'Manchester, this is embarrassing': Band make plea after selling 'about 12 tickets' for thousand capacity venue

A rock band have made a cheeky attempt to drum up interest in their Manchester show after jokingly claiming they have only 'sold about 12 tickets' for a 1,300 capacity venue. Acclaimed group Beak are booked to play the New Century Hall in the city on Thursday, November 6.

The Bristol based three-piece electronic and experimental group, who include former Portishead member Geoff Barrow in their ranks, posted a social media clip from a studio which was obviously specially crafted for Mancunian music lovers. The post on the group's Facebook page is captioned 'Manchester… for f*ck sake this is embarrassing'.

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After Barrow counts them in the band are seen performing an instrumental version of The Stone Roses iconic 1989 single Fools Gold.
Barrow, who won the Mercury Music Prize in 1995 for his work with Portishead on the global hit album Dummy, then makes his tongue in cheek appeal to Mancunian music fans while drumming along to the Roses' tune.

He said: "Hello Manchester - we're playing the New Century Hall on the 6th of November. And I think we've sold about 12 tickets.
"So please come and join us." The band then finished their cover version with a flourish.

Beak's apparent lack of sales for the New Century gig hasn't been replicated at other venues for their upcoming UK and European tour.
The band have previously announced shows have sold out in Brighton, Cardiff, Leeds, Brussels and Berlin for the 20 date tour, which starts in Cardiff on October 30.

The band received support from fans after their cheeky appeal. Suzi Soo said 'Honestly, why isn’t this sold out' while another poster got the message saying 'Hint taken! Tickets booked!'.