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The Darkness announce huge arena tour including Leeds date
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The Darkness have announced their largest headline tour in 20 years, and they’re heading straight to Leeds.
The British glam rockers will be performing seven nights across the UK, including the First Direct Bank Arena.
The Darkness Band of Brothers Tour will include support from the Grammy Award-winning American country rockets Brothers Osborne, as well as UK rock band A.
Earlier this year, the band released their eighth studio album, Dreams On Toast, which has become their most successful album since their debut Permission to Land.
Permission To Land, which spawned the single I Believe in a Thing Called Love, has been revealed as the most successful British rock album of the 21st century.
They’ve been touring across Europe, Australia and the USA with their new music, and soon it’ll be time for their gargantuan headline tour.
The Darkness will be performing at Knebworth Park in support of Iron Maiden next summer, before The Band of Brothers Tour kicks off in winter 2026.
Frontman Justin Hawkins said: “Powerful rock was designed to be played in huge rectangular buildings. Huge rectangular buildings were designed to house powerful rock bands.
“The Darkness are a powerful rock band and the arenas listed below are huge rectangular buildings. Except for the exception which proves the rule. Thank you O2 Arena…
“In December 2026 this elegantly logical proposition will become a reality, driven by three bands consisting of seven brothers.
“Three of them are Perrys, from Lowestoft’s A. Two of them are Osbornes, from the Brothers Osborne. And two of them are my brother Dan and I.
“The Darkness, Brothers Osborne and A, veritable Bands of Brothers, rocking in a huge rectangular (or domed) building – what could be more powerful than that?”
The Darkness will play the First Direct Bank Arena in Leeds on 9 December 2026 with tickets on sale from 10am on Friday 28 November HERE.
The Darkness 2026 UK tour dates
- 11 July – Knebworth Park (with Iron Maiden)
- 8 Dec – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
- 9 Dec – Leeds, FD Arena
- 11 Dec – Manchester, AO Arena
- 12 Dec – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
- 13 Dec – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
- 15 Dec – Brighton, Brighton Centre
- 16 Dec – London, The O2
Read more: Lily Allen adds huge Leeds arena show to West End Girl tour
Featured image: Simon Emmett
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Yorkshire veterans Shed Seven set for 10th anniversary of Shedcember shows
Danny Jones
Yorkshire-born group, Shed Seven, are set to bring a very special edition of their 'Shedcember' live shows to the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, and more as they celebrate 10 years of the now annual tour.
The beloved British band and alternative rock veterans have been around for more than three and a half decades at this point, and for nearly a third of those, these lads have been putting on regular winter gigs for their loyal fan base.
Having developed a fervent cult following during that time, Shed Seven's dedicated run of November and December dates has become a bit of a phenomenon, and since 2025 was one of their most significant 18-month periods ever, they're toasting recent success at the end of this calendar year.
If you're 'Shed Ed', you'll already know all about this event; if not, get to know...
Announcing this year's 10th anniversary tour - fittingly dubbed 'Shedcember X - alongside a new short film/teaser written and directed by long-serving guitarist, Paul Banks, those who have been listening since the start
Equally, thanks to this would-be trailer, even those who've never been to one of the shows or are yet to fully dive into their discography have had their attention caught.
Focusing on their die-hard crowds who now make sure to attend each Shedcember night, if not every single one of their gigs whenever they come to town, the mini social media movie captures just how passionate their audiences are even after all this time.
Part of the reason that the York-founded outfit has been enjoying somewhat of a resurgence of late is as a result of back-to-back number one albums
Notching the top spot for their A Matter Of Time in January 2024, a whole 29 years on from their maiden release (the longest gap between a debut and a no.1 record in UK history), they then did it again with Liquid Gold, which saw some of their biggest hits remastered and reimagined with orchestral backing.
These two massive and long-overdue moments of recognition arguably deserve a tour all of their own, but we will absolutely take Shedcember X, which will feature a number of shows across the region.
