SCRUFF OF THE NECK RECORDS WRAPPED 2025
Scruff of the Neck Records catalogue achieved over 50 million streams in 2025 as our masters grew to over 400 tracks after 60 releases this year. Media support impacted massively with over 200 UK national radio plays (inc BBC Radio 1, premieres for Cast on BBC Radio 2, Virgin Radio A lists, BBC Radio 6, Kerrang!, Radio X and more) over 1,000 international plays, key tastemaker press (inc NME, Clash, DIY) and of course significantly support from DSP playlisting at Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and Deezer amongst others, with over 60 editorial playlists for our artists.
We signed britpop legends Cast ahead of their worldwide tour with Oasis, and announced their brand new album ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’. Not only that, we achieved chart success with The Lilacs and their debut EP ‘The 395 (To Forever), who also completely sold out their UK Tour, including a huge hometown headline at the 2,800 capacity Manchester Academy. We also continued to work Scruff of the Neck royalty, as Bilk and Glass Caves both released their second albums much to critical acclaim alongside charting success, huge radio plays and garnering tastemaker press.
Thank you to all of the artists and their teams for their great music, and we can’t wait to announce everything we have planned in 2026!
SCRUFF OF THE NECK MANAGEMENT WRAPPED 2025
It was a momentous year for our management roster, with some huge success across the board.
The Cheap Thrills transitioned into a major national touring force in 2025 with significant digital momentum. From packing out a stage at Glastonbury to selling out 1500 capacity The Grand Central in one day, it’s clear the band will rise to the very top. Fresh off the back of tour support for The Slow Readers Club, they have announced their biggest headline show to date at Mountford Hall (Liverpool) for August 2026 and head back out on the road with The Covasettes in February.
The Slow Readers Club released their seventh studio album ‘Out Of A Dream’, which reached number 11 on the Official UK Album Chart and number two in the official physical albums, album sales and independent album charts - their best selling album to date. The band had a huge Spring, selling out venues across Europe and the UK, and it wasn’t long until they played festivals across the UK and a huge show supporting Elbow at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl. The band finished the year selling well over 2,000 tickets for their homecoming show at Manchester Academy 1, a great warmup for next year where the band will be supporting The Cure at Wythenshawe Park.
Newcomers The Small Fortunes went from strength to strength - completely selling out their debut UK Tour and making their first trips abroad to Ibiza and Pro Weekend Festival in Castillon. 2026 is already shaping up to be huge for the band, with a full UK tour on sale now including a massive hometown show at the 950 capacity Manchester Academy 2.
Thank you to all of the bands for their hard work!
SCRUFF OF THE NECK LIVE WRAPPED 2025
Scruff of the Neck Live sold over 40,000 tickets across 280+ shows ranging from 60 to 3,000 capacity with a key focus on brand new and emerging talent alongside iconic heritage artists. Festival stages included The Great Escape in Brighton UK, Y Not Festival UK, two Northern Quarter Takeovers and the third rendition of our very own ‘Year’s End Festival’.
We launched our first international venture with Scruff of the Neck solely promoting shows in Germany to much success, in addition to bringing over 20 international artists to the UK.
We ran our biggest ever show outside of Manchester, bringing 3,000 people to Blackpool to witness indie legends Ocean Colour Scene with special guests Inspiral Carpets, Northside, Pastel and Dirty Circus. Not only that, we announced another huge Blackpool show next year, with The Fratellis taking to the iconic Winter Gardens on Friday 21st August 2026.
We’d like to thank all of the fantastic artists, agents, managers and Scruff of the Neck team that played a part in such a fantastic year, we’ll be back and even bigger in 2026!
WE’RE BACK IN THE LOVELY BRIGHTON! ☀️ OUR AIM HOUSE LIVE X SCRUFF OF THE NECK X BOOTLEGGER SHOWCASE STARTS TONIGHT AT 18:30!
We are delighted to be back with AIM House Live and Scruff of the Neck Live x Bootlegger presents, a four-day, multi-artist showcase as part of the official Alternative Escape at this year’s Great Escape in Brighton.
AIM House Live is brought to you by AIM’s Small Labels Committee, who have curated these special showcases to celebrate the talent of the UK’s independent music community. We’re also packing out Wednesday and Friday with artists from across the Scruff of the Neck Live roster in collaboration with Bootlegger.
Playing in Brighton at The Great Escape is highly competitive, and a slot can be difficult to secure, so AIM have teamed up with local venue the Bootlegger to create this opportunity for emerging artists to perform.
We’ll be kicking things off on Wednesday 16th May at 18:30, then music all day from 13:30 - 23:00 on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th May. Bootlegger will also be open and serving up drinks until the early hours every night!
Entry is free and no ticket is required, so come on down to see what the UK’s new music scene has to offer!
Our very own Label Manager Antonia Sulley is a delegate and panellist in her native Wrexham this week at the superb international music conference Focus Wales!
“Having grown up in Wrexham, Focus Wales was the first gig/festival I EVER went to (Charlotte Church), and I got a free ticket because I had been using the studio round the corner that was a funded scheme to get young people into music.
Wrexham’s music culture is part of my DNA and I wouldn’t be working in the industry without it, and it’s amazing to see international artists and delegates coming to North Wales to make change in the wider, international industry.
Come see me at 2pm @ Ty Pawb performance space where I’ll be on an amazing panel about access and representation with some wonderful people!”
@antonia.sulley_@focuswales
AIM HOUSE LIVE X SCRUFF OF THE NECK X BOOTLEGGER
We are delighted to announce AIM House Live and Scruff of the Neck Live x Bootlegger presents, a four-day, multi-artist showcase as part of the official Alternative Escape at this year’s Great Escape in Brighton.
AIM House Live is brought to you by AIM’s Small Labels Committee, who have curated these special showcases to celebrate the talent of the UK’s independent music community. We’re also packing out Wednesday and Friday with artists from across the Scruff of the Neck Live roster in collaboration with Bootlegger.
Playing in Brighton at The Great Escape is highly competitive, and a slot can be difficult to secure, so AIM have teamed up with local venue the Bootlegger to create this opportunity for emerging artists to perform.
We’ll be kicking things off on Wednesday 16th May at 18:30, then music all day from 13:30 - 23:00 on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th May. Bootlegger will also be open and serving up drinks until the early hours every night!
Entry is free and no ticket is required, so come on down to see what the UK’s new music scene has to offer!
THE ORDINARY BOYS IN MANCHESTER
Following the release of comeback single ‘Peer Pressure’ on Scruff of the Neck Records, @theordinaryboysofficial announce an intimate headline show at Manchester’s iconic @nightanddaycafe next month!
Tickets on sale Friday 10am, this will sell quick so don’t hang about.
🎟️ - @fatsoma
TAKE HER BACK.. TO BLACKPOOL!
Platinum selling indie legends @pigeonsofficial announce their only headline show of 2026 as they take on @wgbpl in September.
Expect mic swinging, high energy and all the hits from ‘Take Her Back’ to ‘I Found Out’. This is absolutely not one to be missed. Tickets on sale Friday 10am.
🎟️ - @fatsoma
The Lilacs’ debut album ‘Keeping Up With The Joneses’ launched at the end of March, anchored by their new single ‘Girl Behind The Bar’ and they’ve received support across Radio X (John Kennedy), Amazon Music and tonnes more. They’re still wrapping up their latest tour ahead of a summer full of festivals.
There’s a tonne of beautiful records and merch available on their webstore, more new music to come and some massive news coming this week 👀
