If ‘Red Light Spells Danger’ then Billy Ocean live in Leeds spells a quality night of music as far as we’re concerned.
It’s time to go ‘Calypso Crazy’ as legend and all-round hitmaker Billy Ocean is making his way to first direct arena Leeds to celebrate his latest tour ‘The Very Best of Billy Ocean’.
Whether you’re there to party the night away with Ocean and his stacked roster of hits or are hoping ‘There’ll Be Sad Songs’, you’re definitely in for a treat.
Amassing 12 UK top 40 hits and six top ten albums, Ocean has certified his place in the music industry and built himself a very impressive legacy.
Eva Rinaldi via Wikimedia Commons
Now he’s ready to spread even more ‘Everlasting Love’ as he embarks on his latest UK tour across music venues up and down the country.
Billy Ocean UK tour dates
Wed 11 June - Bristol, UK - Bristol Beacon
Fri 13 June - Brighton, UK - Brighton Centre
Sat 14 June - Blackpool, UK - Blackpool Opera House
21 June - Leeds, UK - first direct arena
23 June - Liverpool, UK - Liverpool Empire Theatre
25 June - London, UK - Royal Albert Hall
27 June - Wolverhampton, UK - University of Wolverhampton Civic Hall
28 June - Cardiff, UK - Utilita Arena
30 June - Nottingham, UK - Royal Concert Hall
2 July - Stockton, UK - Stockton Globe
4 July - Oxford, UK - New Theatre
5 July - Birmingham, UK - bp Pulse Live
Billy Ocean tickets for first direct arena gig
If you’re after a chance of catching the ‘Loverboy’ in the flesh, you’re in luck, there’s a good selection of tickets still for you to get your hands on HERE.
Billy Ocean setlist
One World
Love Really Hurts Without You
Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)
Stay the Night
Red Light Spells Danger
Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car
The Colour of Love
No Woman, No Cry
Mystery
Suddenly
Loverboy
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going
Daylight
Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)
What are the stage times for Billy Ocean in Leeds?
Image: Eva Rinaldi via Wikimedia Commons
First direct arena has a curfew of 10.30pm meaning concertgoers can be safe knowing they’ve heard a lifetime of hits without having to ‘Suddenly’ disappear before the clock strikes twelve.
Doors for ‘The Very Best of Billy Ocean’ are scheduled for 6pm with a kick off time of 7pm with support from German talent Ada Morghe who’s dropping an album of her own on 13 June titled ‘Pure Good Vibes’, how lovely.
How to get to first direct arena
Bus Station
Located on Dyer Street next to Leeds City Bus Station and approx. 15min walk from first direct arena and is wheelchair friendly.
Support and help for any persons with a disability is available as the station is a registered ‘Safe place’ to come into and ask for assistance.
Nearest Bus Stops
Clay Pit Lane
Wade Lane/Lovell Park Road
Woodhouse Lane
Nearest Train Station
Leeds City Station on New Station Street is around a 15min walk from first direct arena and a major hub on the national, regional and local rail network providing connections to a wide variety of destinations.
Parking
There are over 7,500 car parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the arena. The arena doesn’t have it’s own car park however there are lots of options nearby. To receive 5% off Q Park when attending a show at first direct arena click here
The nearest Car Park with EV charging is located on Albion Street click here.
None of the above car parks are operated by the arena so for questions, queries or comments we ask that you contact the companies directly.
Hiring Bikes in Leeds
If you’re looking to hire a bike in Leeds, here are some of the best options you can try:
Beryl bikes – you’ll find the ‘Leeds City Bikes’ from Beryl stationed throughout the city. These are all e-bikes, and they’re available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, and then 16p per minute to use them. We’d say these are great for zipping around the city and getting from A to B.
Talio – for a wider selection of electric bikes to choose from, Talio based at Buslinthorpe Green is a great option. From this company, you can hire cruiser bikes, mountain bikes, and cargo bikes. Prices start from £20 per day for rental, but if you’re hiring for a month or longer you’ll get a good discount.
Viral bakery Get Baked will be closing the doors of its Headingley bakery at the end of next month.
It’s safe to say that Get Baked is a proper Leeds success story, opening five years ago and fast becoming one of the most viral bakeries in the UK.
Customers had their fingers on the pulse to grab a slice of that oh so mighty chocolate cake week in, week out, and us locals felt very lucky to have a Get Baked on our doorstep.
But unfortunately, this won’t be the case anymore as today the bakery has announced they’ll be closing their Headingley site for good.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Owner Rich took to Instagram to announce the sad news, he said: “These are words I never envisaged myself writing, but I must share with you all the news that at the end of February, our Headingley store will be closing.
“When we opened the site 5 years ago, it was a requirement of the landlord that the lease was personally guaranteed — at the time I had little to lose, and didn’t think twice.
“Now our lease is up for renewal, with the same requirement for me to personally guarantee it — the difference being that I have a lot more to lose, and with a significant rise in rent and rates, paired with the obvious strains on hospitality that everyone’s more than aware of — I can no longer personally guarantee the lease.
"The new lease would mean that the price we lay out in Headingley would exceed the amount we pay for our site in Manchester City centre, which for the style of business that we are, is just madness.
"Being busy is no longer enough to make most hospitality sites work, you have to squeeze so hard to the point where there’s no real fun left — record sales weeks become less of a joy, and more of a necessity.
"For complete transparency, the business has grown to a point where we have to take £500,000 a month to break even — it’s very scary, but it’s all a result of the rapid growth that we’ve undergone over the last few years.
"We are extremely lucky to have a very strong online business. We serve thousands of customers every week delivering desserts all over the country — online is very much the future of GB.
"I have an enormous amount of gratitude for the teams that we’ve had in Headingley over the last five years — we’ve employed some incredible people that played a pivotal role in the businesses success.
"Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are — I’m extremely grateful. I must also thank our customers — when we relaunched the business from nothing in 2021, we were welcomed with open arms.
"OG customers from the previous iteration of GB came back like it had never left, it was truly remarkable. I’m conscious that Headingley serves some of our most loyal and regular customers, and I am so grateful to you all for your support over the years. We will close the doors on Saturday the 28th of February."
If you’re still looking to get your Get Baked fix, you can either order online or take a trip across the Pennines to visit their bakery in Manchester City Centre.
Leeds pub requests extended opening hours after Otley Run ban
Ownership The Hoot
A pub in Headingley which failed in a bid to join the Otley Run has applied for later opening hours.
You may remember back in December when The Golden Beam in Headingley requested to join the ever so famous pub crawl, The Otley Run.
The application was denied by Leeds City Council, but now they're focusing their efforts on a different application in a quest to extend their opening hours.
The pub which serves until 10:30pm on weekdays and midnight on Friday and Saturday, has applied to operate until midnight Sunday to Thursday and until 00:30 at weekends.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Leeds City Council will consider the application at a hearing next Tuesday 20 January.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, 22 objections have been made by locals and from Headingley and Hyde Park councillor Tim Goodall.
Goodall said in a letter: "Allowing the Golden Beam to open later is likely to lead to increased consumption of alcohol, which is then likely to lead to an even higher rate of drunk and disorderly crime."
At the hearing councillors will have the option of granting or refusing the application, or allowing it with additional conditions when considering the extended hours.
A spokesperson from The Golden Beam said: “The Golden Beam has extensive seating and lavatory facilities within the pub, CCTV throughout, no music, food availability until 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 11pm Friday and Saturday and highly trained staff."
Thomas Melia -
16th June 2025 
