Fresh from entertaining 50,000 fans at the Etihad Stadium, The Script headed to a rather more intimate setting to play a surprise gig on Friday night
The Script played a surprise gig at Irish pub O’Sheas in Manchester on Friday night(Image: SJM)
Fresh from their high energy performance supporting Take That at the Etihad Stadium on Friday night, The Script sprang a big surprise on Manchester fans. The Irish rockers posted on social media after their set on stage, that they would be playing a one-off show in the city centre later that night at 11pm.
And the location? One of Manchester’s most iconic Irish pubs, of course, O’Sheas. Frontman Danny O’Donoghue found himself going from being the Man in the Arena to the man in the middle of a packed pub for the gig – but took it all in his stride.
Fans who were lucky enough to get into the surprise gig were in for quite the treat as Danny and the band played an intimate acoustic set of all their big classics like Breakeven, as well as their new hit Man in the Arena.
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They only announced the gig on Friday night at 9pm, giving fans two hours to get themselves down to the popular Irish bar in the city centre on Princess Street.
Fans crammed in to O’Sheas to see The Script in action(Image: SJM)
Danny played at the pub after finding himself the talk of Take That fans on Friday night. He told fans while he was on stage at the Etihad that they were being filmed for a livestream that night on Netflix not once but twice during the set.
It sent fans into quite the frenzy, as they knew Take That were planning a livestream on Saturday for Amazon, but not that anything was planned on Netflix.
The MEN later had it confirmed by Take That’s spokespeople that Danny had simply got mixed up with his streaming services when he made the announcement on stage. They added that the filming at Friday’s show was a test run by Amazon, ready for the livestream to take place on Saturday night from 8.30pm.
The Script’s set at the Etihad Stadium had opened with their fan anthem Superheroes, and was rounded out by Hall of Fame. They also wowed fans in the crowd when Danny jumped off stage and did a full walk through of the entire Man City ground while singing the hit Nothing.
Danny serenades the pub(Image: SJM)
He also endeared himself to the Manchester crowd by performing a cover version of Oasis classic Wonderwall – echoing around the ground of Liam and Noel Gallagher’s beloved Manchester City. He hailed Manchester fans some of the best in the world too with the audience roaring their approval.
The Script will be back in action in Manchester on Saturday night and Sunday night in support of Take That. They have rejoined the Manchester band on this 2026 reboot of the Circus Live tour – 17 years since they also did the honours.
Danny told the audience in Manchester on Friday night that there was no hesitation of joining the band’s Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Gary Barlow after they asked if they’d come back for the reboot, with Danny praising Take That for supporting them in their early days.
The Script played at the Etihad Stadium earlier on Friday night
After the Take That tour, The Script have the small matter of their new album to release in August, titled The Users Guide to Being Human. They then have their own European arena tour to look forward to, which starts on their home turf in Dublin for two nights in October, then across the UK in November, including to the Co-op Live on November 7.