This programme contains some strong language
and scenes of Repetitive Flashing Images.
Hello, I'm Nick Grimshaw from BBC Radio 6 Music
and we are back in Manchester for this year's 6 Music Festival.
This year, we are shining a light on the grassroots venues,
the independent music venues which are such an important space
for our live music culture.
First up, we are going to bring you live music
from the legendary Manchester venue Band on the Wall,
who brought you the likes of The Horrors, Courtney Barnett,
Jacob Alon, Kelly Lee Owens,
Wesley Joseph and, up next, Bloc Party.
# If your right hand is causing you pain
# Cut it off, cut it off
# If your colours have started to run
# Let them all run, run away from you
# There is lightning in this room
# Above our heads waiting to strike
# I'm a thinker, not a talker
# Put your faith, your faith in God
# We were hoping for some romance
# All we found was more despair
# We must talk about our problems
# We are in a state of flux
# I'd kill for an adventure
# Just you and I in the Curzon Bar
# Dancing until we knew
# So all that we've learned disappeared
# When you shouted at me
# I saw my father in the second grade
# Concerned and kind
# Yet unable to reach me
# We were hoping for some romance
# All we found was more despair
# We must talk about our problems
# We are in a state of flux
# State of flux, state of flux
# State of flux... #
Manchester, show me your hands!
# State of flux
# State of, state of
# State, state, state
# We need to talk
# We need to talk, yeah
# Yeah
# We were hoping for some romance
# All we found was more despair
# We must talk about our problems
# We are in a...
# A... #
ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC
I'm very emotional over techno.
# Are we losing touch
# With all the things we care about?
# Have we come undone?
# Is there no way to turn around?
# You're always in disguise
# But are you ever satisfied?
# And even though I know
# You give yourself to someone else
# I wish I had you here tonight
# This is all I have
# All these dreams of mine
# This is more than life
# And I know the way we feel inside
# When our worlds collide
# When our worlds divide
# Is it ever enough
# Is it worth the cost
# To find yourself upon this cross?
# Or just a tourniquet
# A way to stem the tide
# To kid yourself for a little while
# And even though I know you give yourself to someone else
# I wish I had you here tonight
# This is more than life
# All these dreams of mine
# This is more than life
# And I know the way we feel inside
# When our worlds divide
# When our worlds divide. #
# Amber gifts the piece of her heart
# Encased in resin, she'd been right
# The night wore jewels, of sparking Pleiades
# And there she'd keep her love
# Safe from the world of dreams
# Free from the Earth
# And all of its pain
# She traded everything that's real
# To hold and feel the arms of Orion
# Reaching for eternity
# Towards the dazzling deep
# But when she reached the stars
# She found them empty
# Cold and quiet
# Looking back over her shoulder
# She saw the true source
# Of the light. #
Thank you.
CHEERING
NICK: Now we are heading south of the Northern Quarter.
We're going to head over to the Pink Room
of the compact and bougie venue Yes.
We're going to kick off with Lynks
for what some people are calling drag monster pop.
And, quite frankly, I'm here for it.
Here they are with their signature masked look.
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to dance
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to...
# So he invites me out, said he's going to this really cool night
# And I said, "Wow, that sounds really cool"
# So I step out the Uber
# Everywhere I look
# Turtlenecks, crochet berets, distressed linens
# Ugh!
# I walk inside, the DJ's playing ambient noise
# There's a huddle of people
# Watching an interpretive dance performance
# Someone's painting a wall with their hands
# A girl's in the corner drinking orange wine
# Talking about how her flip-phone saved her life
# And no-one was dancing
# So my friend turned to me and said, "Isn't this cool?"
# And I said, "No"
# So I told him
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to dance
# Manchester, Manchester
# Don't ask me about Almodovar when I'm tryna get a drink at the bar
# I'm not here to think, just here for fun
# Someone tell the DJ, "Play a song with drums"
# Oh, my God, is that too much to ask for?
# People wanna dance on the dance floor
# And if the beat's hard, they're gonna dance more
# Guess they didn't teach that at art school
# So tell your arty friend, tell 'em, "Put down The Guardian"
# Tell 'em, "Take off your cardigan, you ain't in Central Saint Martins"
# What's a trilby to a snapback?
# What's a quiche to a Big Mac?
# What's a vape to a cig pack?
# I don't care just lemme fuckin' hit that
# A girl blows a cloud of Banana Ice Lost Mary in my face
# And asks, "What's wrong?"
# So I say
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to dance
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to dance... #
Sing it!
