Hotels for Ocean Colour Scene

A December night out for a crowd who grew up on Britpop and never quite let go of it. Expect a singalong from the first chorus, the kind where the room knows every word and doesn't need much persuading to prove it. Saturday timing makes it an easy one to build a night around, with no work the next morning to cut the evening short. It's a set list built for nostalgia rather than novelty, and the audience turns up for exactly that.

An indoor arena within Birmingham's sprawling NEC complex, bp pulse LIVE hosts concerts, comedy and live events beside the exhibition halls on the city's eastern edge. The setting is a self-contained events campus, with on-site hotels, restaurants and lakeside walks rather than a traditional high street.

Birmingham International station and the nearby airport make arrivals straightforward, with fast trains into the centre. Booking a room on or near the complex lets you walk to the show and avoid the post-event car-park crawl.