The Week Ahead: Westlife, The Horrors, The Temper Trap, Elvis Costello and Channel 4's Comedy Gala 2012 and more
Posted: 11 years agoThis week:
All prices are exclusive of booking fees.
Tours
Lock up your wives, daughters and husbands, Westlife are back in your town (well, nearby city) with their 'Greatest Hits' tour. Armed with several number 1s, you are guaranteed a memorable time. Only The O2 Arena on Saturday 12th May, Sheffield, Glasgow (19th June) and Belfast (20th) have any decent face-value seats left, priced from £41.50 upwards.
Next Saturday's show in Dublin, plus Sheffield and Manchester, have already sold out of The Horrors tickets, but you can still attend their other May shows from Belfast on Sunday to Brixton on the 25th, priced at £14-£17.50. For an additional £5/£10 and your official ticket, you can catch them DJing at aftershows in Manchester and London.
Band of the moment with their hugely catchy single 'Need Your Love' and forthcoming new album, The Temper Trap still have some spaces left on their upcoming tour which starts on Wednesday night in Falmouth. That show, plus Brighton, Newcastle, Manchester and Glasgow, are available priced from £14.50 - the rest have sold out!
His Spinning Songbook show is approaching the UK fast, but not until he's spun those popular numbers in Dublin first (Weds). From Saturday he heads across the water to Manchester, followed by Liverpool, Brighton and many more until Basingstoke on 27th May. All available except Newcastle and Nottingham.
Still comfortably pulling in the crowds is the young singer and BBC Sound of 2012. He's sold out the opening night of this tour in Bournemouth, as well as Shepherd's Bush, but there are still tickets up for grabs for the remainder, all priced at £12.50.
Possibly confirmed to play just about every boutique festival in 2012, Mason still has some headlining shows to play during May, including the Communion Unplugged weekend in Newcastle (£15). From Sunday he then hits Hull, followed by Leicester and more until Notting Hill on the 30th.
NME have placed new album 'In The Belly of the Brazen Bull' in their round-up of the Best Albums of 2012, which might have some influence on ticket sales for their new tour. Only Manchester has sold out, with the remainder from Monday's show in Nottingham onwards available from £18.
Echo and the Bunnymen's self-pronounced enigma is out on the road next week, although he's only playing two towns, starting with a double-whammy in his hometown of Liverpool on Thursday and Friday. These are both available, as is Saturday's show at London's Union Chapel, £22-£22.50.
A-Ha! It's Norwegian pop-hunk Harket, back after the demise of the 'Take On Me' creators. Having said that, his shows are nearly sold out, with Friday's Manchester show down to £25 tickets, London's IndigO2 bash on Sunday down to standing only for £35 and Birmingham's 14th May gig still up for £25 and £35
Festivals
This week it's all about Brighton, but then being a Bank Holiday week, perhaps it's justified. The Great Escape wristbands are still available for £35, covering Thursday onwards, while separate Maximo Park, The Temper Trap and Africa Express Sound System tickets are just about still available.
Taking place from next Sunday is this ska and Two-Tone one-dayer which features some of the very best skanking from the '60s through the '80s and up to the present day. Catch Neville Staple, The Beat and Dennis Alcapone amongst the live throng, priced at £20.
Theatre, Comedy and Arts
Billed as 'one of the most talked about events of 2012' (even the Olympics and Euro 2012?), this spectacular outdoor show will take place in Islington's Caledonian Park from Tuesday until 20th May. A cast of over 300 will construct the literary tower with massed choirs and visual effects. £22.50
![Titus Andronicus [Hiraeth Artistic Productions]](https://www.allgigs.co.uk/images/object/artist/73832/Default-1-200-200-85-nocrop.png)
With Shakespeare's most famous works having plenty of coverage and hype, it's nice to see one of his most brutal and underrated plays transported to the '80s for a more contemporary reading, not for the faint-hearted. Plays at the Etcetera Theatre, London from Tuesday until 27th May.
Next week, one of America's most successful screenwriters and comedians touches down briefly in the UK and Ireland for follow-up shows to last year's London appearances. Tickets are selling fast for all three gigs - Birmingham and Manchester cost from £47.50 while Dublin kicks off at €63 upwards.
This is your last chance to buy remaining tickets for this massive charity comedy show on Friday, in aid of Great Ormond Street hospital. Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Micky Flanagan, Sean Lock, Kevin Bridges and Lee Nelson form just part of the huge line-up at the O2 Arena, prices start at £40.
Happy clicking!