Madchester
Encyclopedia
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester
, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock
, psychedelic rock
and dance music
. Artists associated with the scene included New Order
, The Stone Roses
, Happy Mondays
, Inspiral Carpets
, Northside
, 808 State
, James
, The Charlatans, A Guy Called Gerald
and other bands. At that time, the Haçienda
nightclub was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the Second Summer of Love
.
, New Order
, The Fall and James
. These bands were to become a significant influence on the Madchester scene.
The opening of the Haçienda nightclub, an initiative of Factory Records
, in May 1982 was also influential in the development of popular culture in Manchester. For the first few years of its life, the club played predominantly club orientated pop music and hosted gigs from artists including New Order, Culture Club, The Thompson Twins, and the Smiths. It had DJs such as Hewan Clarke and Greg Wilson and switched focus from being a live venue to being a dance club by 1986. In 1987 The Hacienda started playing House music with DJs Mike Pickering
, Graeme Park
and "Little" Martin Prendergast hosting the Nude night on Fridays.
The Festival of the Tenth Summer
in July 1986, organised by Factory Records, helped to consolidate Manchester's standing as a centre for alternative pop-culture. The festival included film-screenings, a music seminar, art shows and gigs by the city's most prominent bands, including an all-day gig at Manchester G-Mex featuring A Certain Ratio
, The Smiths, New Order and The Fall. According to Dave Haslam
, the festival demonstrated that "the city had become synonymous with ... larger-than-life characters playing cutting edge music ... Individuals were inspired and the city was energised; of it's own accord, uncontrolled" although Manchester was already fully energised.
The Haçienda went from making a consistent loss to consistently selling out by early 1987. During 1987, it hosted performances by American house artists including Frankie Knuckles
and Adonis
. Other clubs in the Manchester area started to catch on to House music including Devilles, Isadora's, Konspiracy, House, Soundgardens and Man Alive in the city centre, Bugsy's in Ashton-under-Lyne
and the Osbourne Club in Miles Platting
.
Another key factor in the build-up to Madchester was the sudden availability of the drug ecstasy in the city, beginning in 1987 and growing the following year. According to Dave Haslam: "Ecstasy use changed clubs forever; a night at the Haçienda went from being a great night out, to an intense, life changing experience".
By the late 1980s, the British music was symbolised by a robust sound such as a Duran Duran
and Spandau Ballet
and the pop music of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. The Guardian stated that 'The 80s looked destined to end in musical ignominy.' The Madchester movement burgeoned, its sound was new and refreshing and its popularity soon grew. Music by artists such as the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays began to chart highly in 1989 with New Order releasing the house-influenced Technique
, which topped the UK album charts.
video director Philip Shotton), many of its most significant bands and artists were around on the local scene long before then.
The Stone Roses
were formed in 1984 by singer Ian Brown
and guitarist John Squire
, who had grown up on the same street in Timperley
, a suburban area of Altrincham
, to the south of Manchester
. They had been in bands together since 1979, when they were both 16, but the Stone Roses were the first to release a record, "So Young", in 1985. The line-up was completed by Alan "Reni" Wren
on drums and, from 1987, Gary "Mani" Mounfield
on bass.
Happy Mondays
were formed in Salford in 1985. The members between then and the break-up of the band in 1992 were Shaun Ryder
, his brother Paul
, Mark "Bez" Berry, Paul Davis, Mark Day and Gary Whelan. They were signed to Factory Records
, supposedly after Haçienda DJ Mike Pickering
saw them at a Battle of the Bands
contest in which they came last (the winners being Manchester band The Brigade). They released two singles - "45", produced by Pickering in 1985, and "Freaky Dancin'", produced by New Order
's Bernard Sumner
in 1986 - before putting out an album produced by John Cale
and bearing the title Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)
in 1987.
Inspiral Carpets
were formed in Oldham
, Greater Manchester
in 1986. The line-up was Clint Boon
(organ), Stephen Holt (vocals - Tom Hingley
would not join up until the beginning of 1989), Graham Lambert (guitar), Martyn Walsh (bass) and Craig Gill (drums). They released a flexi-disc a year later, and in 1988 the Planecrash EP (on their own Cow Records) brought them to the attention of John Peel
.
James
were formed in 1981 by Paul Gilbertson
and Jim Glennie
(after whom the band was named), recruiting Drama student Tim Booth
on vocals and Gavan Whelan on drums (Gilbertson and Whelan were to leave the band before it attained commercial success). They released their first EP
, Jimone
on Factory Records
in 1983, and attracted critical enthusiasm, as well as the patronage of Morrissey
. Sales of their two albums for Sire Records
, Stutter
in 1986 and Strip-mine
in 1988, were disappointing and, at the time Madchester hit, the band was using t-shirt sales to fund its own releases through Rough Trade Records
and a live album called 'One Man Clapping' on Rough Trade Records , who early in 1989 put out the original Version of Sit Down. Madchester helped bring them commercial success and the single "Sit Down
" became one of the most popular anthems of the era.
808 State
were formed in 1988 by the owner of the Eastern Bloc Records shop on Oldham Street
, Martin Price, together with Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson. The three put together an innovative live acid house
set, performing at various venues around town, and releasing an acclaimed and influential album Newbuild
on Price's own label. Simpson left soon after the release of Newbuild, but went on to record as A Guy Called Gerald
.
released "Elephant Stone
" as a single. Around the same time, Happy Mondays
released the single "Wrote for Luck" (followed by the Bummed
album, produced by Martin Hannett
, in November). In November, A Guy Called Gerald
released his first solo single, "Voodoo Ray
".
Only "Voodoo Ray" was a commercial success, but by December, a sense had started to develop in the British music press that there was something going on in the city. According to Sean O'Hagan
, writing in the NME
: "There is a particularly credible music biz rumour-come theory that certain Northern towns—Manchester being the prime example—have had their water supply treated with small doses of mind-expanding chemicals ... Everyone from Happy Mondays to the severely disorientated Morrissey
conform to the theory in some way. Enter A Guy Called Gerald, out of his box on the limitless possibilities of a bank of keyboards".
The Stone Roses' following increased as they gigged around the country and released the "Made of Stone
" single in February 1989. This did not chart, but enthusiasm for the band in the music press intensified when they released their debut album
(produced by John Leckie
) in March.
Bob Stanley
(later of Saint Etienne
), reviewing the Stone Roses album in Melody Maker
wrote: "this is simply the best debut LP I've heard in my record buying lifetime. Forget everybody else. Forget work tomorrow". The NME
did not put it quite so strongly, but reported nonetheless that it was being talked of as "the greatest album ever made". John Robb in Sounds
said "The Stone Roses have revolutionised British Pop".
