Scant Regard’s Will Crewdson performs live supporting Dave Formula and Noko at Manchester Academy 2, Manchester, 23 May 2026

Will Crewdson performs his solo project Scant Regard live at Manchester Academy 2 on 23 May 2026, opening the evening for Dave Formula and Noko’s full-band celebration of songs from Magazine’s influential post-punk catalogue. Photographed tightly from the audience, the London-based guitarist, writer and producer is shown singing into a stage microphone while playing a distinctive metallic blue electric guitar. He wears a short-sleeved black shirt with a contrasting leopard-print panel, a chain necklace and a dark guitar strap, creating a strong visual match for the project’s flamboyant, genre-crossing performance style. Purple and deep-blue concert lighting dominates the background, while a yellow-green beam catches the performer’s hair, arm and instrument. Crewdson’s concentrated expression, direct position at the microphone and hand placement on the guitar convey the intensity and physical energy of a live club performance. Part of the drum kit is visible at the right edge, placing the portrait firmly within the stage environment without distracting from the musician. Scant Regard is Crewdson’s one-man, guitar-led solo identity, combining electronic rhythms with elements of punk, surf rock, rockabilly, industrial funk, dub and cinematic soundtrack music. Beyond this project, he is widely associated with guitar work for Adam Ant, The Selecter, Rachel Stamp, Flesh for Lulu, Gaye Bykers on Acid, Johnette Napolitano and She Made Me Do It. The Manchester date formed the final night of the May 2026 Dave Formula tour and took place inside the University of Manchester Students’ Union building on Oxford Road. The image documents an established British alternative guitarist supporting musicians connected with Magazine, one of Manchester’s defining post-punk groups, in an intimate university concert venue