British indie icons The Kooks tonight kicked off their highly anticipated ‘Never/Know’ UK Arena Tour at Manchester’s Co-op Live, marking their biggest headline show to date. Playing to a crowd that ranged from original Kooks to the army of teenagers who have embraced the band in recent years, the band showed just how far they have captured a new generation.
Songs from their debut album were sung back at them as generational anthems, like debut single ‘Eddie’s Gun’ and ‘See The World’ and a triumphant ‘She Moves’ with frontman Luke Pritchard giving the crowd one more chorus on their own.
He announced the ‘disco section’ with ‘Sweet Emotion’, then moved through the personal ‘See Me Now’ from 2014, a letter to his father who died when he was 3 years old, the crowd lighting up the arena with their phones to help him through the emotion.
‘Sunny Baby’ and ‘If They Could Only Know’ from the new album turned the venue into a summer bop, friends carried on shoulders.
“I can’t believe it’s been so long and we’re back in this beautiful city with all these people,” said Luke, “The world’s crazy but I’m going to put a bubble around us and it’s all peace and love and we’re going to have the best night with you guys.”
Spotting a sign in the crowd asking to play ‘Seaside’ a fan called Joe was invited up and played flawless acoustic guitar while Luke sang along.
In a nod to young fan discoveries on social media, Luke explained that ‘Taking Pictures Of You’ and ‘GAP’, are Kooks deep cuts that have been attracting a new following.
And ‘Do You Wanna’ from their second album showed they can do classic, dirty rock.
The encore again brought pandemonium with classics ‘Ooh La’, and ‘Naive’, sending 18,000 home in a euphoric mood.
The tour will also see The Kooks visit Cardiff, Brighton, Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham, ending at London’s The O2 in a series of huge arena shows.
The Kooks’ seventh studio album, ‘Never/Know’, dropped on May 9th, following the release of their feel-good, springtime anthem, ‘Sunny Baby’. The track was featured in The Times‘ Best New Songs and premiered on BBC Radio 2 with Jo Whiley. ‘Never/Know’ shot to Top 5 in the UK album charts, becoming their highest charting album since 2008.
The Kooks stunned fans and lit up the internet at Reading Festival in the summer with a euphoric mainstage set that featured an unlikely surprise: A-list Hollywood star Rebel Wilson joined them on stage for a raucous cover of the 1995 rap classic ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ by Coolio feat L.V.
Main support for the tour comes from Merseyside four-piece, The K’s, who were named ‘Breakthrough Act of the Year’ at the Northern Music Awards in 2024. Their second album, ‘Pretty On The Internet’ was released in June 2025.
The Kooks’ remaining tour dates:
Saturday 4th October 2025 – Cardiff Utilita Arena – Cardiff
Sunday 5th October 2025 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
Thursday 9th October 2025 – Newcastle Utilita Arena – Newcastle
Friday 10th October 2025 – Birmingham Utilita Arena – Birmingham
Saturday 11th October 2025 – The O2 – London
Tickets for The Kooks’ arena tour are available HERE. Find Never/Know HERE.
About The Kooks
The Kooks, whose 2006 debut sold over 2 million copies, have unexpectedly found themselves beloved by a new generation. While their original fans remain, they’ve layered on a fervent Gen Z following, headlining festivals and selling out shows worldwide. Social media has made them a generations’ new favourite band again, introducing their unmistakable Brit-pop joy to fresh ears. Their debut was a defining moment for indie music in the 2000s, their first releases set the sound of a moment in time. There are few songs as defining of the 2000s as ‘Naïve’, but the band were never a one-hit wonder – their follow-up record, Konk, hit number one as one of four top 10 albums. The Kooks never stopped evolving, transitioning from indie rock to synthpop and krautrock influences. Over time, they’ve integrated wide-ranging inspirations—Harris’ love of soul and opera, alongside Pritchard’s classic influences like Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.
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