The club scene in Manchester continued to grow during 1988 and 1989, with Haçienda
launching Ibiza
-themed nights in the summer of 1988 and the Hot acid house
night (hosted by Mike Pickering
and Jon DaSilva
) in November of the same year.
released the single "Lazyitis" and the Inspiral Carpets
put out their first single with new singer Tom Hingley
, "Joe". Like the Stone Roses
, the Inspiral Carpets were producing sixties-inspired indie music. These bands mixed disco basslines and wah-wah guitar with their indie jingle-jangle. The Inspiral Carpets added the sound of the Farfisa organ.
This sound, which was to become known as "baggy
", generally includes a combination of funk
, psychedelia, guitar rock and house music
. In the Manchester context, the music can be seen as mainly influenced by the indie music that had dominated the city's music scene during the 1980s, but also absorbing the various influences coming through the Haçienda.
Alongside the music, a way of dressing emerged that gave baggy its name. Baggy jeans (often flared) alongside brightly coloured or tie-dye casual tops and general sixties style became fashionable first in Manchester and then across the country - frequently topped off with a fishing hat in the style sported by the Stone Roses drummer Reni
. The overall look was part rave, part retro
or part hippie
, part football casual. Many Madchester bands had football casual fans and a number of bands even wore football shirts. Shami Ahmed
's Manchester-based Joe Bloggs fashion label specialised in catering for the scene, making him a multi-millionaire.
The baggy sound influenced numerous Greater Manchester bands including James
, The Charlatans (Who formed in Birmingham) and The Mock Turtles
. However, in the early 1990s the sound spread across the country, with bands such as The Farm
, Flowered Up
, Candy Flip
and Blur
treading where Mancunians had gone before.
Dave Haslam notes that the interest of the press in the baggy scene skewed impressions of the Madchester scene. In Manchester, electronic dance music was prevalent in the clubs, and the scene also gave a home to hip-hop artists Ruthless Rap Assassins
, Hybrid and MC Tunes
.
released a Vince Clarke
remix
of "Wrote for Luck" as a single. In November, four important singles were released: "Move" by the Inspiral Carpets
, "Pacific State
" by 808 State
, The Madchester Rave On EP
by the Happy Mondays
and "Fools Gold"/"What the World is Waiting For"
by the Stone Roses
.
The Happy Mondays record, featuring the lead track "Hallelujah!", coined the term "Madchester" - it had originally been suggested by their video directors the Bailey Brothers as a potential t-shirt slogan.
In November, the Stone Roses performed a gig at London's Alexandra Palace
which was a nightmare , with 8000 fans and only 2 bar staff, and were invited onto BBC2
's high-brow Late Show (remembered by many because the electricity cut out during their performance and they stormed off). On 23 November 1989, the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays appeared on the same edition of Top of the Pops
. The "Fools Gold" single made number 8 in the UK singles chart, becoming the biggest-selling indie
single of the year.
Madchester became something of an industry bandwagon
from this time. According to NME journalist Stuart Maconie
, the British press had "gone bonkers over Manchester bands". James
were amongst the first beneficiaries of this. The local success of their self-financed singles "Come Home" and "Sit Down
" led to a deal with Fontana
, and they were to score chart hits with "How Was it For You" and a re-recorded version of "Come Home" in the summer of 1990.
The Charlatans came to prominence through appearances in Manchester, particularly as a support act to the Stone Roses and became strongly associated with the scene. They released a debut single "Indian Rope" in October 1989 and their second "The Only One I Know
" made the UK top ten.
A number of other Manchester bands gained the attention of the music press during 1990, including World of Twist
, New Fast Automatic Daffodils
, The High
, Northside
, Paris Angels
, and Intastella
. These "second wave" bands, according to John Robb, "copped the critical backlash, but were making great music". and they also received a great deal of local support with TV appearances on various Granada shows and local radio play.
records labels, with the significant exception of James, who signed to Fontana Records
in 1989. The Madchester was growing in popularity and was not just a local trend in Manchester with an article entitled Stark Raving Madchester appearing in the Newsweek Magazine in 1990 describing the Madchester scene. The main Madchester bands dominated the UK Indie Chart
s during late 1989 and much of 1990.
The success in the UK Singles and Albums charts of a number of indie acts associated with a "scene" was unprecedented at the time. "Step On" and "Kinky Afro" by the Happy Mondays
both made number 5 in the singles charts, whilst James
scored the biggest Madchester hit, making number 2 in 1991 with a re-recording of "Sit Down". In the album charts, the Happy Mondays made number 4 with Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
, and the Inspiral Carpets
got to number 2 with Life. The Charlatans were the only Madchester band to take the number 1 spot, with the album Some Friendly
in the autumn of 1990.
Outside the UK, the success of Madchester was limited, although some releases gained recognition in specialist charts around the world. In the U.S., the albums The Stone Roses
, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
and Some Friendly
reached the lower echelons of the U.S. album chart. Several singles by The Stone Roses
, The Inspiral Carpets, Happy Mondays
and The Charlatans were successful on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The Happy Mondays toured the US in 1990 and were the only Madchester band to have a single enter the Billboard Hot 100
when "Step On" reached #57 in 1990. They also reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks
chart, with "Kinky Afro
" in 1990. The only other Madchester artist to reach #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart was The Charlatans, whose single "Weirdo" was #1 for the week of 23 May 1992.
performed at Spike Island
in Widnes, Cheshire, supported by DJs Frankie Knuckles
, Phonso Buller, Dave Haslam
, and Dave Booth. This concert has been described as a "Woodstock
for the E generation.
A rapid succession of chart hits followed during the summer, including "One Love
" by the Stone Roses, "This Is How It Feels" by the Inspiral Carpets
, "The Only One I Know" by The Charlatans and "Kinky Afro" by the Happy Mondays
.
The end of the year saw triumphal concerts by James
and a double-header with the Happy Mondays
and 808 State
, both at Manchester G-Mex
.
The Stone Roses cancelled their June 1990 tour of the US, issuing a press statement saying: "America doesn't deserve us yet". however, their debut album sold more than 350,000 copies in the U.S. that year. The band also cancelled a gig in Spain and an appearance on the U.K. chat show Wogan
. They did not face the public again until the end of 1994, spending the intervening time in and out of studios in Wales - where they recorded a second album, Second Coming
- and fighting in court to release themselves from their contract with Silvertone Records
.
The making of the next Happy Mondays
album, Yes Please!
was also problematic, and it would not be released until October 1992. The band flew to Barbados to record it, where they went "crack
crazy", according to Paul Ryder
, making repeated requests of Factory Records
for extra time and additional funds. This is reputed to have been the major factor in the bankruptcy of the label in November 1992.
