Harry Styles played his new album ‘Kiss All Time Time. Disco, Occasionally’ in full in Manchester last night (Friday March 6), marking his first full show in almost three years. See what went down below, along with photos and the setlist.
The solo star and former One Direction member hosted his special ‘One Night Only’ gig at the city’s Co-op Live, having been a major investor in the £350million, 23,500-capacity venue. He’d given lead single ‘Aperture’ its live debut in the same building to open the BRITs 2026 just under a week ago.
Despite being held at the UK’s biggest arena, yesterday’s concert was a more modest affair than what we’ll see at Styles’ upcoming ‘Together, Together’ tour – which boasts a record-breaking 12-night stint at London’s Wembley Stadium, and a huge 30-date residency in New York. However, it has been scaled up from his previous ‘Only Night Only’ UK date at Brixton Academy to launch 2022’s ‘Harry’s House’. Tickets cost just £20, too.
Last night’s performance was filmed by Netflix for a new concert film, Harry Styles. One Night In Manchester., out tomorrow (Sunday March 8). Fans were strictly banned from capturing any footage of the gig, and were made to secure their phones in a recyclable bag that obscured the camera. Upon entry, ticketholders picked up free disposable cameras so that they could still document “special moments and share them after the show”.
“Good evening, Manchester!” Styles told the crowd, who fully embraced the no-phone rule, instead greeting him with a sea of red lights from their disposables and flailing arms after the euphoric opener ‘Aperture’. The track’s extended intro saw the singer standing at a stack of synths amongst his band on an in-the-round square stage. He was also joined by the House Gospel Choir that had performed with him at the BRITs.
The Genesis-esque, ’80s-tinged ‘American Girls’ followed, an early highlight that prompted a big singalong, even though it had only been out for less than 24 hours.
“This album means so much to me,” Styles continued. “I had to take a little bit of time away from everything, and stepping back into this room with you, I know exactly why I’m here. Thank you so much. He said that ‘Kiss All The Time…’ “reminds me of wonderful times that I’ve spent with my friends”.
“My job this evening is gonna be to entertain you,” he went on. “You have one simple job, and that is to have as much fun as you possibly can. If by some miracle you know the words, please do join in with us. So have fun, and if you can’t have fun, try and fake it, and you might end up on Netflix. This is ‘Ready, Steady, Go!'”
Styles called on the audience to “scream if you wanna go faster” as he took to the catwalks for the slinky, bass-driven tune. The tribal, dance-punk sounds of ‘Are You Listening Yet?’ grew bigger in a live setting, complete with a scorching guitar solo. Next up, Styles brought things down with the meditative ‘Taste Back’ as he tackled loneliness and longed for “a little love“. “Are you ready to sing this one with me now, Manchester?” he asked in the final chorus.
Later, the star made an emotional speech and thanked fans for making the night feel “so special”. He added: “This album is out in the world now, and it means so, so much to me. I hope that maybe one day it might mean a little something to you. I hope you have fun with it, I hope you have good times to it, I hope maybe one day it helps you through something hard as well.
“I kind of discovered what a privilege it is to be in people’s lives through music over the last couple of years, and you’ve changed my life. Thank you so, so much.”
He then expressed his gratitude for the “warmth and generosity” he’d received over the past 15 years. Styles went on to introduce the off-kilter ‘Season 2 Weight Loss’, which evoked shades of LCD Soundsystem – who inspired him to return to the stage. The choir spread across both catwalks on either side of the stage: “Holding, holding out/ Hoping you will love me now.”
Styles took a moment to shout out producer and frequent collaborator Kid Harpoon for “pushing” him creatively. “That’s why this song exists,” he continued, introducing the sweeping and cinematic ballad ‘Coming Up Roses’. “It’s one of my favourite things that we’ve ever done together.”
The groove-led, hooky ‘Pop’ then made its case for the next single – a clear crowd favourite. “Right, you wanna dance with me a little bit?” Styles asked. Fans also went wild for his cheeky belly rub as he delivered the line: “It’s nice to mix two flavours together, together.”
After an airing of gentle cut ‘Paint By More’ – with Styles on keys – the singer bathed in the house lights, before finishing the main set with a dizzying dedication to his friend, ‘Carla’s Song’.
“This is the only time that we’ll play the album top to bottom like this,” he told us. “Then we’re gonna go away and pretend that’s the end, and come back and do a couple of old ones.”
Returning for the encore, Styles treated the audience to an acoustic rendition of ‘From The Dining Table’ – marking its first setlist appearance since 2018. “I haven’t played that in a while,” Styles said. “Truth be told, I haven’t played anything in a while.” Resuming his run of “golden oldies”, he launched into the shimmering ‘Golden’ ahead of global hits ‘Watermelon Sugar’ and ‘As It Was’. He ran across both catwalks, as flashing disposable cameras lit his path.
Styles took things back to his self-titled debut album again with an epic performance of his first-ever single, ‘Sign Of The Times’, as phone screens finally began to emerge. He brought the night full circle with a rousing reprise of ‘Aperture’. “I wanna hear every one of you,” Styles shouted, transforming the stage into a dancefloor once again. “I hope you’re wearing comfortable shoes!”
1. ‘Aperture’
2. ‘American Girls’
3. ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’
4. ‘Are You Listening Yet?’
5. ‘Taste Back’
6. ‘The Waiting Game’
7. ‘Season 2 Weight Loss’
8. ‘Coming Up Roses’
9. ‘Pop’
10. ‘Dance No More’
11. ‘Paint By Numbers’
12. ‘Carla’s Song’
Encore:
13. ‘From the Dining Table’
14. ‘Golden’
15. ‘Watermelon Sugar’
16. ‘As It Was’
17. ‘Sign Of The Times’
18. ‘Aperture’
Harry Styles. One Night In Manchester. arrives on Netflix tomorrow (Sunday March 8).
In a four-star review, NME described ‘Kiss All The Time…’ as “an album that you’ll really want to spend a lot of time with, letting all its layers envelope you”. It read: “It’s the most exploratory album of his career so far, trying out new things and steering his ship in new directions.”
The post Here’s what went down at Harry Styles’ ‘One Night Only’ Manchester show appeared first on NME.
