Hard Life are back and more boisterous than ever – Live Review Manchester
Thursday 6th November had been marked in any Mancunian Hard Life fan’s calendar for months, the date that these underdog heroes would make their return to the city —armed with a new name, new songs and a renewed blazing passion for performing. Something that just a mere 12 months ago seemed so far out of reach.
The band, which formed in Leicester in 2017 had been rapidly gaining momentum since the pandemic, selling out the 3,500 capacity Victoria Warehouse the last time they were this side of the Pennines in February 2023.
Shortly after this triumphant milestone the band found themselves embroiled in a fierce legal battle with the Stelios Haji-Ioannou owned company EasyGroup (known for Easy Jet and Easy Hotels). EasyGroup threatened to take action over the similarity of the band’s name and branding used on their 2021 Life’s a Beach Tour. Stuck between the ultimate rock and a hard place, feeling pressure of the mega corporation weighing down on them Matravers and Co were left with a difficult choice. Pay an unimaginable amount of royalties, change their name, or never perform again. Eager to continue what they had worked so hard to start, and in a defiant show of resilience Hard Life was born.
The return to Manchester’s Academy really felt like a full circle moment for the band, who played an intimate show in one of the venue’s smallest rooms to celebrate the release of their debut album and end of the Covid restrictions in 2021. Their 2025 return very much had the same energy. A room full of excitement, relief, and pure elation, from both the band and their fans, overjoyed to finally to be back enjoying music together —something which they feared might have been lost forever on both occasions.
Entering the stage to a chorus of raucous cheers from the crowd, and a dazzlingly atmospheric flashing light display, it was clear that the next hour and a half was going to be special.
Kicking off the set with their widely praised comeback single ‘Tears’, lead singer Murray Matravers let the music do the talking, with the song’s direct yet obtuse lyrics explaining the hardships that led to the band’s recent absence.
Wasting no time to start the crowd participation they have become known for, Murray called out for people on shoulders, and the crowd eagerly obliged, the room becoming a sea of waving arms before the intro to ‘Sunday’ had even finished.
Heading straight into ‘Sangria’, another fan favourite, it was obvious that this was the ‘scream out the lyrics at the top of your lungs’ connection that band and crowd had both been missing.
And it wasn’t just the old classics that were met with a heroes welcome. New track ‘y3llow bike’ saw support act Woody crowd surfed from the front of the room all the way to the back, and back again – a genuinely impressive feat. ‘crickets!!!’ changed the tempo, with Murray switching over to the keyboard, precursing the song with “I’m a little drunk, lets see how this goes” before delivering a raw, emotional performance of the track.
‘Dead Celebrities’ from 2020’s Junk Food EP took on a new, more poignant meaning following the past year and a half’s events. With a clap along from the entire crowd and chants of ‘Fuck Easy Jet’ hitting home and cementing how great it is to see Hard Life emerge as the winners of their underdog story. ‘BEESWAX’, always a highlight of a Hard Life set, was accompanied by the usual dark and atmospheric light display, a track that really displays the band’s ability for variety.
‘DEAR MRS HALLOWAY’ took an emotional turn as the band took time to dedicate the song to a family member who had suffered with cancer, a really touching moment in the set.
The final section of the set was reserved for the old classics like debut single ‘Pockets’ and ‘Skeletons’, the latter prompting a mosh pit that took up almost the entire room. With the energy already high, ‘Nightmares’ brought the house down, with the band and the crowd bouncing up and down and singing every word, enjoying the final moments of a show they thought may never happen again.
Musically tighter than ever, filled with a new unflappable determination, yet still finely skilled in the art of making sure absolutely everyone at their show has a good time, one thing is clear, Hard Life are back, and more boisterous then ever.
To keep up to date with Hard Life and upcoming live dates head to: https://www.hardlifemusic.co.uk/
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