A seedy looking sex shop that was dreamed up for a Peter Kay TV series nearly 25-years ago, took on a life of its own after the cameras stopped rolling.
15.05.2024 - 11:19 / nme.com
Elbow.The venue – which has a capacity of 23,500 and is the biggest indoor arena in the UK – has been plagued by issues over recent months, and has experienced countless delays when it comes to opening.Originally, the arena was set to open officially three weeks ago with an opening gig from comedian Peter Kay, however this, along with many other planned shows, were postponed at the last minute.Now, the venue has finally opened its doors to the public and seen Elbow become the first act to complete a scheduled date in the venue’s calendar.Guy Garvey and co. received an enthusiastic response from the crowd last night (May 14) and made references to the long-running issues that have loomed over Co-Op Live in recent weeks.“Good evening Manchester! Let’s open this venue properly shall we?,” the frontman said at the beginning of the gig, opening with ‘Things I’ve Been Telling Myself For Years’.
“Everybody who’s been working on this building has been so excited today – so nervous and so excited.”Garvey added: “There was already electricity in the air before you lot got in here, and now it’s thoroughly amped up. I hope you can feel it.”Elbow opening the co-op live pic.twitter.com/2jSSD10xfR— Manchester Gigs (@ManchesterGigss) May 14, 2024From there, the band launched into various fan favourites from across their catalogue, including ‘Balu’, ‘Lover’s Leap’ and ‘Grounds For Divorce’, before closing off the gig with ‘One Day Like This’.“What do we make of this amazing room everybody? How do you feel about christening it?” Garvey said midway through the gig, making reference to the delays in the run-up to the show.“We’re extremely very proud – thanks for helping us do it.
A seedy looking sex shop that was dreamed up for a Peter Kay TV series nearly 25-years ago, took on a life of its own after the cameras stopped rolling.
Nicki Minaj’s show at Manchester’s Co-Op Live tonight (May 25) was cancelled after she was arrested in Amsterdam earlier in the day.The rapper was due to take her ‘Pink Friday 2’ live show to the venue as part of her ongoing UK and European tour, but she was unable to make it to the gig after the events in the Netherlands.Minaj livestreamed her own arrest this afternoon, as she appeared to be detained by Dutch police for allegedly “carrying drugs” while travelling between countries. The Dutch National Police Corps confirmed that she had been arrested, but that she had since been released.Doors at the Co-Op Live opened at 7pm, with Minaj due on stage an hour later.
After weeks of uncertainty and a string of setbacks, Manchester’s long awaited Co-op Live arena finally opened its doors on Friday night with a stellar performance from Bury based band Elbow. The headline act delighted audiences with a special performance to mark the release of their 10th studio album Audio Vertigo, and in the process made history as the first act to ever perform live at the new arena.
set to open three weeks ago with a performance from comedian Peter Kay, however this gig, along with a show by The Black Keys, was pushed back at the last minute due to the building not being ready.The delays continued from there, as organisers announced on May 1 that A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie‘s show was cancelled following a “venue-related technical issue”. Shortly afterwards, they also axed Olivia Rodrigo’s gigs – which left her “so disappointed” – as well as shows by Keane and Take That, with the latter relocating their dates to the rival AO Arena.Unsurprisingly, the slew of issues facing the arena led to music lovers coming forward to express their frustration at the postponements, and branded the venue as “Manchester’s own Fyre Festival”.The issue at hand was revealed to be due to part of the ventilation system falling from the ceiling during Boogie’s soundcheck, and the bosses of the venue being forced to keep the venue closed until it was safe.“If that was 15 minutes later, something catastrophic could have happened,” Tim Leiweke, chief executive of the arena’s operator Oak View Group, told BBC News.He also went on to explain that one of 95 pre-manufactured filters had fallen and landed in the standing area just before doors were set to open, and there had been “no way” to have known that it wasn’t installed correctly beforehand.Speaking with Financial Times, he went on to blame a shortage of labour workers at the venue for the series of delays, adding that organisers of Co-Op Live “couldn’t find people to work” to get the site ready in time.He echoed the sentiment to BBC too, explaining that the issue with the air vent was because those hired to install it “didn’t put the bolts in”.
Elbow have said they are “ready” to open the new Co-Op Live arena in Manchester tonight (May 14) following weeks of chaos at the venue.Guy Garvey and co. are scheduled to perform at the 23,500-capacity arena – which is the UK’s largest indoor venue – as part of their current UK headline tour.
Troubled Co-op Live is set to finally open its doors tonight. After a number of false starts, East Manchester's new £365 million venue, set to become the biggest indoor arena in Britain, will host its first full show with local heroes Elbow the headline act.
Peter Kay told him in response to the Manchester Co-Op’s continued delays which pushed the latter’s opening week gigs back twice.The brand new 23,500-capacity venue – the largest in the UK once it officially opens – has infamously been plagued by teething problems that have caused multiple delays.Comedian Kay was supposed to open the venue with gigs on April 23 and 24, but following a test event featuring Rick Astley on April 22, the gigs were “regretfully” pushed back to April 29 and 30 with the venue citing technical issues.The shows were then postponed a second time, with Kay now scheduled to perform on May 23 and 24. The comedian reacted by telling fans of his disappointed, sharing: “I know I can’t believe it either.”My apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready and so, as yet, remains untested for a large-scale audience.
