Few perks of being tapped in to the ongoings of Manchester’s live music scene match the thrill of being continually within reach of some of the music industry’s biggest living legends; artists who’ve helped shape the soundscape of the moment with their art offering themselves up for one or two nights only. One of those recent offerings was a stop at the o2 Ritz — the longest-standing music venue in the city’s circuit — by the sexually virile and ecstasy-driven enigma of a force that is Merrill Nisker, known professionally as Peaches.
Having spent the last three decades on the road, the Toronto-born musician has become no stranger to our city, having played two of the Manchester academies twice before finding her niche at the 2023 and 2025 instalments of Homobloc — the world’s most vivacious queer block party — with a career-defining performance that cemented her position as the apex of liberal progression, just as her earworm of a hit ‘Fuck The Pain Away’ did two decades ago when it first hit shelves.
It is clear that her moral compass has always provided the sense of direction for her music; steering her career away from commercial appeal and rather in the direction of connection and community, with her using her platform to advocate for the rights of those without. It is worth noting that the current global socio-political climate is what led her to release No Lube So Rude; her first album in over a decade.
“It’s been a long time — but with what’s going on right now, I just couldn’t stay silent. There’s too much to say”.
The fruits of her labour are perhaps best displayed in her live performances, which have rightly become a safe haven for the sexually liberated thanks to the star’s bodacious showcase of her own fluidity and comfort within her own skin. Perhaps yet to become notorious as one of the most unique experiences of a standard gig, star of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK turned musician in their own right Bimini saw us into the night, taking to the stage for a set of post-industrial pop-punk bangers that infused pure queer joy into all corners of the Grade 11 listed building. Gazing to the faces around me, it was clear their connection with the crowd was instantaneous, and I knew we were all akin in our admiration of just how fabulous they looked.
Shortly thereafter, “older than you, looking so cunt” invited roaring cheers from the crowd as a figure made up of a thousand penises emerged from the abyss. Slowly, Peaches emerged from the genitalia-bound suit, shedding it like a skin as she locked eyes with the crowd; a specific look in her eye that hooked our attention and refused to let it go for the next two hours.
Bodies swayed and faces lit up as the star stood with a shirt boasting ‘PUBES OVER PROFIT’ which was removed to reveal another stating ‘TAX THIS’, which in a city that successfully countered a far-right protest led by Britain First and home to the first constitution to successfully by-elect a Westminister chair for a Green Party candidate, went down a real treat. The crowd went into a sensual frenzy; hearts warm and content knowing that even if just for these next few hours, we were surrounded by love in the form of strangers who saw the world in the way we did.
Joined by two backup dancers and a surprisingly extensive production, the star paced through the first half of the set, failing to lose energy but instead seeming to somehow generate more as the night progressed with the warmth flowing straight from the stage and into the crowd. Following an electro-house breakdown ‘Light In Places’ that wouldn’t be out of place on Madonna’s upcoming Confessions II, the Ritz seemed once more a decent nightlife spot for a brief second, with human-sized vaginas dancing alongside Peaches who only departed to walk directly from the barrier onto the crowd (no seriously onto) to perform ‘I Mean Something’, taking to the mic amongst the warm bodies all desperate for an up close glimpse of the star herself.
Performing on a B-stage isn’t exactly commonplace in a venue of this size, though I was hardly surprised when Peaches did exactly that. The pit was at a disadvantage for once as she stood at the back of the mezzanine to perform ‘Fuck How You Wanna Fuck’ and ‘Not In Your Mouth None Of Your Business’; faces gazing up in admiration to her as she sang against the backdrop of a beam of white light like a star in the night sky.
Shortly thereafter, a current pulled us back towards the stage as she pulled the tide back, performing ‘Grip’ as she went. I found myself washed up front and centre as the iconic bassline of ‘Boys Wanna Be Her’. began to ring out, with the star herself taking to the chords. It was a one of those rare moments that you suddenly slip into a hyperaware state as you realise a core memory is actively in the making.
Peaches maintained her infectious swagger as her lyricism continued to pierce the soul, pouring all of her energy into breaking the shackles of our deepest burrowed energy resources long into the night. The crowd were entirely possessed by her spirit, limbs flying into the air and faces painted with a smile from the ecstasy of the skin-to-skin contact with those around us.
It was as though the inflatable womb (which, for reference, was easily bigger than a minibus) that consumed the stage had signified a rebirth of each and every one of us in that crowd, breathing new life into the star too as she shook a gold chain around her next for what seemed like a lifetime in a complete testament to her strength.
I couldn’t think of a better city to have seen this once-in-a-generation artist than Manchester. I’m not surprised this performance was nothing but spectacular considering that her biggest hit is a live recording itself, but the participation of the crowd in this spectacle of sensual liberation had a beacon-and-call energy that I think you’d fail to replicate anywhere but here. A true display of Mancunian spirit seemed to take the star by surprise, as she was continually rendered speechless by the crowd’s active participation. It truly doesn’t get much more intimate nor immersive than this, providing the exact level of escapism and liberation that we need in times like these.