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to dance... #
CHEERING
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to
# Dance!
# Right, people, we need to act now
# Cos it looks like they're about to set up life drawing
# Are you sick of it? Yeah!
# Do you wanna dance? Yeah!
# Good! Good, good
# Well, repeat after me
# No more try-hard, spoken word, art school shit
# No more, "How the fuck am I supposed to dance to this?"
# No more try-hard, spoken word, art school shit
# No more, "How the fuck am I supposed to dance to this?"
# No more try-hard, spoken word, art school shit
# And if the DJ sucks then he asked for it... #
CHEERING
# Woo!
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to dance
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to dance... #
Sing it!
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to dance
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to
# Dance... #
Manchester, do you know what a mosh pit is?
CHEERING
Open it up!
# Dance... #
Open it up, gays, come on!
One, two, three, let's go!
# I, I, I came here to dance
# I, I, I came here to
# I, I, I came here to dance
# Woo!
# I, I, I came here to dance
# I, I, I came here to
# I, I, I came here to dance
# I, I, I came here to
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to dance
# I didn't come here for art, I only came here to
# Dance! #
Yes, Manchester!
Woo!
ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC
# Make a space
# For my body
# Dig a hole
# Push the sides apart
# This is what
# I'm controlling
# It's a mould
# The inside that I carve
# This will be my monument
# This will be a beacon when I'm gone
# Gone, gone
# When I'm gone
# Gone, gone
# When I'm gone
# So that when the moment comes
# I can say I did it all with love
# Love, love
# All with love
# Love, love
# All with love... #
CHEERING
# Make a cast
# Of my body
# Pull back out
# So that I can see
# Let go of how you knew me
# Let go of what I used to be
# I will let this monument
# Represent a moment of my life
# Life, life
# Of my life
# Life, life
# Of my life
# I will let this monument
# Represent a moment of my life
# Life, life
# Of my life
# Life, life
# Of my life... #
CHEERING
# Ba, ba, ba
# Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba
# Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba
# Ah-ah, ah-ah
# Woo
# Hey
# Hey. #
Live and direct to your ears!
Yes, Manchester!
Woo!
Ah!
# I'm shaking up my eight ball cos I'm trying to see
# What tomorrow's world has got in store for me
# Yeah, freedom don't come cheap
# I'm bartering hard with no room to give
# Living my life as if my head ain't a complete sieve
# Hold your horses, bandage up its bloodied knees
# Poor thing's been exhausted since '83
# But from the causeway it's hard to see the full extent of the damage
# You couldn't see the woods for the trees
# Good Lord, how am I supposed to cope?
# In the age of the gentrified savage
# There's no hope
# Kids these days think they've been hard done by
# But they've never even looked at an iron lung like I did once
# They've got the whole thing wrong
# Bumbling along on the bottom rung
# Knocking boots and huffing designer bongs
# What you got's a It's a constant hit
# It's not worth what you're paying for it
# In my day, the gear on the street was so weak
# It could eat your ambition in a matter of weeks
# Just tryna envision the peak, and that's bleak... #
Bleurgh!
# That's bleak, woo!
# The overload of discontent
# The constant burden of making sense
# It won't relent, it won't repent
# How to remain in dissonance
# The overload of discontent
# The constant burden of making sense
# It won't relent, it won't repent
# How to remain in dissonance... #
Not bad, Manchester.
You all right, Graham? Not bad, not bad, not bad.