With the two bands seen as the most central to the scene out of action, media fascination with Madchester dwindled. James
, Inspiral Carpets
, The Charlatans and 808 State
continued to record, with varying degrees of success, during the 1990s, but ceased to be seen as part of a localised scene.
Local bands catching the tail-end of Madchester, such as The Mock Turtles
, became part of a wider baggy
scene. The music press in the U.K. began to place more focus on shoegazing
bands from the south of England
and bands emerging through the U.S. grunge
.
movement in the UK, with bands from various parts of the country producing music in the early 1990s heavily influenced by the main Madchester players. These bands included Flowered Up
(from London), The Farm
and The Real People
(from Liverpool
), The Bridewell Taxis
(from Leeds
), the Soup Dragons
(from Glasgow
) and Ocean Colour Scene
(from Birmingham
). Blur
, from Colchester
, adopted a baggy style in their early career, although in an interview with Select Magazine in 1991 they claimed to have "killed" the genre.
Bands formed in Manchester during the Madchester era included the Chemical Brothers, Verve
, Sub Sub
(who would later become Doves) and Oasis
(Noel Gallagher
had been a roadie for Inspiral Carpets). More generally, the Madchester scene brought together dance music
and alternative rock
, in particular the combination of the types of drumming found in funk and disco music (and sampled in 80s hip-hop music) with jingle-jangle guitar. In the 1990s, this became a commonplace formula, found frequently in even the most commercial music.
There have been numerous polls in the year following the Madchester movement to find the best song of the era. In 2005, Voodoo Ray
by A Guy Called Gerald
was voted as the best song from the Madchester scene. The song beat Step On by the Happy Mondays
and Waterfall
by The Stone Roses
for first place. In 2010, a new nightclub managed by Peter Hook
of New Order, FAC251 opened in Manchester, with musical emphasis on Madchester music.
living is also something that began to catch on in Manchester in the wake of Madchester, and which continues to this day.
The attraction of the city was such that, at the height of Madchester in 1990, the University of Manchester
was the most sought-after destination for university applicants in the UK, a position shared year-on-year by Oxford
and Cambridge
in the normal course of things.
The scene also gave a boost to the city's media and creative industries. Channel 4
already had great success with 'The Word' and in its wake The BBC
launched The 8:15 From Manchester
, a Saturday morning kids' TV show (with a themetune by the Inspiral Carpets
, a re-write of "Find out Why")and Granada Television
also jumped on the bandwagon with a cheaper version of The Word , called 'Juice' presented by John Bramwell and Joan Collins
' daughter Tara Newley
.
Organised crime became an unfortunate side-story to Madchester, with the vibrancy of the clubbing scene in the city (and the popularity of illegal drugs, particularly ecstasy) providing a fertile environment for opportunist gangsterism. Violent incidents at the Haçienda
led to a campaign against it by Greater Manchester Police
, and contributed to its closure in 1997.
In the late 1990s, a Manchester musical walk of fame was commissioned for Oldham Street
in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. The walk includes a triangular slab for each music group and pays homage to bands such as The Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, 808 State, James.
's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People
follows the story of Tony Wilson
and Factory Records
, including the Madchester period and the Happy Mondays' success.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
and dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
. Artists associated with the scene included New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
, Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
, Northside
Northside (band)
Northside are a British band from Blackley and Moston, Manchester, England. Formed in 1989, they released their only album Chicken Rhythms on Factory Records in 1991...
, 808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
, James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
, The Charlatans, A Guy Called Gerald
A Guy Called Gerald
A Guy Called Gerald is the stage name for the musician, record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson ....
and other bands. At that time, the Haçienda
The Haçienda
Fac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine...
nightclub was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the Second Summer of Love
Second Summer of Love
The Second Summer of Love is a name given to the period in 1988-89 in Britain, during the rise of acid house music and the euphoric explosion of unlicensed MDMA -fuelled rave parties...
.
Pre-Madchester
The music scene in Manchester immediately before the Madchester era had been dominated by bands such as The SmithsThe Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
, New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, The Fall and James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
. These bands were to become a significant influence on the Madchester scene.
The opening of the Haçienda nightclub, an initiative of Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
, in May 1982 was also influential in the development of popular culture in Manchester. For the first few years of its life, the club played predominantly club orientated pop music and hosted gigs from artists including New Order, Culture Club, The Thompson Twins, and the Smiths. It had DJs such as Hewan Clarke and Greg Wilson and switched focus from being a live venue to being a dance club by 1986. In 1987 The Hacienda started playing House music with DJs Mike Pickering
Mike Pickering
Michael "Duncan" Pickering has DJed at The Haçienda's infamous "Nude" and "Hot" nights and later "Shine". He worked for Factory Records where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell With Burgundy and James amongst others...
, Graeme Park
Graeme Park
Graeme Park is an historic site in Horsham, Montgomery County. It is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and operated by the non-profit group, The Friends of Graeme Park. It is the only surviving residence of a colonial-era Pennsylvania governor...
and "Little" Martin Prendergast hosting the Nude night on Fridays.
The Festival of the Tenth Summer
Festival of the Tenth Summer
The Festival of the Tenth Summer was a music and art festival that took place in Manchester in July 1986. The festival was organised by Factory Records to 'celebrate Manchester' specifically with reference to the first performance by the Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester on 4...
in July 1986, organised by Factory Records, helped to consolidate Manchester's standing as a centre for alternative pop-culture. The festival included film-screenings, a music seminar, art shows and gigs by the city's most prominent bands, including an all-day gig at Manchester G-Mex featuring A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio are a Post-punk band formed in 1977 in Manchester, England. While originally part of the punk rock movement, they soon added funk and dance elements to their sound. They are sometimes referred to as "post punk funk"...
, The Smiths, New Order and The Fall. According to Dave Haslam
Dave Haslam
Dave Haslam is an author and DJ. Originally from Moseley, Birmingham, and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham. Having moved to Manchester in 1980, he DJ'd over 450 times at the Haçienda nightclub, including Thursday's Temperance club night in the late 1980s...
, the festival demonstrated that "the city had become synonymous with ... larger-than-life characters playing cutting edge music ... Individuals were inspired and the city was energised; of it's own accord, uncontrolled" although Manchester was already fully energised.
The Haçienda went from making a consistent loss to consistently selling out by early 1987. During 1987, it hosted performances by American house artists including Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles is an American DJ, record producer and remix artist. He played an important role in developing house music as a Chicago DJ in the 1980s and he helped to popularize house music in the 1990s, with his work as a producer and remixer...
and Adonis
Adonis (artist)
Adonis is a Chicago acid house pioneer who made his name with the classic 1986 tracks 'No Way Back' and 'We're Rockin Down The House'.Adonis recorded many innovative and influential dance tracks. Born and raised on the West Side of Chicago, Adonis was introduced to music at a young age...
