Liam Gallagher has announced a supporting act for his NHS show, Primal Scream. More acts are expected to be announced soon. The special event at London’s 02 Arena serves as a thank you to NHS staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liam tweeted about the event: “It’s an honour to announce that I will be doing a gig for the NHS and careworkers at London’s TheO2 on October 29th.” Liam said on Twitter. He further praised them: “They do an incredible job, we are very lucky to have them. LG x”

Gallagher will be performing alongside Primal Scream on October 29. Tickets for the show have quickly sold out, despite the fact they’d only gone on sale at 9 am this morning, (April 15).

Gallagher revealed a poster for the gig through Instagram shortly after. He said: “Proud to be part of this concert for our heroic NHS workers organised by our friend Liam Gallagher,”

He added: “I want to thank everyone who applied for tickets. Due to high demand the event is now sold out. Congratulations to the people who got their hands on some, it’s going to be an amazing night of Rock n Roll for the NHS!”

View this post on Instagram

Proud to be part of this concert for our heroic @nhs workers organised by our friend @liamgallagher “It’s going to be a night of amazing rock and roll for the NHS” – LG

A post shared by Primal Scream (@primalscreamofficial) on Apr 15, 2020 at 6:06am PDT

Manic Street Preachers similarly announced two special gigs in December for NHS workers. Frontman James Dean Bradfield said: “In a universal way, we’ve all got a stake in the NHS and we’ve all got a connection to the NHS.”

The band added that they “wanted to do something to show our appreciation, love and respect for the NHS”. The 02 Arena is set to serve as a training facility for NHS workers treating COVID-19 at the NHS Nightingale Hospital.

In response to the lockdown restrictions imposed on the UK, Liam recently quipped that he and his brother Noel have been “self-isolating for 10 years.”

Me n Rkid have been self isolating for 10 years c’mon a couple of months ain’t fucking hurt LG x

— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) March 18, 2020

“It’s an honour to announce that I will be doing a gig for the NHS and careworkers at London’s TheO2 on October 29th.” Liam said on Twitter. He further praised them: “They do an incredible job, we are very lucky to have them. LG x”

Manic Street Preachers similarly announced two special gigs in December for NHS workers. Frontman James Dean Bradfield said: “In a universal way, we’ve all got a stake in the NHS and we’ve all got a connection to the NHS.”

“We wanted to do something to show our appreciation, love and respect for the NHS and its amazing brave workers,” the band added. “One free show and one fundraising show seemed the best way for us to express our deep gratitude for all their heroic work.”

More still, on April 9, it was announced that the 02 Arena would serve as a training facility for NHS workers treating Coronavirus at the NHS Nightingale Hospital.

Recently, Liam Gallagher announced that his upcoming live album on vinyl had been delayed due to COVID-19. Last year, he performed in Hull for his 2019 MTV Unplugged show. As a result, the vinyl will now arrive at a later date.

Gallagher tweeted: “Listen up Brothers and Sisters, due to lockdown my MTV unplugged vinyl wont be ready for 24th April. As soon as the manufacturer is back in action we’ll schedule a new date. I’ll keep you posted. Wash yer hands, scrub yer toes, scratch yer bum and pick yer nose. Stay safe LG x.”

Listen up Brothers and Sisters, due to lockdown my MTV unplugged vinyl wont be ready for 24th April. As soon as the manufacturer is back in action we‘lll schedule a new date. I’ll keep you posted. Wash yer hands, scrub yer toes, scratch yer bum and pick yer nose. Stay safe LG x

— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) March 25, 2020

Shortly before Liam made the announcement of the album’s delay, the ‘Shockwave’ vocalist quipped on Twitter that he and his brother Noel had “been self isolating for 10 years”. 

An announcement was made by The Bristol Food Union. A Twitter post, (seen below), reads that the ‘Paradise Circus’ hitmakers have “extremely generously boosted the #FeedTheFrontLine campaign with a mega £10k – so much love!”

‘Feed The Frontline’ was only launched two weeks ago by The Union, a collective gathering of restaurant businesses and farmers.

Back to their roots, @MassiveAttackUK Attack extremely generously boosted the #FeedTheFrontLine campaign with a mega £10k – so much love! In combination with your support and community spirit we’re #StrongerTogether.
To donate please visit:https://t.co/jLKUdkqXpS pic.twitter.com/6OdSHdSmr7

— Bristol Food Union (@bristolfooduni) April 7, 2020

In the description, it reads: “The Bristol restaurant community want to make sure that all frontline workers delivering long and difficult hours, don’t have to worry about cooking healthy, nutritious meals for themselves or their families,”

The statement adds: “While our restaurants are closed, we have created secure production kitchens around Bristol. Each day we will cook as many meals as we can afford and make them available to frontline staff completely free of charge.”

So, it’s a testament to the kindness of people during these difficult times. This afternoon, the campaign broke £20,000, their original target. They ask for people to donate “the cost of a meal (£6), or any amount you can afford, to ensure that we can produce free meals to keep them going, while they’re busy saving our lives.”

Recently, Massive Attack announced they’d be completing their European tour by train, in a bid to fight climate change. Band member Robert Del Naja discussed their plans with the BBC. He said:

“[As musicians] we have enjoyed a high-carbon lifestyle. But as a society we’ve all existed in a fossil-fuel economy for a long time and had very little choice in that.”

Check out the Massive Attack official website for the full run of tour dates in 2020. The ‘Teardrop’ duo will be performing extensively, playing in France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Greece and Japan.

So, the T-Shirt will feature the iconic Download dog and the festival’s logo. The front of the T-Shirt reads: “Download Dog say wash your hands!”. On the reverse: “Supporting the NHS and emergency service workers.”

These T-Shirts will cost £20 and can be purchased via the link here, with more information found on the website. Now canceled due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the 2020 headliners included Kiss, Iron Maiden and System Of A Down.

Whilst we’re devastated DL2020 will not be going ahead, we wanted to use this opportunity to support some true rock stars; our NHS staff!

We’ve produced a limited edition t-shirt, with all proceeds going to @NHSCharities, supporting NHS workers.https://t.co/fZIg3ClE64pic.twitter.com/noKdm5hTwB

— Download Festival (@DownloadFest) March 31, 2020

Download released a statement in light of the COVID-19 cancelation: “This decision hasn’t been taken lightly and we’re beyond disappointed. We extend our heartfelt apologies to all of you – we really did try to make this work.”

The COVID-19 crisis remains affluent, affecting the music industry left, right and center. Last week, Victoria Park’s All Points East canceled its 2020 show. They’ve joined a lenghty and ever-expanding list of big festival names dropping out. These include Glastonbury 2020, Download and Isle of Wight, Snowbombing Festival and The Great Escape Festival.

Recently, acts including Bon Iver, Liam Gallagher, and Avril Lavigne have all been forced to delay events or push back forthcoming releases. In the case of Sam Smith, he’s had to push back the release date of his new album, ‘To Die For’, as well as change its title.

It’s maybe not surprising considering the scale of the worldwide pandemic at play, that perhaps the title is not hugely appropriate. For Download 2019’s official highlights, check them out via Youtube below.