Announcing an extensive run of performances for the de facto festival, the 10th anniversary edition of Shed Seven's - we've also highlighted all of the Northern dates for you.
Shedcember X tour dates - 2026
- Fri 13 Nov 2026 - Nottingham Rock City
- Sat 14 Nov 2026 - Birmingham O2 Academy
- Tue 17 Nov 2026 - Norwich The Nick Rayns LCR, UEA
- Thu 19 Nov 2026 - Aberdeen Music Hall
- Fri 20 Nov 2026 - Glasgow O2 Academy Glasgow
- Sat 21 Nov 2026 - Edinburgh Usher Hall
- Mon 23 Nov 2026 - Leicester O2 Academy
- Tue 24 Nov 2026 - Brighton Dome
- Thu 26 Nov 2026 - Cardiff University Great Hall
- Fri 27 Nov 2026 - Sheffield Octagon
- Sat 28 Nov 2026 - Newcastle O2 City Hall
- Mon 30 Nov 2026 - Cambridge Corn Exchange
- Tue 01 Dec 2026 - Bristol Beacon
- Thu 03 Dec 2026 - Stockton Globe
- Fri 04 Dec 2026 - Liverpool Uni The Mountford Hall
- Sat 05 Dec 2026 - Manchester O2 Apollo
- Mon 07 Dec 2026 - Lincoln Engine Shed
- Tue 08 Dec 2026 - Stoke-On-Trent Victoria Hall
- Thu 10 Dec 2026 - Bournemouth O2 Academy
- Fri 11 Dec 2026 - London O2 Academy Brixton
- Sat 12 Dec 2026 - Leeds O2 Academy
Pre-sale has already been and gone, with general admission tickets already up for grabs; you can secure yours right HERE.
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Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)
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Reverend and the Makers drop ‘fantastic’ new track featuring Robbie Williams
Danny Jones
Sheffield legend and all-round Yorkshire favourite, Jon McClure, debuted a new Reverend and the Makers song with none other than the one and only Robbie Williams.
What a collaboration.
Reverend and the Makers' new album, Is This How Happiness Feels?, is just around the corner, and we've already heard a couple of great singles from the latest record, but we'd be lying if we weren't left very excited when we saw Robbie's name on the tracklist.
It also looks to have served as yet another reminder that, just like Jon himself, he just seems like a sound bloke who loves making music.
The early reviews coming in have proved unsurprisingly positive, too, with one user writing on socials before it was even dropped: "Hold on.... WHAT?? This is ICONIC!!! I need to listen to this song..."
Others went on to describe the partnership as "Two wonderful and inimitable voices", with others describing it as an "absolute earworm" and "a total vibe", just to name a couple of examples.
The general consensus among fans seems to be that it's a "quality tune".
For anyone wondering how the two teaming up came about, besides the pop icon himself having recently released his new BRITPOP project, the 52-year-old also sat down with McClure on an episode of the Game's Gone podcast with his brother Chris, a.k.a. 'Steve Bracknall', last year.
The two have clearly stayed pally ever since, with another going on to add: "Wonderful song. Fingers crossed Robbie joins you to sing it at Leigh! That would be ace. Then you can sing You Again with Katie. I'm so excited."
For context, the local band will be supporting The Lottery Winners at their first-ever stadium gig at Leigh Sports Village over Wigan way - a group who also opened up for Robbie not long ago. You can listen to the track in full below.
Safe to say that loyal followers of the Steel City veterans and casuals alike will be hoping to hear this one live; as for whether or not Mr Williams will be joining them, we'll have to wait and see.
As mentioned, the eighth Reverend and the Makers studio LP is landing very soon, due for release on Friday, May 8; it also features the likes of actor and Day Fever collaborator Vicky McClure (no relation), in case you haven't heard it already.
However, Jon himself has been pretty busy with another big venture close to home, as he's now a football club chairman, too.
We were lucky enough to chat with him about it earlier this year - here's what he had to say...
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Featured Images — Reverend and the Makers (via FB)
Clementine Hall -
20th November 2025 