. Other clubs in the Manchester area started to catch on to House music including Devilles, Isadora's, Konspiracy, House, Soundgardens and Man Alive in the city centre, Bugsy's in Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
and the Osbourne Club in Miles Platting
Miles Platting
Miles Platting is an inner city district of Manchester, England. It is east-northeast of Manchester city centre, along the course of the Rochdale Canal and A62 road...
.
Another key factor in the build-up to Madchester was the sudden availability of the drug ecstasy in the city, beginning in 1987 and growing the following year. According to Dave Haslam: "Ecstasy use changed clubs forever; a night at the Haçienda went from being a great night out, to an intense, life changing experience".
By the late 1980s, the British music was symbolised by a robust sound such as a Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
and Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
and the pop music of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. The Guardian stated that 'The 80s looked destined to end in musical ignominy.' The Madchester movement burgeoned, its sound was new and refreshing and its popularity soon grew. Music by artists such as the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays began to chart highly in 1989 with New Order releasing the house-influenced Technique
Technique (album)
Technique is the fifth studio album by New Order, released in 1989 via Factory Records. Partly recorded on the island of Ibiza, it incorporates Balearic beat and acid house influences into the group's electro/rock sound...
, which topped the UK album charts.
Artists' early careers
Although the Madchester scene cannot really be said to have started before 1988 (the term "Madchester" was not coined until a year after that by Factory RecordsFactory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
video director Philip Shotton), many of its most significant bands and artists were around on the local scene long before then.
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
were formed in 1984 by singer Ian Brown
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
and guitarist John Squire
John Squire
John Thomas Squire is an English musician, songwriter and artist.Squire is best known as the guitarist for The Stone Roses, a rock band in which he formed a songwriting partnership with lead singer Ian Brown. After leaving The Stone Roses he went on to found The Seahorses and has since released...
, who had grown up on the same street in Timperley
Timperley
Timperley is a village within the Altrincham area, of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Situated within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Timperley is approximately seven miles southwest of Manchester....
, a suburban area of Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
, to the south of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. They had been in bands together since 1979, when they were both 16, but the Stone Roses were the first to release a record, "So Young", in 1985. The line-up was completed by Alan "Reni" Wren
Alan Wren
Alan John Wren , better known as Reni, is the drummer of The Stone Roses.Reni is considered by many to be the best drummer of his generation and the "single most important drummer in UK indie circles." According to former Hacienda General Manager Howard Jones, he "played the drums like Hendrix...
on drums and, from 1987, Gary "Mani" Mounfield
Gary Mounfield
Gary Manny "Mani" Mounfield , is an English rock bassist of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream. He has a distinctive playing style that combines a fast moving rock style with a dance rhythm or dub groove...
on bass.
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
were formed in Salford in 1985. The members between then and the break-up of the band in 1992 were Shaun Ryder
Shaun Ryder
Shaun William Ryder, aka X, is an English musician, occasional newspaper columnist, actor, author, singer-songwriter and television personality, best known as lead singer for Happy Mondays and Black Grape – and more recently as the runner-up of the 2010 version of the British TV Show I'm a...
, his brother Paul
Paul Ryder
Paul Ryder is the former bass player and a founding member of the Manchester band Happy Mondays. He was an active member of the band from its inception in 1983 through to 2000 and was often credited for giving the band their trademark groove upon which some of their biggest hits were built...
, Mark "Bez" Berry, Paul Davis, Mark Day and Gary Whelan. They were signed to Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
, supposedly after Haçienda DJ Mike Pickering
Mike Pickering
Michael "Duncan" Pickering has DJed at The Haçienda's infamous "Nude" and "Hot" nights and later "Shine". He worked for Factory Records where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell With Burgundy and James amongst others...
saw them at a Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bands
Battle of Bands is a contest in which two or more bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a prize in addition to bragging rights. Traditionally, battles of...
contest in which they came last (the winners being Manchester band The Brigade). They released two singles - "45", produced by Pickering in 1985, and "Freaky Dancin'", produced by New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
's Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner , also known as Bernard Dickin, Bernard Dicken and Bernard Albrecht is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboard player and producer....
in 1986 - before putting out an album produced by John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
and bearing the title Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)
Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)
Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile was the first album by British band Happy Mondays. It was released in 1987 on Factory Records and was produced by John Cale....
in 1987.
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
were formed in Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
in 1986. The line-up was Clint Boon
Clint Boon
Clint Boon is an English musician and DJ. Boon originally rose to notability as the keyboards player with Inspiral Carpets.-Career:...
(organ), Stephen Holt (vocals - Tom Hingley
Tom Hingley
Tom Hingley is a musician best known as the lead vocalist of the English rock band Inspiral Carpets.-Life:...
would not join up until the beginning of 1989), Graham Lambert (guitar), Martyn Walsh (bass) and Craig Gill (drums). They released a flexi-disc a year later, and in 1988 the Planecrash EP (on their own Cow Records) brought them to the attention of John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
.
James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
were formed in 1981 by Paul Gilbertson
Paul Gilbertson
Paul Gilbertson was the first guitarist of the British band James. He formed the original band and began its chaotic songwriting method of jamming. He advocated improvisation during live performances and during group recording sessions. Gilbertson was replaced in the band by Larry Gott...
and Jim Glennie
Jim Glennie
Jim Glennie is the bassist for and namesake of English rock band, James. Glennie is the band's longest-serving member, having been there from the first line-up, through to the present....
(after whom the band was named), recruiting Drama student Tim Booth
Tim Booth
Timothy John Booth is an English singer, dancer, and actor best known as the lead singer from the band James.-1980s:Booth was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England and attended Shrewsbury School...
on vocals and Gavan Whelan on drums (Gilbertson and Whelan were to leave the band before it attained commercial success). They released their first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Jimone
Jimone
Jimone was the first EP by Mancunian band James, released in November 1983 by Factory Records. It contained three tracks that also later appeared on the band's Village Fire EP...
on Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
in 1983, and attracted critical enthusiasm, as well as the patronage of Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
. Sales of their two albums for Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
, Stutter
Stutter (album)
Stutter was the debut album from English band James, released in June 1986. The album was produced by Lenny Kaye, although the band had originally hoped to work with Brian Eno. After a bidding war between a number of labels, the album was released on Blanco y Negro, part of Sire. Artwork was...
in 1986 and Strip-mine
Strip-mine
Strip-mine was the second album from English band James, released in September 1988. The album was produced by Hugh Jones, except "Riders" and "Refrain" which were produced by Steve Power and Steve Lovell...
in 1988, were disappointing and, at the time Madchester hit, the band was using t-shirt sales to fund its own releases through Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
and a live album called 'One Man Clapping' on Rough Trade Records , who early in 1989 put out the original Version of Sit Down. Madchester helped bring them commercial success and the single "Sit Down
Sit Down
"Sit Down" is one of the most famous songs by James, released in 1989 by Rough Trade Records. In its seven-minute original form, the song only reached number 77 in the UK Singles Chart...
