One of the UK’s most sought-after club, festival and event DJs has been announced as the host for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s (OMD’s) headline show at Rochdale Town Hall Square this summer.
Inspiral Carpets’ keyboard player, vocalist and songwriter Clint Boon will DJ in between the bands and be introducing them on stage during the historic concert on Friday 7 August. On top of synth and electronic legends OMD, the line-up features Peter Hook & The Light, and Manchester’s post-punk/funk band – A Certain Ratio. Despite famously recording their debut single ‘Electricity’ in the town, OMD have never played Rochdale before. But on Friday 7 August the 80s icons bring their ‘Summer of Hits’ tour to town.
Clint Boon’s work with the Inspirals has taken him around the world many times and resulted in a stack of hit singles and five highly acclaimed studio albums. The band are seen as one of the definitive ‘Madchester’ bands alongside Happy Mondays, James and The Stone Roses. Like all the other acts on the Rochdale line-up, Inspiral Carpets recorded in the town. Clint was also instrumental in helping some of the most important bands achieve their success. He recorded Elbow’s first ever demo in his loft studio in Rochdale. He helped Gary Mounfield (Mani) become The Stone Roses bass player, and he took Noel Gallagher around the world as a roadie for the Inspirals and introduced him to the industry. In the late 90s he recorded two albums under the name ‘The Clint Boon Experience’ which featured vocals by a then unknown opera singer from Fleetwood, named Alfie Boe.
For 20 years Clint was a fixture on the airwaves, presenting shows on stations including XFM, BBC Radio Manchester, Radio X and XS Manchester. He is currently a regular guest presenter on Absolute Radio, where he’ll be presenting a weekly Sunday night show through September. The Inspiral Carpets went back out on tour in 2023 with sold out gigs across the UK and subsequent trips to Spain, Australia and New Zealand. Since then, they’ve performed every year including at some of the UK’s most well-known festivals. Their sixth studio album ‘Burn Like the Sun’ is due for release in January 2027 and Clint’s book,‘The Manchester Chronicles’ is published this September.
Staged in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency the special show is part of ‘Rochdale Music Stories’ – a campaign launched last year as part of the town’s year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture, to shine a spotlight on Rochdale’s longstanding influence on British music whilst promoting the next wave of talent.
Clint Boon said: “Rochdale boasts a rich and diverse musical legacy and at Suite Sixteen and Cargo Studios on Kenion Street in the town, the trailblazing artists on this line-up and many others recorded some of their most memorable work. This OMD concert in Rochdale is going to be an amazing and historic night, with Peter Hook and A Certain Ratio also playing. All these bands mean such a lot to me, as does Rochdale, it’s my former hometown and where I went to art college many years ago. I’m very excited to come back and host this one.”
Tickets (£55 + booking fee) are available at quaytickets.com and rochdale.gov.uk/YourEvents. VIP upgrade packages are also available.