“The Past was Yours but the Future’s Mine”
From Manchester to Madchester
Intro
Manchester’s music in the late 70s to early 80s was defined by its gloomy and depressing atmosphere. This atmosphere came from the industry inside of the city that at the time was on a decline, leading to an image of a destroyed paradise. Joy Division reflected this image of a melancholy Manchester with their bleak lyrics and atmospheric sound. In 1980 on the eve before their U.S tour Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide. From the ashes of Joy Division formed the new band New Order which was influenced by rave and electronic music. New Order played a major role in influencing the Madchester scene and even help fund The Haçienda a major club in the Madchester scene.
The Madchester sound is a combination of acid house and indie rock. In 1988, with The Stone Roses releasing their first single “Elephant Stone” which with the combination of the availability of ecstasy created a new sense of musical energy in Manchester. Other bands that would rise to prominence were Happy Mondays and 808 State. All of these bands had a distinct contrast to the sounds of Manchester before, combining sounds of Acid House, Alternative rock, and Rave culture. The most important club during this period was The Haçienda which was created by Factory Records who signed bands such as Joy Division and New Order helped incubate the culture. The design of the club was influenced by artist Peter Saville who created the inside to be an image of a cartoon factory. The club reflected the industrial side of Manchester and during the late 80s was one of the busiest clubs. The Madchester scene changed the image of Manchester from melancholy to a new destination full of energy and music that would shape the whole of British culture. As the Stone Roses said in their song "She Bangs the Drum," "The Past Was Yours but the Future's Mine."
Music in Manchester Pre-1987:
"The Gig that Changed the World"
On June 4, 1976, The Sex Pistols played the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. About 40 people were in attendance, many of these attendees would later go on and create bands that would define Mancunian rock music. Although not the single cause of the creation of rock in Manchester, over the years this performance has been put forth as legend due to its low attendance and the musicians that would later blossom from the performance. The immediate reaction was of the performance was one of utter shock due to the nature of Johnny Rotten performance. From most accounts, the music was not the center of attention, but his confrontational stage presence which overpowered the stage. An account from an audience said “He was one of the most frightening people I’d ever seen at this time, this lad with a thousand-yard stare … it was just as though he was staring at me.” (Nolan, 2001). This performance broke the boundaries of the customary idea of putting on a show for the audience. Rather, Rotten was himself, he didn’t want for the audience to look from afar, but instead, he was in front of his pushing his message and demanding a response from the audience. This audience was frozen in front of his actions but it seemed that members of the audience who would later form the bands that would define the music Manchester seemed to “get” the message of individual expression that Rotten was projecting even though shock due to his otherworldly performance.
"They were terrible. I thought they were great. I wanted to get up and be terrible too." - Bernard Sumner (Rimmer, 2003)
Sex Pistols - Satellite - Manchester, Lesser Free Trade Hall, 4th June 1976
Bands Formed After the Concert:
Buzzcocks
Two members of the Buzzcocks were responsible for bringing the Sex Pistols to Manchester, Pete Shelly and Howard Devoto, they were originally going to play the concert; however, couldn’t find enough musicians to play. The Buzzcocks were at the top of Manchester punk, they embodied the energy of the Sex Pistols, but focused more on creating love songs from the perspective of someone being turned down at every path. Before the end of the year, the band would record their first EP Spiral Scratch. Their most enduring work of music would be their compilation album Singles Going Steady which was released in 1979 to an American audience and receiving praise for inspiring later bands.
The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)
Joy Divison
Two other attendants of the Sex Pistols show were Bernard Sumners and Peter Hook. These two attendees would go on to create one of the most well-known bands to come out of Manchester, Joy Division. Peter Hook recalls that after the day of the show he went down to his local guitar shop find and bought a bass to start the band Warsaw which would later become Joy Division. In July the Sex Pistols played another set in the Less Free Trade Center there the band would find there Captivating lead singer Ian Curtis. Later on in 1977, they would recruit their drummer Stephen Morris and in 1978 released their first EP An Ideal For Living, which was more influenced by punk bands such as the Sex Pistols than their later albums. Joy Division's first album Unknown Pleasures is widely considered to be one of the most influential albums ever made moving the band to a more spatially eerie sound that would be considered to be post-punk, but still containing the energy of their punk contemporaries like the Sex Pistols. The band would come to an end on May 16, 1980, as Ian Curtis committed suicide a day before their U.S. tour. Later on that year the would release their highest charting single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and their final album Closer.
Warsaw - Joy Division
Factory Records and The Haçienda
New Order at The Haçienda
New Order live, Hacienda 1983, 'Temptation'
The Rise Of Madchester Through the Haçienda
Photo Inside of The Haçienda taken by Kevin Cummins
New Order and Factory Records set the stage for the future bands that would be created inside of Manchester. The Haçienda with its acts ranging from Acid House to Ibiza night would help inspire the dance-infused music that the Madchester scene would create. The Haçienda club would employ many Djs to further push club aspects, in contrast to the indie rock music that was coming out of the city at the time. One major Dj that took residency at the club was Dj Mike Pickering who was at the club for ten years. His work of creating “Hot” and “Nude” nights brought the club to a greater audience in Manchester during the late ’80s which was not seen as much during the early years of the club.