" became one of the most popular anthems of the era.
808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
were formed in 1988 by the owner of the Eastern Bloc Records shop on Oldham Street
Oldham Street
Oldham Street is in Manchester city centre and forms part of the city's historic Northern Quarter district. The Northern Quarter dominated by buildings that were built before World War II....
, Martin Price, together with Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson. The three put together an innovative live acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
set, performing at various venues around town, and releasing an acclaimed and influential album Newbuild
Newbuild
Newbuild is the first album of the band 808 State, released in 1988 on the independent label Creed Records.Aphex Twin saluted this album as a major influence.- Track listing :# "Sync/Swim" – 6:20# "Flow Coma" – 6:01...
on Price's own label. Simpson left soon after the release of Newbuild, but went on to record as A Guy Called Gerald
A Guy Called Gerald
A Guy Called Gerald is the stage name for the musician, record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson ....
.
Beginnings
In October 1988, the Stone RosesThe Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
released "Elephant Stone
Elephant Stone
"Elephant Stone" is the third single by The Stone Roses and their first release on Silvertone Records. Originally released in October 1988, it showcased the group's growing confidence and incorporation of dance rhythms...
" as a single. Around the same time, Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
released the single "Wrote for Luck" (followed by the Bummed
Bummed
Bummed was the second album by British band Happy Mondays. It was released in November 1988.Warner later released a 2CD Collector's Edition on . This release collected the original 1988 album with a second disc of remixes from the era.- Production :...
album, produced by Martin Hannett
Martin Hannett
Martin Hannett , sometimes credited as Martin Zero, was a record producer and an original partner in Factory Records with Tony Wilson...
, in November). In November, A Guy Called Gerald
A Guy Called Gerald
A Guy Called Gerald is the stage name for the musician, record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson ....
released his first solo single, "Voodoo Ray
Voodoo Ray
"Voodoo Ray" is a 1988 Acid House single by Gerald Simpson, recording under the name A Guy Called Gerald. The single was released the UK in 1988, in the 7" and 12" vinyl formats, on the Rham! label. It reached number 12 in the UK singles chart, and was the best selling independently released single...
".
Only "Voodoo Ray" was a commercial success, but by December, a sense had started to develop in the British music press that there was something going on in the city. According to Sean O'Hagan
Sean O'Hagan
Sean O'Hagan is a founding member of Irish indie band Microdisney. In the 1990s he formed The High Llamas and released a number of highly acclaimed albums showing influences as diverse as The Beach Boys, Ennio Morricone, Antonio Carlos Jobim and avant-garde electronica...
, writing in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
: "There is a particularly credible music biz rumour-come theory that certain Northern towns—Manchester being the prime example—have had their water supply treated with small doses of mind-expanding chemicals ... Everyone from Happy Mondays to the severely disorientated Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
conform to the theory in some way. Enter A Guy Called Gerald, out of his box on the limitless possibilities of a bank of keyboards".
The Stone Roses' following increased as they gigged around the country and released the "Made of Stone
Made Of Stone
"Made of Stone" is a single from The Stone Roses' eponymous début album. Jackson Pollock is referenced in the B-side "Going Down" in the line "Yeah, she looks like a painting, Jackson Pollock's No...
" single in February 1989. This did not chart, but enthusiasm for the band in the music press intensified when they released their debut album
The Stone Roses (album)
The Stone Roses is the debut album by English rock band The Stone Roses, released on Silvertone Records in 1989. It cemented the band's reputation among critics, and is still rated by some as one of the most important albums ever...
(produced by John Leckie
John Leckie
John Leckie is a British music producer, notable for producing many high-profile albums such as The Stone Roses's debut and Radiohead's The Bends...
) in March.
Bob Stanley
Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne)
Bob Stanley is a UK musician, film producer and journalist.-Saint Etienne:Stanley is best known as a member of the pop/dance group Saint Etienne for which he co-writes songs and produces...
(later of Saint Etienne
Saint Etienne (band)
Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...
), reviewing the Stone Roses album in Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
wrote: "this is simply the best debut LP I've heard in my record buying lifetime. Forget everybody else. Forget work tomorrow". The NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
did not put it quite so strongly, but reported nonetheless that it was being talked of as "the greatest album ever made". John Robb in Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
said "The Stone Roses have revolutionised British Pop".
The club scene in Manchester continued to grow during 1988 and 1989, with Haçienda
The Haçienda
Fac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine...
launching Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
-themed nights in the summer of 1988 and the Hot acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
night (hosted by Mike Pickering
Mike Pickering
Michael "Duncan" Pickering has DJed at The Haçienda's infamous "Nude" and "Hot" nights and later "Shine". He worked for Factory Records where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell With Burgundy and James amongst others...
and Jon DaSilva
Jon DaSilva
Jon Dasilva is a producer and DJ. He has had releases on labels such as Soma and Deconstruction. He is also well known for his time as a resident DJ at The Haçienda. While there, he mentored Sasha in the early 1990s.-External links:*Official Website**...
) in November of the same year.
"Baggy"
In May, the Happy MondaysHappy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
released the single "Lazyitis" and the Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
put out their first single with new singer Tom Hingley
Tom Hingley
Tom Hingley is a musician best known as the lead vocalist of the English rock band Inspiral Carpets.-Life:...
, "Joe". Like the Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, the Inspiral Carpets were producing sixties-inspired indie music. These bands mixed disco basslines and wah-wah guitar with their indie jingle-jangle. The Inspiral Carpets added the sound of the Farfisa organ.
This sound, which was to become known as "baggy
Baggy
Baggy was a British dance-oriented music genre popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.The scene was heavily influenced by Madchester, although it was not geographically confined to Manchester. Many Madchester bands could also be described as Baggy, and vice versa...
", generally includes a combination of funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, psychedelia, guitar rock and house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
. In the Manchester context, the music can be seen as mainly influenced by the indie music that had dominated the city's music scene during the 1980s, but also absorbing the various influences coming through the Haçienda.
Alongside the music, a way of dressing emerged that gave baggy its name. Baggy jeans (often flared) alongside brightly coloured or tie-dye casual tops and general sixties style became fashionable first in Manchester and then across the country - frequently topped off with a fishing hat in the style sported by the Stone Roses drummer Reni
Alan Wren
Alan John Wren , better known as Reni, is the drummer of The Stone Roses.Reni is considered by many to be the best drummer of his generation and the "single most important drummer in UK indie circles." According to former Hacienda General Manager Howard Jones, he "played the drums like Hendrix...
