Doves announce Manchester gig and compilation album

Doves confirm Manchester gig at O2 Apollo and detail unreleased track which will feature

Doves will headline Manchester’s O2 Apollo in December 2025 as part of two newly announced UK shows. The Manchester gig marks a long-awaited return to the venue for the band, who last played there in 2007. They will also perform at Sheffield’s Octagon Centre on Thursday 18 December.

The tour coincides with the upcoming release of So, Here We Are: Best Of Doves, a 19-track retrospective due on Friday 14 November 2025 via EMI North. The compilation includes singles There Goes The Fear, Black And White Town, Caught By The River and Pounding, alongside the previously unreleased Spirit Of Your Friend, recorded during the Kingdom Of Rust sessions in 2006.

Also featured are highlights from their 2020 No.1 album The Universal Want including Prisoners and Carousels, as well as Renegade and Cold Dreaming from 2025’s Constellations For The Lonely. This is the band’s first compilation to be released on vinyl.

Speaking about the compilation, Jimi Goodwin said: “So, here we are… a ‘best of’ can be a difficult thing to pull off but it was surprisingly easy once we got thinking. It’s by no means complete but, then how could it be? It’s been revelatory and somehow cathartic, revising what we’ve achieved together. I mean, wow! Did we really write this stuff?”

When do Doves release So, Here We Are: The Best of Doves?

Doves will release So, Here We Are: The Best of Doves on Friday 14 November 2025.

When do Doves headline at O2 Apollo Manchester?

Doves will headline Manchester’s O2 Apollo on Saturday 20 December 2025. The Sheffield date at the Octagon Centre takes place two nights earlier, on Thursday 18 December. Full list of UK and Ireland dates below:

Friday 29 August 2025 – Lindisfarne, Lindisfarne Festival
Sunday 31 August 2025 – Birmingham, Moseley Folk & Arts Festival
Friday 12 December 2025 – Dundee, LIVEHOUSE
Sunday 14 December 2025 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town
Monday 15 December 2025 – Bournemouth, O2 Academy
Tuesday 16 December 2025 – Cambridge, Junction
Thursday 18 December 2025 – Sheffield, Octagon Centre
Saturday 20 December 2025 – Manchester, O2 Apollo

When do tickets go on sale for Doves at O2 Apollo Manchester?

Tickets for Doves at Manchester’s O2 Apollo go on general sale at 10am BST on Wednesday 3 September 2025. Fans can access booking links and sign up for early access by pre-ordering the album at www.dovesofficial.com.

image of Doves courtesy David Filliponi