22 dead in Manchester suicide bomb attack

A suicide bomb attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena last night has left at least 22 people dead and 59 injured. Police have said that the bomb was detonated by a man who also died in the blast. Reports say that the blast occurred in the foyer area of the Manchester Arena just before 10.35pm, shortly after Grande had left the stage. Eye-witnesses interviewed by the BBC have spoken of a blast and flash of fire, causing glass to shatter and the whole building to shake.

The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Ian Hopkins, said in a statement: "This has been the most horrific incident we have had to face in Greater Manchester and one that we all hoped we would never see. Families and many young people were out to enjoy a concert at the Manchester Arena and have lost their lives. Our thoughts are with those 22 victims that we now know have died, the 59 people who have been injured and their loved ones. We continue to do all we can to support them".

Take That at the Echo Arena, the debut Amazon Prime show with Blondie and London's Radio Festival were all been postponed in the aftermath of the Manchester bombing.

HMV Manchester in store chaos prompts safety rethink

Manchester HMV will re-evaluates its safety policies after "hundreds" of Bars And Melody fans were locked out of an in-store appearance. According to the Manchester Evening News, the teen rap stars made an appearance at the store to sign copies of their debut single, 'Hopeful'. Entry was via the purchase of a paiud for copy of the CD, but many arrived after the shop had sold out. With many fans barred from meeting the duo and growing increasingly angry, HMV staff apparently pulled down the shop's shutters and called the police. Store manager Terry Doyle told the MEN that the store's capacity was a maximum of 600 people, and that 800 copies of the Bars And Melody single had been ordered in, which sold out on the morning of the event. A HMV spokesperson said "The safety and welfare of all customers is a priority and all events will continue to be organised with this at the front of mind. Clearly there may always be disappointed fans when events are organised with extremely popular artists, and HMV will work to minimise this disappointment wherever possible."

Flowers' throat a Killer

The Killers were forced to stop a show at Manchester's MEN Arena yesterday (13th November) after just five songs after frontman Brandon Flowers lost his voice.

A second date in Manchester has also been cancelled, and it's not yet certain what will happen to the band's planned London shows later in the week.