James at the Manchester Central 19th & 20th December plus Athlete

Two of the most admired indie/guitar-driven britpop bands of all time play together.

James and Athlete are on the bill for two special pre-Christmas gigs at Manchester Central, the venue more previously known as the GMEX. James have released their 10th album, 'Hey Ma', while Athlete are on their 3rd, called 'Beyond The Neighbourhood'.

It's amazing to recall that James formed in Manchester back in 1981and weathered years of having a reputation as a great live band without having scored any success in record sales. In fact it was their live album, 'One Man Clapping', that finally got them some chart success after several hiccups along the way, before they recorded the 'Gold Mother' album that spawned the anthems  'Sit Down',  'Come Home' and  'How Was It For You', all of which surfed on the Madchester wave of the early nineties. Original vocalist Tim Booth is now fronting the band again.

Athlete possess an irresistible vibe across much of their work, but have a taken a slightly more low-key approach on their latest LP. The band assembled as teenagers in Deptford. James have a habit of being supported by bands that go on to achieve great things so this could be the moment when Athlete hit the stratosphere!

Tickets are on sale for Saturday 20th but have sold out for Friday 19th.