. The overall look was part rave, part retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
or part hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
, part football casual. Many Madchester bands had football casual fans and a number of bands even wore football shirts. Shami Ahmed
Shami Ahmed
Eaitisham "Shami" Ahmed is a Pakistani born British founder of the Joe Bloggs clothing brand.Born in Pakistan, his parents emigrated to England in 1964, when he was aged 2. His father Nizam started a profitable retail clothing business Ahmed Hosiery, in Burnley...
's Manchester-based Joe Bloggs fashion label specialised in catering for the scene, making him a multi-millionaire.
The baggy sound influenced numerous Greater Manchester bands including James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
, The Charlatans (Who formed in Birmingham) and The Mock Turtles
The Mock Turtles
The Mock Turtles are a Manchester based indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s...
. However, in the early 1990s the sound spread across the country, with bands such as The Farm
The Farm (band)
The Farm were a British band from Liverpool, popular through the early 1990s. Their album Spartacus reached the top position on the UK Albums Chart when it was released in March, 1991.-History:They formed in early 1983....
, Flowered Up
Flowered Up
-Career:The band was formed in mid-1989 by singer Liam Maher, along with his younger brother Joe . After a few changes in personnel, the settled line-up included Tim Dorney , Andy Jackson , and John Tuvey , with dancer Barry Mooncult adding to their live shows...
, Candy Flip
Candy Flip
Candy Flip were a British electronic dance band associated with the Madchester music scene in the early 1990s. They are best remembered for their cover version of The Beatles hit "Strawberry Fields Forever" which was a #3 hit in the UK Singles Chart....
and Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
treading where Mancunians had gone before.
Dave Haslam notes that the interest of the press in the baggy scene skewed impressions of the Madchester scene. In Manchester, electronic dance music was prevalent in the clubs, and the scene also gave a home to hip-hop artists Ruthless Rap Assassins
Ruthless Rap Assassins
The Ruthless Rap Assassins were a British hip hop group from Hulme, Manchester, England. The group was formed by MC Kermit La Freak and brothers Dangerous Hinds and Dangerous C .-History:Kermit grew up in Moss Side, Manchester - where he learnt to play violin at the age of 6 - and was...
, Hybrid and MC Tunes
MC Tunes
MC Tunes is a British rapper from the suburb of Moss Side in Manchester. His name was legally changed to Lockett in 1981. Tunes was one of the big promoters of the Madchester-era during the 1980s and 1990s.-808 State:Tunes first worked with 808 State on the 1990 album, The North At Its Heights...
.
Growing success
During mid-1989, media interest in the Manchester scene continued to grow. In September, the Happy MondaysHappy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
released a Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been involved with a number of successful groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure....
remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of "Wrote for Luck" as a single. In November, four important singles were released: "Move" by the Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
, "Pacific State
Pacific State
Pacific State may refer to:* "Pacific State", an episode of the anime series Eureka Seven* "Pacific State" , a song by British electronic music group 808 State* One of the five Pacific States of the United States...
" by 808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
, The Madchester Rave On EP
Madchester Rave On E.P.
Madchester Rave On E.P. is a release by the Happy Mondays. It was released in November 1989 on Factory Records and was seen to be one of the key releases from the Madchester music scene. The EP was heavily influenced by the Acid House, Rave and club scenes at the time...
by the Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
and "Fools Gold"/"What the World is Waiting For"
Fools Gold/What The World Is Waiting For
"Fools Gold"/"What the World Is Waiting For" is a non-album double A-side by The Stone Roses. It was released in the UK, U.S., Mexico, Australia, Germany, Japan, and Spain. "Fools Gold" and "What the World Is Waiting For" are also available on the compilation Turns Into Stone...
by the Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
.
The Happy Mondays record, featuring the lead track "Hallelujah!", coined the term "Madchester" - it had originally been suggested by their video directors the Bailey Brothers as a potential t-shirt slogan.
In November, the Stone Roses performed a gig at London's Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
which was a nightmare , with 8000 fans and only 2 bar staff, and were invited onto BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's high-brow Late Show (remembered by many because the electricity cut out during their performance and they stormed off). On 23 November 1989, the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays appeared on the same edition of Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. The "Fools Gold" single made number 8 in the UK singles chart, becoming the biggest-selling indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
single of the year.
Madchester became something of an industry bandwagon
Bandwagon effect
The bandwagon effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have...
from this time. According to NME journalist Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week , alongside Mark Radcliffe, called the Radcliffe...
, the British press had "gone bonkers over Manchester bands". James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
were amongst the first beneficiaries of this. The local success of their self-financed singles "Come Home" and "Sit Down
Sit Down
"Sit Down" is one of the most famous songs by James, released in 1989 by Rough Trade Records. In its seven-minute original form, the song only reached number 77 in the UK Singles Chart...
" led to a deal with Fontana
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
, and they were to score chart hits with "How Was it For You" and a re-recorded version of "Come Home" in the summer of 1990.
The Charlatans came to prominence through appearances in Manchester, particularly as a support act to the Stone Roses and became strongly associated with the scene. They released a debut single "Indian Rope" in October 1989 and their second "The Only One I Know
The Only One I Know
"The Only One I Know" was a single from The Charlatans. It was their first top-ten hit, reaching #9 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the highest-charting single from the Some Friendly album. Its best showing in the US was on the Modern Rock chart, where it reached #5 in September 1990. The song was...
" made the UK top ten.
A number of other Manchester bands gained the attention of the music press during 1990, including World of Twist
World of Twist
World Of Twist were an English rock band, formed in Sheffield in 1985.-History:The original line-up of the band consisted of James Fry , Andrew Hobson , Gordon King , Tony Ogden , Rory Conolly , Nick Phillips and Andy Robbins...
, New Fast Automatic Daffodils
New Fast Automatic Daffodils
New Fast Automatic Daffodils were an alternative rock group from Manchester, England, active between 1988 and 1995.-History:The band was formed in 1988 by former members of the punk rock group Pariah...
, The High
The High
The High were an English rock group from Manchester, who were generally regarded as part of the Madchester scene.-History:The band was formed in 1989 by former Turning Blue singer John Matthews, along with former Buzzcocks F.O.C...
, Northside
Northside (band)
Northside are a British band from Blackley and Moston, Manchester, England. Formed in 1989, they released their only album Chicken Rhythms on Factory Records in 1991...
, Paris Angels
Paris Angels
Paris Angels were a seven piece band, hailing from Guide Bridge, Ashton-under-Lyne, England, associated with the Madchester scene of 1989 -1991. Their music fused indie guitars with electronic dance music...
