Culture Club in Manchester

Culture Club are a British pop band formed in London in 1981. Their music draws on pop, new wave and soul, led by Boy George’s distinctive voice. “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” and “Karma Chameleon” became their signature songs, while Colour by Numbers established the group’s best-known album catalogue. In 1998, Culture Club’s original lineup reunited for concerts, and their VH1 Storytellers performance was issued as part of Greatest Moments. They marked their 20th anniversary with a 2002 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, which was later released as a live film. In 2023, they toured North America on The Letting It Go Show, accompanied by Howard Jones and Berlin. Away from Britain, they have given concerts in Sydney and Adelaide.

Haircut 100 are a British pop band formed in Beckenham, south-east London, in 1980. Their bright new-wave sound is shaped by funk guitar, prominent bass and brass, and the debut album Pelican West produced their best-known songs: “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl),” “Love Plus One” and “Fantastic Day.” In 2004, the original lineup reunited for VH1’s Bands Reunited and performed together again after more than two decades. At a 2023 anniversary concert at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Haircut 100 played Pelican West in full; later that year, they undertook their first tour of the UK and Ireland in more than 40 years.