NEWS EXTRA

BEATS:

HARLEM sprang into the spotlight with the self-release of their 2008 album “Free Drugs”.

The Arizona trio — Michael Coomers, Curtis O’Mara and Jose Boyer — quickly garnered a reputation for staging blistering live shows.

The band, who play The Corner in Manchester tomorrow, are all set to release “Hippies” their first album on Matador Records.


SMOOTH crooner Ed Harcourt is hitting the road with his fifth album “Lustre”.

The 32-year-old — who is often compared to Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Jeff Buckley — kicked off his career in style with a Mercury Prize nomination for debut album “Here Be Monsters” in 2001.

Before going it alone, Ed played bass and keyboards for indie quartet Snug who wrote a number of albums together before splitting up in the late 1990s.

Ed has filled the support slot for a host of big names including R.E.M., Snow Patrol, The Divine Comedy, Supergrass and Norah Jones but he will be the headline act at Manchester’s Deaf Institute on Thursday.


THE sun may not be shining but upbeat singer Alan Pownall is guaranteed to bring the sound of summer to town.

His new single “Colourful Day” is out next month and he’s already toured with Adele, Marina and The Diamonds and Paloma Faith. You can see what all the fuss is about when Alan plays at Manchester’s Night and Day on Thursday.