Performing to a packed-out arena, Harry Style’s One Night Only show was enjoyed live in Manchester and filmed for Netflix. It was a high-octane show for the history books
It may have been for One Night Only, but for 90 minutes Harry Styles was at his electrifying best. The former One Direction star had one message for the 23,500 fans, who packed Manchester’s Co-op Live arena for the one-off gig, which was being filmed for Netflix: “You have one simple job – to have as much fun! Please sing, dance and by some miracle if you know the words, join in. If you can’t have fun, fake it. And you might end up on Netflix.”
Available to watch on the screening platform from 7pm on Sunday March 8, tickets for the show were just £20. Fans entered a ballot more competitive than the Glastonbury ticket scrum to win a spot – which drew 670,000 requests.
With no mobile filming allowed, and phones placed in sealed bags, the disposable cameras given to ticket holders clicked wildly when Harry opened at 9pm with Aperture, his new single and third UK number one – immediately transfixing the audience.
Spinning a set of DJ decks, American Girls, Ready Steady Go and Are You Listening followed. It was their first live airing, as he tested them out on the hungry crowd. Wearing a blue sweatshirt and yellow trousers, with a daisy print shirt poking out, he said: “This album means so much to me, I’ve taken a bit of time away from everything and now stepping back into this room with you, I know why I’m here.”
After a three year hiatus, Harry’s new album Kiss All the Time Disco, Occasionally was released this week. And Friday night’s One Night Only gig was his first stadium show since July 2023, at the new £350 million Manchester venue, which he has invested in – a 50 minute drive from his Holmes Chapel childhood home. He said: “It very much feels like coming home.”
Fans clearly thought it was worth the wait, as the energy in the room was insane. The dancing continued long after Harry, 32, had left the stage. You could feel the joy, the sweat, the moment.
Cheering him on were his mum Anne and sister Gemma, both beaming down from a box. And before the show, a childhood friend of Harry’s told me the singer had given 100 free tickets to his old school, Holmes Chapel Comprehensive.
Backstage, waiting in anticipation before the gig, Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan said: “I’m so excited. It’s quite a last minute thing me being here, but I love Harry – who doesn’t? I’m excited for Aperture.”
Also sitting in the audience was Harry’s long-time friend, actor James Corden. But the fans were too busy drinking in Harry’s performance to do any further celebrity spotting.
Gyrating his hips, wiggling his bottom and waggling his hands, Harry’s energy knew no bounds, commanding the stage like the coolest clubber on the dance floor. Some fans already knew all the words to the new album, while others simply screamed – relishing the chance to be within touching distance of their idol.
Also on the setlist were Taste Back, The Waiting Game and Season 2 Weight Loss – all from the new album and all brilliant dance tracks that benefited hugely from live performance. Harry told fans: “This album is out in the world now and it means so much to me. I hope maybe someday it will help you through something hard.”
Recently speaking of his struggle dealing with the death of former One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne, who died aged 31 in 2024 after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires, he continued: “I rediscovered what it means to be in people’s lives through music these last couple of years. You’ve changed my life. Thank you so much.”
Before singing Coming Up Roses, a ballad which he wrote, he told fans: “The songs that I write by myself at home are the ones I assume are the ones that won’t make it onto the album. I’ve struggled at times to believe in myself.”
Harry ended the new album’s run-through with Pop, Dance No More, Paint By Numbers and Carla’s Song, a large gospel choir adding heart and soul. Finishing with a 15 minute encore of “golden oldies”, starting with From the Dining Table, Harry said: “We haven’t played that one in a while. Truth be told, I haven’t played anything in a while.”
Then came Golden, Watermelon Sugar, As It Was and Sign of the Times… finally signing off with a repeat of Aperture.
Harry, who is set for a record-breaking 12-show Wembley Stadium run this summer, as part of his record breaking $1 billion residency-style tour across seven cities, told fans: “In a world like we have today that feels so chaotic. it’s so easy to become hopeless.
“I encourage you to keep being the change in the world that you want to see.. There are so many dangerous things that feel so powerful. But love is powerful, kindness is powerful. Be the light that you want to see in the world. Go out and spread it. We could use a little extra peace in the world.”
It was a triumphant return for one of pop’s greatest showmen.
READ MORE: ‘I went to the Brit Awards – this is what really happens when the cameras aren’t rolling’
