Fans went wild when Crowded House brought out Johnny Marr as a surprise guest for their huge Castlefield Bowl open-air gig in Manchester on Thursday night. The Antipodean rock icons were in town as part of the continuing Sounds of the City series of concerts at Castlefield Bowl.
And at the finale of the night there was to be a special guest in the form of The Smiths legendary guitarist. Johnny, wearing a smart waistcoat shirt, performed a rocking guitar solo during Whatever You Want stunning fans as he walked out on stage.
Kiwi frontman Neil Finn performed a celebratory jig as Marr worked his magic at the front of the stage. And then Johnny stayed to join the band for a performance of Weather With You, one of the band's biggest ever hits.
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Thankfully, the weather was most definitely with Manchester on Thursday night, as the earlier rain cleared for most of the night for the gig. Crowded House headed to Manchester fresh from a stirring set at the Glastonbury Festival at the weekend.
The band - with current line-up Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom and Neil's son Liam - performed a rocking set including some of their biggest hits on Thursday night. Fall At Your Feet, Don't Dream It's Over and Four Seasons in One Day were among the fan anthems cheered on by the crowds.
There was also a cover version of David Bowie's Heroes in the encore, before the night ended with the apt Better Be Home Soon. Smiths legend Johnny has a habit of turning up as a guest on stage with musical stars in the city - and most recently emerged on stage at the AO Arena to join Alicia Keys for a surprise performance of The Smiths' classic This Charming Man.
The Crowded House gig continued the series of huge concerts at Castlefield Bowl for the 2022 Sounds in the City series. This year's event was kicked off on Tuesday night with Lewis Capaldi, before Foals continued on with a stunning live performance on Wednesday.
The Libertines will perform on Friday night, before James have a huge homecoming gig on Saturday night in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their famous Alton Towers concert of 1992.
Next week will see more huge gigs - from the likes of Sam Fender, Pixies, Primal Scream and the return of the ever-popular Hacienda Classical.
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