# Look here, what you need to understand is
# If you wanna make some decent money from it
# You'd be better off kicking that dickhead singer you've got in
# Out the band
# And getting yourself a gig down The Grand
# I know the landlord, Fat Andy
# And I bet he'd be up for giving you a leg up
# If you just give him a hand
# Just don't be doing originals Play the standards
# Don't get political
# I know what that dickhead singer's like
# He'll end up in the back of an ambulance
# With the mic stand rammed up his arse twice over
# All because he couldn't ignore the flag and be polite
# Show some respect Listen to my advice
# Cos if you don't challenge me on anything
# You'll find I'm actually very nice
# Are you listening?
# I'm actually really fucking nice!
# The overload of discontent
# The constant burden of making sense
# It won't relent, it won't repent
# How to remain in dissonance
# The overload of discontent
# The constant burden of making sense
# It won't relent, it won't repent
# How to remain in dissonance!
# The overload of discontent
# The constant burden of making sense
# It won't relent, it won't repent
# How to remain in dissonance
# How, how, how, how, woo! #
CHEERING
# Am, stram, am stram gram
# Pic et pic et colegram
# Bour et bour et ratatam
# Am, stram, gram
# Crac, trac, drame
# Tete qui tourne, coeur en flammes
# Le silence puis le drame
# Am, stram, gram
# Souffle, souffle court
# Baisers voles sous l'averse
# Rien ne bouge tout est lourd
# De promesse
# Coeur en transe
# Repetition, feu sans fin
# Plus de pensee que la danse
# Et ma main dans ta main
# Nuit bleue
# Dans l'echo jusqu'a l'aurore
# Toute la ville est un jeu
# Pendant que le monde dort
# Am, stram, am stram gram
# Pic et pic et colegram
# Bour et bour et ratatam
# Am, stram, gram
# Je danse en attendant que le monde disparaisse
# Et mes reves refusent d'etre tenus en laisse
# J'avance a reculons vers des villes que j'invente
# Mes pas sur les paves prouvent que je suis vivante
# Je danse en attendant que le monde disparaisse
# Et mes reves refusent d'etre tenus en laisse
# J'avance a reculons vers des villes que j'invente
# Mes pas sur les paves prouvent que je suis vivante
# Je danse en attendant que le monde disparaisse
# Et mes reves refusent d'etre tenus en laisse
# J'avance a reculons vers des villes que j'invente
# Mes pas sur les paves prouvent que je suis vivante
# Je danse en attendant que le monde disparaisse
# Et mes reves refusent d'etre tenus en laisse
# J'avance a reculons vers des villes que j'invente
# Mes pas sur les paves prouvent que je suis vivante. #
CHEERING
NICK: That was Manchester's very own Mandy, Indiana
performing at this year's 6 Music Festival.
We're going to head over now to Band on the Wall
to see the utterly spellbinding Jacob Alon.
# I know I shouldn't give in to this fantasy
# Your love won't heal
# The wounded parts of me
# That still believe
# The pain means more
# Than a flame to a White Horse
# So let me hold these words
# Until my heart retires
# I want to worship you
# Before the hope expires
# As long as we keep dancing
# In the light
# Of uncertainty, you'll come alive
# Like a fairy
# In a bottle
# Like a fairy
# In a bottle
# Have I allowed my heart
# To become so cruel
# As to imprison an idea of you?
# It's not your fault
# It's my disease
# And I must learn
# To set you free
# Like a fairy
# In a bottle
# Like a fairy
# In a bottle
# But through the swarm I've seen a child
# Alone
# Unsure as he cries
# "To speak or to die"
# A-a-a-ah
# A-a-a-a-ah
# All of those
# Lonely ghosts
# And all of those
# Lonely joys
# Are trapped, and in
# All of those
# Lonely ghosts
# In all of their
# Lonely jars
# But I'm not asking
# For your forgiveness
# Or an end to our existence
# To be alone
# And dream of you
# Is a ghost
# That I
# Cling-ing-ing
# To. #
Thank you.
CHEERING
APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
# Just got back today
# And I'm searching round the place
# Looking for you-know-who
# But there's no sign yet
# Singing, auto-pilot days
# Shining ultra-violet rays
# On this dusty skeleton
# I feel akin on a cosmic level
# I can see right through ya
# Yeah, I can read your bones
# Just like a telephone book
# Maybe I should give it up
# Begin again
# I am exercising
# How good it feels to be alive
# And no surprises up my sleeve
# Everything is temporary
# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
# Praying mantis on my door
# Looking for meaning
# Or just any sign at all
# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
# Organising all my thoughts
# Making them rhyme
# Choosing wisely where I spend my time
# Gimme midnight love again
# Feeling somewhat alien
# I'm floating aimless
# But got my feet concreted
# Beneath this creature of habit
# Teach me the magic
# Of an extra ordinary day
# We'll anodyne the time away
# And there's no such thing
# As a perfect melody
# But I keep searching every morning
# In the trees
# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
# Praying mantis on my door
# Looking for meaning
# Or just any sign at all
# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
# Organising all my thoughts
# Making them rhyme
# Choosing wisely where I spend my time
# I got my head sorted
# Sort of
# I keep going
# Just because, yeah, just because
# I got my head sorted
# Sort of
# I keep going
# Just because, yeah, just because. #
Woo!
