The Lottery Winners were joined by a Boy George tribute act, Bez, and Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers on stage in Manchester – watch fan-captured footage below.
The Mancunian group had a three-show residency at Manchester Academy back in December called The Burning House Party, with the setlist including hits such as ‘Letter To Myself’ and ‘Superpower’. They also performed a host of tracks from their 2023 LP ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’.
Fans were treated to some special appearances across The Lottery Winners’ Manchester dates – notably Bez, Reverend and the Makers frontman Jon McClure, and a Boy George tribute act.
McClure came on for ‘You Again’, a track from the band’s 2024 LP ‘KOKO’ that features the Reverend and the Makers musician.
Katie Lloyd – The Lottery Winners’ bassist and vocalist – described McClure as “the best storyteller you could ever meet”. Frontman Thom Rylance agreed that the single is “an absolute banger” thanks to his influence, and added: “If I had to bet on any song from ‘KOKO’ being a hit, it’s ‘You Again’ – which is annoying because Jon wrote the chorus, not me.”
The band then “needed” a Bez, as Rylance called out on the mic during the show. A recording of a doorbell then plays, and Bez walks through a red door and immediately takes the mic and joins the band by performing and dancing on stage.
Also at one of the shows, a Boy George doppelganger, who according to Wigan Today is a singer Paul Sutton who performs as tribute act Boy Gorgeous, joined them on vocal duties for ‘Let Me Down’. George featured on the record’s single.
Last month, Rylance spoke with NME about his regret at starting a row with Kate Nash over the lack of working-class representation in the arts. This happened after he tweeted that Nash shouldn’t try to represent working-class musicians, as well as criticising her background as a former pupil of the BRIT School, mistakenly labelling it a fee-paying establishment.
In other related news, The Lottery Winners were recently named as the support to Robbie Williams on his 2025 European tour.
The band will release their new album ‘KOKO’ on February 21, which features collaborations with Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, Frank Turner, Reverend And The Makers and Shed Seven singer Rick Witter.