, and Intastella
Intastella
Intastella were an alternative rock band from Manchester who evolved from the earlier band Laugh. They had four top-75 hits in the UK during the 1990s.-History:...
. These "second wave" bands, according to John Robb, "copped the critical backlash, but were making great music". and they also received a great deal of local support with TV appearances on various Granada shows and local radio play.
Commercial success
Bands associated with the Madchester scene released material almost exclusively on indieIndie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
records labels, with the significant exception of James, who signed to Fontana Records
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
in 1989. The Madchester was growing in popularity and was not just a local trend in Manchester with an article entitled Stark Raving Madchester appearing in the Newsweek Magazine in 1990 describing the Madchester scene. The main Madchester bands dominated the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
s during late 1989 and much of 1990.
The success in the UK Singles and Albums charts of a number of indie acts associated with a "scene" was unprecedented at the time. "Step On" and "Kinky Afro" by the Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
both made number 5 in the singles charts, whilst James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
scored the biggest Madchester hit, making number 2 in 1991 with a re-recording of "Sit Down". In the album charts, the Happy Mondays made number 4 with Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches was the third album by British band Happy Mondays. It was released in 1990 and was produced by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne at Eden Studios in London....
, and the Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
got to number 2 with Life. The Charlatans were the only Madchester band to take the number 1 spot, with the album Some Friendly
Some Friendly
Some Friendly is the debut album by the English band The Charlatans , released in 1990 ....
in the autumn of 1990.
Outside the UK, the success of Madchester was limited, although some releases gained recognition in specialist charts around the world. In the U.S., the albums The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses (album)
The Stone Roses is the debut album by English rock band The Stone Roses, released on Silvertone Records in 1989. It cemented the band's reputation among critics, and is still rated by some as one of the most important albums ever...
, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches was the third album by British band Happy Mondays. It was released in 1990 and was produced by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne at Eden Studios in London....
and Some Friendly
Some Friendly
Some Friendly is the debut album by the English band The Charlatans , released in 1990 ....
reached the lower echelons of the U.S. album chart. Several singles by The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, The Inspiral Carpets, Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
and The Charlatans were successful on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The Happy Mondays toured the US in 1990 and were the only Madchester band to have a single enter the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
when "Step On" reached #57 in 1990. They also reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart, with "Kinky Afro
Kinky Afro
"Kinky Afro" is a 1990 single by Happy Mondays. It was the second single from the band's third album Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches. The song was the band's biggest hit in the United States hitting #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. It also hit #5 in the UK, tied with "Step On" as the band's...
" in 1990. The only other Madchester artist to reach #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart was The Charlatans, whose single "Weirdo" was #1 for the week of 23 May 1992.
Decline
On 27 May 1990, the Stone RosesThe Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
performed at Spike Island
Spike Island (Halton)
Spike Island, Halton Borough, Widnes, England, a birthplace of the British chemical industry, is a reclaimed toxic waste site. The island is in the Mersey Estuary, a Ramsar Convention site....
in Widnes, Cheshire, supported by DJs Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles is an American DJ, record producer and remix artist. He played an important role in developing house music as a Chicago DJ in the 1980s and he helped to popularize house music in the 1990s, with his work as a producer and remixer...
, Phonso Buller, Dave Haslam
Dave Haslam
Dave Haslam is an author and DJ. Originally from Moseley, Birmingham, and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham. Having moved to Manchester in 1980, he DJ'd over 450 times at the Haçienda nightclub, including Thursday's Temperance club night in the late 1980s...
, and Dave Booth. This concert has been described as a "Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
for the E generation.
A rapid succession of chart hits followed during the summer, including "One Love
One Love (The Stone Roses song)
"One Love" is a non-album single by The Stone Roses. The single was released in the UK, U.S., Australia, Germany, Japan, Spain, and France, peaking at #4 in the Roses' home country of the UK, their highest charting single up until that time...
" by the Stone Roses, "This Is How It Feels" by the Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
, "The Only One I Know" by The Charlatans and "Kinky Afro" by the Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
.
The end of the year saw triumphal concerts by James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
and a double-header with the Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
and 808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
, both at Manchester G-Mex
G-Mex
Manchester Central, , formerly known as the GMEX centre and Manchester International Conference Centre , is an exhibition and conference centre built in and around the former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester, North West England...
.
The Stone Roses cancelled their June 1990 tour of the US, issuing a press statement saying: "America doesn't deserve us yet". however, their debut album sold more than 350,000 copies in the U.S. that year. The band also cancelled a gig in Spain and an appearance on the U.K. chat show Wogan
Wogan
Wogan was a chat show on British television, hosted by Terry Wogan. It followed the format of a series broadcast in 1980 entitled What's On Wogan?, which failed to gather viewers. The Wogan show was initially broadcast on Tuesday evenings on BBC1 in 1981 and from 1982 to 1984, it moved into the...
. They did not face the public again until the end of 1994, spending the intervening time in and out of studios in Wales - where they recorded a second album, Second Coming
Second Coming (album)
Second Coming is the second studio album by The Stone Roses, released through Geffen Records on 5 December 1994 in the UK and in early 1995 in the US. It was recorded at Forge Studios in Oswestry, Shropshire and Rockfield Studios near Monmouth in Wales between 1992 and 1994...
- and fighting in court to release themselves from their contract with Silvertone Records
Silvertone Records (1980)
Silvertone Records is a current British record label, owned by Zomba Music Group. The first and most famous signing to the label was The Stone Roses in the late 1980s, with whom they later had a lengthy legal battle. Other acts signed to the label during its history include Jars of Clay, The Men...
.
The making of the next Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
album, Yes Please!
Yes Please!
Yes Please! was the last studio album that the British band Happy Mondays recorded before leaving Factory Records. Generally seen as their poorest work, it was released in 1992 and was produced by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads...
was also problematic, and it would not be released until October 1992. The band flew to Barbados to record it, where they went "crack
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
crazy", according to Paul Ryder
Paul Ryder
Paul Ryder is the former bass player and a founding member of the Manchester band Happy Mondays. He was an active member of the band from its inception in 1983 through to 2000 and was often credited for giving the band their trademark groove upon which some of their biggest hits were built...
, making repeated requests of Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
for extra time and additional funds. This is reputed to have been the major factor in the bankruptcy of the label in November 1992.
With the two bands seen as the most central to the scene out of action, media fascination with Madchester dwindled. James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
, Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
, The Charlatans and 808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
continued to record, with varying degrees of success, during the 1990s, but ceased to be seen as part of a localised scene.
Local bands catching the tail-end of Madchester, such as The Mock Turtles
The Mock Turtles
The Mock Turtles are a Manchester based indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s...