Elbow’s upcoming show will now serve as the venue’s much-postponed opening night.Guy Garvey and co. are scheduled to play the arena, which is set to be the UK’s largest indoor venue with a capacity of 23,500, on May 14 as part of their current UK tour.The arena have had a disastrous few weeks, after a series of events prevented it from being able to open its doors on time.But the venue have now confirmed to Manchester Evening News that, “At this time, we do not expect further impact on our opening season.”The same report suggests that Co-Op Live are also still working on rescheduling Olivia Rodrigo’s postponed shows, with an announcement expected in due course.The BBC also note that the arena has completed an inspection which found that the fault that forced the A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie delay on May 1 was “isolated” and that the venue is now “satisfied” that the opening can go ahead on May 14.The inspection is said to have been carried out by the same subcontractor, SES, that was also responsible for installing the arena’s air handling units.
Andy Burnham has said the opening of Co-op Live has ‘not been handled well’ after the 23,500-capacity venue suffered a nightmarish start to life.
performances from Peter Kay on April 23 and 24. However, following a test event with Rick Astley, the comedian’s gigs were moved to April 29 and 30 due to a failed power test.
stand-up performances from Peter Kay on April 23 and 24. Following a test event with Rick Astley, however, the comedian’s gigs were postponed until April 29 and 30 due to a failed power test.A Black Keys gig that was scheduled for April 27 later had to be pushed back to May 15, and the Kay dates were delayed for the second time.Last night (May 1), A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s concert was cancelled at the last minute because of a “venue-related technical issue” before it was confirmed that Olivia Rodrigo’s shows at the Co-Op Live this Friday and Saturday (May 3, 4) had been postponed.
NME, dubbing the situation “just a joke at this point”.Yesterday (May 1) thousands of people made their way, again, to Manchester’s new Co-Op Live, the recently-built “largest in-door arena” in the UK. With a grand opening that’s been marred by pushbacks, reschedules, controversial comments about grassroots venues being “poorly run”, and the executive director resigning: the new gig space has been beleaguered by a series of chaotic issues.Aside from a test event featuring Rick Astley for which some tickets were cancelled, reducing the audience to 11,000, the venue has yet to run a show successfully on the day it was originally scheduled.It was supposed to open with performances from Peter Kay on April 23 and 24, but the shows were moved to April 29 and 30 due to the venue’s power testing falling “a few days” behind schedule.
Olivia Rodrigo has spoken out about her upcoming shows at Manchester’s Co-Op Live being postponed at the last minute, saying that she is “so disappointed” by the news.The pop star was set to perform at the new arena in Manchester tomorrow night (May 3) and Saturday (4) as part of her ongoing ‘GUTS World Tour’.However, just two days before the shows were set to go ahead, an update was shared from the venue organisers, confirming that the dates had been pushed back due to ongoing technical issues at the arena.It marked the latest in a series of shows that have been delayed due to ongoing issues with the opening week for Co-Op Live. Originally, the 23,500-capacity arena, located opposite the Etihad Stadium, was supposed to open with performances from Peter Kay on April 23 and 24.
a performance by rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie last minute due to a “venue-related technical issue”.The venue announced just 10 minutes after doors had opened that the show could no longer go ahead due to technical problems. “We kindly ask fans to leave the area.
BBC, Mark Davyd (CEO of the Music Venue Trust) said he was to meet with the Co-Op Live once the venue was up and running. The meeting comes amongst the furore with Co-Op Live’s executive director Gary Roden, who suggested some grassroots venues were “poorly run” whilst discussing the case for a £1 ticket levy to preserve them.Davyd later criticised Roden’s comments, pointing out the average age of the artists booked to play at the venue was 52: “The average length of time it takes for a British artist to be booked to headline the Coop Live Arena from the date of the release of their first album is 30 (THIRTY) years.
Mark Sutherland It’s not often that a new venue dominates U.K. music industry conversation, but that’s certainly been the case with the opening – or not – of Oak View Group’s new Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
marred by issues ahead of its launch, with both Peter Kay and The Black Keys being forced to postpone their shows at the last minute.The 23,500-capacity venue – now the largest arena in the UK – has faced numerous controversies and teething problems in recent weeks, including arena boss Gary Roden’s own resignation.Speaking to The Telegraph, Leiweke said it could be up to a year before plans become official. As for location, the investor said: “If you guessed Hammersmith, it would be a good guess.“We’re pretty focused on a particular site.
Peter Kay has revealed he is 'gutted' after it was revealed he'd be postponing his opening performance for Manchester's Co-op Live. On Monday, April 22, the arena announced that the comedian's performances.
In the shadow of Manchester's mammoth new arena, a sea of workers in hi-vis jackets and hard hats are rushing back and forth.
As construction work continues around him, Tim Leiweke's optimism is unwavering.