“Calling all participants of noise and chaos, the world heavyweight champions reunite” was the apt sub-heading for The Prodigy’s April 2026 tour. “Noise and chaos” were certainly delivered in Manchester, and the group earned their “world heavyweight champions” title with their signature hybridised electro-punk. The Prodigy’s last appearances in Manchester were at two consecutive sold-out nights at Depot Mayfield, home of The Warehouse Project, at the end of 2024. It’s no surprise, then, that the next step up would be Co-Op Live.
Legendary DJ Carl Cox performed a two-hour opening set, spinning jungle and summery house classics in a vinyl-only, genre-bending showcase that provided the perfect precedent for The Prodigy. Moving between three decks, Cox often paused to wave the records in the air, at times taking two and bowing to the audience with them in his hands. As the clock struck nine, Cox left the stage, waving to the crowd with a well-deserved grin on his face warranted by the highly impressive proficiency that has given him his legacy. “Thank you once again Manchester”, he said as he left, “you’ve been amazing”. This was no word of a lie; his set was probably the first time Co-Op Live had seen seated sections on their feet for a support act. The Prodigy’s stage set-up was then brought on, and attendees waited in eager anticipation for no more than fifteen minutes.
Credit: Samuel Chamberlain @ The Mancunion
The crowd gathered at The Prodigy’s Depot Mayfield show in 2024 may have waited until ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ to erupt, but this was far from the case at Co-Op Live. As the heavy, menacing bass and intense percussion of ‘Omen’ blasted out, mosh pits formed: impersonators of the late frontman Keith Flint could be seen dancing in the middle of each one, decked in his iconic American flag jumper and their best attempt at his infamous haircut resembling devil horns.
Hectic though it was, it was clear that the crowd had formed a close-knit community by the end of the first song, as nobody was allowed to fall or be crushed. ‘Voodoo People’, which has often served as the opening song in The Prodigy’s live set, brought its iconic guitar riff and syncopated drum pattern as now-frontman Maxim joined the crowd at the barrier, before ‘Poison’ brought its distorted, layered production and sonic tension.
For a while now, The Prodigy have been performing a mash-up of ‘Climbatize’ and ‘Warrior’s Dance’ guaranteed to create and sustain chaos by combining the former’s rolling percussion and cinematic horn section with the latter’s instantly recognisable vocal sample. At Co-Op Live, the mash-up was enhanced by the added inclusion of ‘Everybody in the Place’, with its opening onomatopoeic “boing” retained in its live performance. The song is built around a high-speed breakbeat, with stabs of synth building momentum. It might be less forceful than the electro-punk The Prodigy are best known for, but it remains a rave classic, and also functioned as a testament to the community created by The Prodigy both on the night and throughout their career.
Another mash-up followed, this time of ‘Claustrophobic Song’ and ‘Firestarter’. ‘Roadblox’ is propulsive, pulsating, and relentless on record; at Co-Op Live, it saw limbs flailing and seats shaking, while ‘Light Up the Sky’ saw the set go “atomic” as lasers were projected throughout the venue and validated the group’s reputation for unparalleled light production. ‘The Day is My Enemy’ was introduced by two marching-band-esque drummers, before ‘Invaders Must Die’ and ‘No Good (Start the Dance)’ continued a string of hits. The group then performed ‘Thunder’ for the first time since 2018: this came as a pleasant surprise, especially for the hardcore fans gathered in the front rows.
Credit: Samuel Chamberlain @ The Mancunion
Anarchic anthems ‘Get Your Fight On’ and ‘Their Law’ ushered in the end of The Prodigy’s main set, before ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ closed it with another hit of chaos. Returning to the stage, The Prodigy performed a five-song encore of back-to-back classics: ‘Breathe’, ‘Take Me to the Hospital’, a teaser of ‘Diesel Power’, and ‘We Live Forever’ were received with equal measures of shock and energy. ‘Out of Space’ was heralded by blaring sirens, as Maxim asked “are you ready to go home?” After he had stated “we love coming to Manchester, party fucking people”, the song allowed one final iconic drop, ending the night perfectly before the crowd danced out of the arena to the sound of The Specials' ‘Ghost Town’.
Although The Prodigy didn’t deliver on Liam Howlett’s promise of new “fuckin’ evil rave” material, it’s rare to see an act of their standing still happy to play all the crowd-pleasers. The Prodigy are due to return to Manchester in August as part of their summer Warriors Dance tour, bringing their live show to Wythenshawe Park with a stellar supporting line-up including Carl Cox, drum and bass legend Andy C, and the one and only ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U. If Co-Op Live is anything to go by, the group’s biggest shows since the passing of Keith Flint cannot be missed.
Comments
Powered by DisqusComments are provided by Disqus.