KAISER CHIEFS SUPPORTED BY CORELLA

Love was in the air this Valentine’s Day with Kaiser Chiefs returning to Manchester for their ‘More Employment’ tour. 

Kaiser Chiefs released a groundbreaking album back in 2005 titled ‘Employment’ and still to this day 21 years later these songs still get played on repeat. The band originally formed back in 1996 under the name ‘Runston Parva’ then rebranding to ‘Kaiser Chiefs’ in 2003. They were formed in Leeds and have consistently sold out international and close-to-home shows. Their 2026 tour has been highly anticipated and has sold out many of its performances.This was their second stop of the tour and this show was a complete sell out from as soon as the show was announced. 

Even before Corella took to the stage the room was absolutely packed – everyone waiting with anticipation.

Corella are a four piece Manchester based indie band that formed at BIMM in Manchester. After some amazing festival performances and shows from these guys last year –  such as Kendall Calling and Truck Fest – this support slot on this tour has kicked off 2026 for this band better than ever.

As soon as the band stepped on the crowd went crazy – the crowd was packed with couples, families and friends on the most romantic day of the year. They started with the hit ‘Do you want it?’ from the album ‘today, tomorrow, whenever’ which the crowd sang with them.

The atmosphere was already electric not even a minute into the set. Their setlist consisted of singles, unreleased music and songs from their latest ep ‘Once upon a weekend’ of course including their biggest hits ‘Come around’ and ‘Bloom’ which the majority of the audience knew word for word.

As it was valentines day of course there were references to love – they even tried matchmaking asking people who were single to raise their hands so they could identify one another! There were also some lovely heart-shaped balloons bouncing around the crowd sharing the love. This band is definitely one to watch out for…

Anticipation grew even higher from the moment Corella stepped off the stage to the moment the Jurassic park theme tune started playing… Kaiser Chiefs always put on a show – their stage presence is unmatched as well as the energy they bring to every show there’s a certain uniqueness to every one of their shows.

The crowd was greeted by a pre-show video followed by Jurassic park theme music. As the band took to the stage they came on to the wonderful ‘Walk the dinosaur’ which I was not expecting but the crowd LOVED it! Such a fun, unexpected way to start a legendary set. They of course played ‘employment’ in full starting the set with ‘Everyday I Love You Less And Less’ such a catchy song with a contrast to the song’s theme of falling out of love – everyone knows this song everyone sang along a sold out Victoria Warehouse as loud as ever. I didn’t think the crowd could get any louder but as the intro came on for ‘I predict a riot’ oh did the crowd prove me wrong – the energy from the band (especially Ricky) was shared with the packed out audience.

Ricky Wilson the frontman of Kaiser Chiefs is possibly one of the best out there he does not stay still he gives the audience an absolutely amazing show every time he steps onto a stage – from kicks to jumps to dance breaks, even streamers, he has it all! As it was valentines day of course this was referenced a few times but the guys had an amazing idea and posted ‘DM us your message for your loved one and we might just read it out on stage…’ a unique idea for a day full of love.

After they had played ‘Employment’ in full in which everyone sang and filled the venue with voices. They then left the stage making the crowd want more – they played a long encore starting with a cover of a legendary song ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ by the Ramones which sounded electric as well as another few songs from other albums. My personal favourite from the encore was the world renowned ‘Ruby’ .

What a way to kick off 2026 for this band. 

Kaiser Chiefs are performing at a number of festivals this year including ‘Neighbourhood Weekender’ make sure you catch this band live this year – you don’t want to miss it!

Review and all photography by Christina Thompson for The Songbird HQ