weren’t so great too. Formed in 1976 when future singer Ari Up (born Adrianna Forster) met drummer Palmolive at a Patti Smith gig, and on the spot decided to form a punk rock group; Tessa Pollitt and Viv Albertine were brought in soon after to complete the line-up. One of the very first all-girl groups to also play their instruments rather than simply sing, the ‘do-it-yourself’ attitude of the punk rock movement coupled with the fact that The Slits, in the beginning at least, were all women, meant The Slits greatly influenced succeeding generations of female musicians, perhaps more than is deserved on their limited recorded output.

Whilst they were by no means the first British Punk rock band (that accolade should probably go to Messrs Rotten, Vicious and co), The Clash, in the end, came to exemplify UK punk. With many other acts of the same era, the fury and vitriol was empty, a rebellion against everything; The Clash were political, idealistic, and, perhaps, most significant of all to their fortunes, they knew how to write a great pop song.

Sorry, it’s not a music festival… But it is an on-stage musical (yeah, there’s a connection there!), so I thought I’d share a quick review I did for Monty Python’s ‘Spamalot’ in November of last year.

On Wednesday evening I went to the Palace Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue to go and see Spamalot, the music al’lovingly ripped off’ from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Now I’m not going to tell you all about it, because that won’t be relevant, nor would it be to tell you we had literally the scariest seats known to man (it was like sitting on a cliffside, seriously), but I thought I’d just write a quick blog about the soundtrack.