CHEERING
# I tried to take away
# Just another day
# Ooh, ooh
# If I would die then I'd like to have been
# On the same page
# Ooh, ooh
# If I could try, then I will lie
# If I will try
# Maybe it won't last for long
# All night long, ooh
# I know you're dancing all night All night
# I've thought about it all week All week
# I wipe the salt from your eyes Your eyes
# I'd take another chance, yeah
# If only you would just slide through
# And I know things change
# But would you feel the same If I told you
# Would you feel the same way
# Feel the same way
# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
# Yeah, yeah
# Uh-huh
# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
# Uh-huh
# I know you're dancing all night All night
# I thought about you all week All week
# I wipe the salt from your eyes From your eyes
# Because the memory so sweet I'd take another chance, yeah
# If only you would just slide through
# And I know things change
# But would you feel the same if I told you
# That I lie on the moon till the morning
# And we dance, dance, danced far away
# And I knew you would come through early morning time
# And that thought alone, good enough to taste
# Just one night
# Ain't a lie till the daylight
# If I could choose you, I'd do that just every time
# And I know you don't ever cry unless you're all alone
# Cos if time could talk, it would say nothing but "I told you so"
# I never wanted I never wanted
# You back on my mind, my mind
# You say there's something
# To bare, if you care, and you're mine
# I never wanted
# Your stares in my mind every time
# Yeah, I know that
# Know that you got me tied for the night
# I tried to get away
# Can't hide, no, no, no, no
# I confide in the feelings I'm supposed to leave
# Behind because I'm missing what's supposed to be
# If I cry despite pride, would you cry for me?
# In my eyes there's ghosts living, no, no, no, no
# I tried to fight feelings eventually
# Pay the price, am I the villain I'm supposed to be?
# In my mind I hide visions I'm supposed to see
# In my eyes there's ghosts living
# No, no, no, no
# Oh, no
# Now I'm solo gliding
# Cos I let you down
# But I'm so low like this
# On the wrong side of town
# I let you down, I let you down
# Yeah, I'm solo gliding
# Maybe you get me now
# So low
# If I lie on the moon till the morning
# And we dance, dance, danced far away
# And I knew you would come through early morning time
# And that thought alone, good enough to taste
# Just one night
# Ain't a lie till the daylight
# If I could choose you, I'd do that just every time
# And I know you don't ever cry unless you're all alone
# Cos if time could talk, it would say nothing but "I told you so". #
Manchester, make some noise!
CHEERING
Thank you so much for being so warm and so beautiful.
My name is Wesley Joseph.
# Under a sky, no-one sees
# Waiting, watching it happening
# Don't hurry, give it time
# Things are the way they have to be
# Slow down, give it time
# Still life, you know I'm listening
# The moment that you want is coming
# If you give it time
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# Under a sky, no-one else sees
# Your shape appears in front of me
# The sky clears, the sun hits
# I'm here
# Waiting, it's happening
# The moment that you want is coming
# If you give it time
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me
# When you wake up, you wake up
# You will find me. #
NICK: That is it for the 6 Music Festival 2026.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Remember, if you do want to hear more incredible artists
from across the musical spectrum,
of course you can listen to 6 Music every day on BBC Sounds.
Now, to see us out are a band who are about to go on a big arena tour,
so what a treat it is to see them in such a small venue.
This is Bloc Party.
# It was lagoon blue
# Your '57 Ford Anglia
# You picked me up in it
# Your horned-rimmed glasses
# Get in the way
# So we do air kisses
# Let me breathe you in
# In the time it takes for two ticks to go blue
# It seems I'm smitten
# It seems I'm into you
# He does it on purpose
# He wants to make me wait
# I could wait a lifetime for him
# He says he likes the way
# I say his name
# And I like the way he says mine
# I choose you with grace
# I choose you with sensitivity
# I choose you today
# And all of the days
# It was blue
# Cerulean blue
# We watch the tankers
# Fade from our view
# He asks nothing of me
# I ask of nothing of him
# Let the ground we walk on guide us
# He says he likes the way I sigh
# When his hand brushes against mine
# I choose you with grace
# I choose you with sensitivity
# I choose you today
# And all of the days
# I choose you with love
# I choose you with hunger in my heart
# I choose you today
# And all of the days
# If you feel overwhelmed
# If you're prone to doubt, to apprehend
# Take my hand, come with me
# We'll feel the blood in those cheeks
# This break of routine
# Has shown me how sweet this world can be
# It's made me forget everything
# This day by your side
# Has shown me how great this world can be
# You've made me forget everything
# If I could just steal these hours from days
# To feel you with me in every way
# And I feel right by your side
# The night descends
# So we head in
# To watch a Studio Ghibli film
# I fall asleep on your sleeve
# With those three words in my dreams. #
CHEERING