, became part of a wider baggy
Baggy
Baggy was a British dance-oriented music genre popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.The scene was heavily influenced by Madchester, although it was not geographically confined to Manchester. Many Madchester bands could also be described as Baggy, and vice versa...
scene. The music press in the U.K. began to place more focus on shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
bands from the south of England
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
and bands emerging through the U.S. grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
.
Musical legacy
The immediate influence of Madchester was in inspiring the wider baggyBaggy
Baggy was a British dance-oriented music genre popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.The scene was heavily influenced by Madchester, although it was not geographically confined to Manchester. Many Madchester bands could also be described as Baggy, and vice versa...
movement in the UK, with bands from various parts of the country producing music in the early 1990s heavily influenced by the main Madchester players. These bands included Flowered Up
Flowered Up
-Career:The band was formed in mid-1989 by singer Liam Maher, along with his younger brother Joe . After a few changes in personnel, the settled line-up included Tim Dorney , Andy Jackson , and John Tuvey , with dancer Barry Mooncult adding to their live shows...
(from London), The Farm
The Farm (band)
The Farm were a British band from Liverpool, popular through the early 1990s. Their album Spartacus reached the top position on the UK Albums Chart when it was released in March, 1991.-History:They formed in early 1983....
and The Real People
The Real People
The Real People, from Liverpool, England, were one of the very first bands to play what is today known as “Britpop”, and have been quoted by Oasis as being one of their major influences...
(from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
), The Bridewell Taxis
The Bridewell Taxis
The Bridewell Taxis were a Leeds-based British Indie rock group active from 1987 to 1993.-History:The Bridewell Taxis shone brightly but briefly as one of the few bands from east of the Pennines to make an impact on what was to become known as the Madchester scene.-Early years:The group came...
(from Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
), the Soup Dragons
The Soup Dragons
The Soup Dragons were a Scottish alternative rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Named after a character in the 1970s children's television show Clangers, the group is best known for its cover of the Rolling Stones' song "I'm Free."-History:...
(from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
) and Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene are an English Britpop band formed in Moseley, Birmingham in 1989. They have had five Top 10 albums and six Top 10 singles to date.-Early days :...
(from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
). Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
, from Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, adopted a baggy style in their early career, although in an interview with Select Magazine in 1991 they claimed to have "killed" the genre.
Bands formed in Manchester during the Madchester era included the Chemical Brothers, Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
, Sub Sub
Sub Sub
Sub Sub were an English dance act from Wilmslow, Cheshire composed of Jimi Goodwin and twin brothers Andy and Jez Williams.The threesome met at school in 1985 and became regulars at The Haçienda while composing their own material together...
(who would later become Doves) and Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
(Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
had been a roadie for Inspiral Carpets). More generally, the Madchester scene brought together dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, in particular the combination of the types of drumming found in funk and disco music (and sampled in 80s hip-hop music) with jingle-jangle guitar. In the 1990s, this became a commonplace formula, found frequently in even the most commercial music.
There have been numerous polls in the year following the Madchester movement to find the best song of the era. In 2005, Voodoo Ray
Voodoo Ray
"Voodoo Ray" is a 1988 Acid House single by Gerald Simpson, recording under the name A Guy Called Gerald. The single was released the UK in 1988, in the 7" and 12" vinyl formats, on the Rham! label. It reached number 12 in the UK singles chart, and was the best selling independently released single...
by A Guy Called Gerald
A Guy Called Gerald
A Guy Called Gerald is the stage name for the musician, record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson ....
was voted as the best song from the Madchester scene. The song beat Step On by the Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
and Waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
by The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
for first place. In 2010, a new nightclub managed by Peter Hook
Peter Hook
Peter Hook is an English bass player, musician and author.He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until...
of New Order, FAC251 opened in Manchester, with musical emphasis on Madchester music.
Impact on Manchester
The mushrooming of Manchester's nightlife during the Madchester period has had a long-term impact, particularly with the subsequent development of the Gay Village and Northern Quarter. City centreManchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
living is also something that began to catch on in Manchester in the wake of Madchester, and which continues to this day.
The attraction of the city was such that, at the height of Madchester in 1990, the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
was the most sought-after destination for university applicants in the UK, a position shared year-on-year by Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in the normal course of things.
The scene also gave a boost to the city's media and creative industries. Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
already had great success with 'The Word' and in its wake The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
launched The 8:15 From Manchester
8:15 from Manchester
8:15 from Manchester is a Saturday morning children's magazine show broadcast on BBC1 when Going Live! was between series.Broadcasting from Manchester, it was presented by Ross King and Charlotte Hindle. The first edition was broadcast on 21 April 1990. It was produced by Martyn Day...
, a Saturday morning kids' TV show (with a themetune by the Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
, a re-write of "Find out Why")and Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
also jumped on the bandwagon with a cheaper version of The Word , called 'Juice' presented by John Bramwell and Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
' daughter Tara Newley
Tara Newley
Tara Newley is a singer and the daughter of actress Joan Collins and singer Anthony Newley. Born Tara Cynara Newley in New York City, United States she studied at Boston University. A sister to Sacha Newley, she returned to London when her parents' seven year marriage ended in 1970 and her mother...
.
Organised crime became an unfortunate side-story to Madchester, with the vibrancy of the clubbing scene in the city (and the popularity of illegal drugs, particularly ecstasy) providing a fertile environment for opportunist gangsterism. Violent incidents at the Haçienda
The Haçienda
Fac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine...
led to a campaign against it by Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
, and contributed to its closure in 1997.
In the late 1990s, a Manchester musical walk of fame was commissioned for Oldham Street
Oldham Street
Oldham Street is in Manchester city centre and forms part of the city's historic Northern Quarter district. The Northern Quarter dominated by buildings that were built before World War II....
in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. The walk includes a triangular slab for each music group and pays homage to bands such as The Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, 808 State, James.
Depiction in film
Michael WinterbottomMichael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
follows the story of Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
and Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
, including the Madchester period and the Happy Mondays' success.
Further reading
- Haslam, Dave: Manchester, England, Fourth Estate, London, 2000 (ISBN 1-84115-146-7)
- Luck, Richard: The Madchester Scene, Pocket Essentials, London, 2002 (ISBN 1-903047-80-3)
- Wilson, TonyTony WilsonAnthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
: 24-hour Party People, Channel 4 Books, London, 2002 (ISBN 0-7522-2025-X) - McNichols, Conor (ed): NME Originals: Madchester, IPC, London, 2003
- Robb, John: The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City 1976–1996, Aurum Press, London, 2009
- Christian Terry : My Word , Orion 2006
- Christian Terry : Brothers From Childhood To Oasis
External links
- Madchester on Pride of Manchester website
- Madchester by Jonathan Schofield