Bands of Madchester
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses were the biggest band throughout the Madchester scene and started the scene with their 1988 single "Elephant Stone." In the beginning, the band had many early iterations originally starting with Ian Brown (Vocals) and John Squire (Guitarist) eventually adding their Reni (Drums) and Mani (Bass). In 1987 they released their first single and EP "Sally Cinnamon" However, truly became a cultural phenomenon with the release of their first self titled album. From its release, it received critical acclaim Melody Maker in their review of the album wrote, "this is simply the best debut LP I've heard in my record buying lifetime. Forget everybody else. Forget work tomorrow." The album was a fusion between rock and the acid house influence which was prevalent in Manchester at the time. Their song "Fools Gold" is an example of the house music influence and would be played inside of the Haçienda.
The Stone Roses - Fools Gold (Official Video)
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays - 24 Hour Party People (Official Music Video)
Happy Mondays were signed to Factory Records as they were able to get Mike Pickering to see their demo tape. Their lineup during this period consisted of Shaun Ryder, Paul Ryder, Gary Whelan, Paul Davis, Mark Day and Mark Berry. Their first album released in 1987 Squirrel & G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile was produced by John Cale. The standout track from the album was “24 Hour Party People” this track would be the title of a documentary based upon the Madchester scene. Like the Stone Roses, Happy Monday infused indie pop and house music; however, compared to the Stone Roses were more towards house as many of their songs were remixed by DJs.
808 State
Named after the Roland TR-808 drum machine. 808 State was a Techno group formed inside of Manchester. Differing from the past two groups focusing on the more House Aspects of Manchester at the time Their first album Newbuild was recorded with all of their founding members. The album would be the influence of many other techno bands. In the Madchester scene, their remixed version of "Blue Monday" was played regularly in the club. Along with their own music which pioneered the sound of Acid House in Manchester.
808 STATE "NEW BUILD" FULL ALBUM
The Second Summer of Love (Spike Island Performance)
Picture of Performance by Kevin Cummins
With all of the bands continual growth one band would rise ahead as the figurehead of the movement, The Stone Roses. They were the band that started and would eventually end the movement. The height of the movement would come from their concert on Spike Island. In May 1990 28,000 people were crammed into a man-made island to see a set of DJs and The Stone Roses perform. Playing their first song "I Wanna Be Adored" the crowed erupted, Maxine Peake who was at the concert recounted, "being completely overwhelmed when they came on. I started to get hysterical, and I couldn’t breathe. When the woman behind me asked if I was all right, I had to pretend to have asthma because I was so embarrassed. It was ridiculous,” NME writer Jon Ronson recounted "Even though the sound was blowing all over the place, it was impossible not to be moved by it. When Brown came out brandishing an inflatable globe [during the show], it was everything it was supposed to be – the world in their hands. When you saw it, you absolutely felt like you were a part of something, at the center of that place and time.”
Stone Roses Spike Island 1990 Fan Footage Highlights
Conclusion
Photo By Kevin Cummins
In the end, Madchester would see its demise due to poor financial decisions made by the Haçienda club forced its closure. Another factor was the wait for the Stone Roses Second album as by the release of their second album Second Coming. A new wave of Manchester bands would precede such as Oasis who saw the peak of the scene at the Spike Island Concert. Oasis would go on to have a greater global presence than any other Madchester band. However, the legacy of the Madchester scene and its bands are ever-present inside of England. In all, the Madchester scene can be seen as directly put into the motion of Factory Records and their owner Tony Wilson who wanted to create a legacy out of Manchester.
Discography
The Haçienda by Kevin Cummins
- God Save the Queen - Sex Pistols
- Spiral Scratch (EP) - Buzzcocks
- An Ideal for Living - Joy Division
- Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division
- Strange ways Here We Come - The Smiths
- Power, Corruption, and Lies - New Order
- "Blue Monday" - New Order
- The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
- Squirrel & G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile - Happy Mondays
Sources
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Hill, Andrew E. P. Acid House: Youth and Late Eighties Britain, The University of Manchester (United Kingdom), PhD Dissertation, 2000.
Hook, Peter. The Haçienda: How Not to Run a Club. Simon & Schuster UK, 2013.
Nolan, David. I Swear I Was I There. Independent Music Press, 2001.
Parrill, James S., Jr. Of an Uneasy Time that all is Not Well: Shifts in Perceptions of British Identity in the Postcolonial Era and the Punk and Postpunk Scenes 1976-1980s, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, MA Thesis, 2016.
Reynolds, Simon “The Stone Roses: Shooting From The Lip.” Melody Maker, 3 June. 1989
Rimmer, Dave. New Romantics: The Look. Omnibus Press, 2003.
Sally Stone (2014) “The Haçienda: The Manufactured Image of a Post-industrial City”, Interiors, 5:1, 37-53,
Stanley, Bob “The Stone Roses: Bad Loon Rising.” Melody Maker, 8 Apr. 1989
Thomas, S. L. “POP & HISS; Adored, again; years after 'madchester' and a flame-out, the stone roses reunited. it's all documented in 'made of stone'.” Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov, 2013
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